Al Chai: Enjoy A Cup Of IoT-Enabled Chai At Your Nearest Chai Point Outlet

Chaipoint takes the concept of roadside tapris to organized hygienic stores, while also allowing one to easily order chai through the internet, mobile app, phone call or simply order one in-person at the nearest Chai Point hub. Chai Point targets the white-collar segment primarily through its outlets, home delivery services and recently launched vending machines for offices of leading corporate firms. Following its most recent round of funding which was concluded in April earlier this year, Chai Point has also upgraded the food options on its in-store menu. Still sounds run-of-the-mill? Keep reading.

With the opening of its 100th store, Chai Point has gone digital, embedding artificial intelligence capability as a backbone to offer a seamless omnichannel experience. Now we’re talking. This tech-first company has an online delivery service and a tea and filter coffee vending machine called BoxC, which is fully automatic and IoT-enabled. BoxC runs on Chai Point’s proprietary software-SHARK, which collects data from the BoxC machines and feeds it to the app, website and is also integrated with online food delivery platforms Swiggy and Zomato. This enables the company to closely track consumption and forecast demand more efficiently. The AI capability will also help Chai Point run its loyalty program with a facial recognition software, which will store and analyse user preferences for quick check-out. Along with demand forecasting, the data collected will help the company improve its supply chain management as well. Chai Point currently has over 14 lakh registered users under its loyalty program.

While stores remain core to the brand, Delivery and BoxC.in are faster-growing segments, which support the store format. Apart from stores, delivery has also shown tremendous growth for the company. It accounts for over 20% of the company’s overall revenue. The company has also been promoting its automated hot beverage dispensing segment — BoxC.in — in office spaces to broaden the market from working professionals. BoxC.in has grown to contribute 40% to Chai Point’s overall business, from just 8–9% three years ago.

So, is it a cafe? Is it a food and beverage company? Is it a tech start-up? IT’S CHAIPOINT! Eight years after it was founded, Chai Point today is India’s largest organized chai retailer with about 100 retail stores, 800 employees and locations in eight Indian cities: Bengaluru, Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, and Chennai.

While Chai Point’s focus on technology has been investment-heavy resulting in losses and high cash burn in the beginning, the model is finally paying off. Profitability is finally on the horizon. Thanks to the consumption data generated from SHARK, the company is planning store expansion more efficiently and is also considering diversifying its range of products to include soups, cereals, tea bags and loose leaf tea which can be sold through online platforms like Paytm, Big Basket and others. Kudos!

Are the other retailers listening?