He came from a town and fabricated a Rs 7 crore turnover 78-outlet tea chain beginning with Rs 50,000

Tea has consistently partaken in the standing of reviving your body and brain, however, presently it is likewise being viewed as a sure thing business. Joseph Rajesh, the pioneer behind Black Pekoe and Tea Boy chai outlets, hailing from Mochakottam Palayam, a little town in the Karur region of Tamil Nadu, has joined the class of a few taught young people who have sent off fruitful tea chains in the country.

Tea has always enjoyed the reputation of reinvigorating your body and mind, but now it is also being seen as a safe bet business. Joseph Rajesh, the founder of Black Pekoe and Tea Boy chai outlets, hailing from Mochakottam Palayam, a small village in Karur district of Tamil Nadu, has joined the league of several educated youngsters who have launched successful tea chains in the country.

Starting with a 100 sq ft tea shop in 2017 that was started with Rs 50,000 at a mall in Velachery, Chennai, he has built a chain of 78 outlets across Tamil Nadu under his company Bigbillion Food & Beverages Private Limited. We have opened more than 60 outlets this year, says Joseph. Some have left their jobs, but others continue to work and manage the business as well.”

He charges Rs 6-7 lakh for a Black Pekoe franchise. His company would design the interiors, supply raw materials, and also train the franchisee and their employees in running the outlets. “Tea Boy outlets are small, usually about 100-200 sq ft, where we serve just two to three varieties of tea,” says Joseph. Apart from tea, they also sell some snacks and food items such as egg puffs, paneer puffs, chicken puffs, and banana cakes in their outlets. “It was tough to run the house with my father’s small income,” he says.

Later I joined a government school because my family was unable to pay the monthly fee of Rs 300 at the convent.” Even while studying in school, he used to do small jobs to earn some money. “I took up these jobs so that I could take care of my own expenses and not put any financial burden on my parents,” says Joseph, who graduated in Commerce from Bishop Heber College, Trichy, in 2006. For the next three years, he joined some Multilevel Marketing (MLM) companies and began to sell cosmetic products and tour packages.

I tried for jobs in foreign countries, but never got one,” says Joseph, recalling his early days of struggle after his graduation. “Although I was drawing a monthly salary of Rs 42,000 I was not happy with my job. I decided to start a business of my own and quit my job in 2016,” he says. He came to Chennai the same year and started his first tea shop, a Black Pekoe outlet at Grand Mall, in a 100 sq ft space beneath an escalator.

“I started the tea business because I am a tea lover,” says Joseph, who started his first outlet with just one employee. Encouraged by the turnover, Joseph invested Rs 20 lakh for the second outlet, a bigger one at 900 sq ft that he opened in Alandur. “I took a bank loan to set up the outlet, but parking issues posed problems to customers, and we had to shut the shop in just four months,” he says.

He opened his third outlet at Ramanujan IT City – Neville Tower in OMR with an investment of Rs 3 lakh and also started offering franchises. “Our franchisees are earning between Rs 40,000 to Rs 1 lakh a month depending upon the size of the outlets and the brand,” says Joseph, who encourages women entrepreneurs and offers franchises to housewives at discounted prices.

They are making sales of about Rs 5 lakh a month. He is planning to expand his tea business and set up 500 outlets. “I am aiming to sell 1 crore cups of tea every day with 500 outlets,” says Joseph, who is married and has two children, a 10-year-old daughter, and a 5-year-old son.

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