Tea café chain Chaayos, run by Delhi-based Sunshine Teahouse Pvt. Ltd, has raised Rs 81 crore ($12 million) in a Series B round of funding from venture capital and growth equity investment firm SAIF Partners, Hong Kong-based investment firm Integrated Capital and growth-stage fund Pactolus, a company statement said.
Earlier this week, VCCircle first reported that Chaayos had raised Series B capital, with SAIF Partners alone investing about Rs 41 crore in the round. The current deal valued the tea chain with a 50% mark up to its Series A round, according to VCCircle estimates.
The company will use the money to strengthen its foothold in its existing markets of Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Chandigarh by introducing more cafes, the statement added.
“The company’s technology and innovation and customer experience driven approach are distinctive in this fast-growth space,” said Deepak Gaur, managing partner of SAIF Partners, in the press note.
Chaayos was founded in November 2012 by IIT Bombay alumnus Nitin Saluja and IIT Delhi graduate Raghav Verma. It has over 52 cafes across 7 cities, the statement said.
The company currently operates in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Ambala and Karnal.
In 2015, it had raised $5 million in its Series A round led by Tiger Global. Ola co-founders Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati had also participated in the round. Powai Lake Ventures and Toppr.com founder Zishaan Hayath are also investors in the firm.
Chaayos competes with Chai Point, which is run by Mountain Trail Foods Pvt. Ltd.
In April, Chai Point had raised $20 million (Rs 131.5 crore) in a Series C round of funding led by private equity firm Paragon Partners. Existing investors Eight Roads Ventures, Deepak Shahdadpuri-led early-stage investment firm DSG Consumer Partners and venture capital firm Saama Capital also took part in this round.
Other tea retail funding deals
In December 2017, speciality tea e-tailer Teabox.com, operated by Bengaluru- and Singapore-based AsianTeaxpress Pte. Ltd, raised $7 million in a Series B round from Singapore-based investment firm RB Investments and existing investors.
In the same month, Vahdam Teas mobilised $1.4 million in a Series A round of funding led by existing investor Fireside Ventures.