The Story Behind the Story - Got Tea

The COVID-19 pandemic has been difficult for many small businesses, including us. The deadlier second wave, especially, hit India and Got Tea out of the blue, but the team has been trying to persevere through the challenges, continue serving their authentic bubble tea, and stay innovative. Influencers During this lockdown, the team has been thinking of ways to expand their market and to spread their products to more people across the city and country. The first thing the team did was to tie up with A-List, a company that connects them to micro-influencers. The Got Tea team then sends the micro-influencers their products and asks them to share their experience.  After starting this campaign, the team has seen a marked improvement in their sales. Considering bubble tea is still new to the Indian market, it is considered as more of a ‘trend,’ and their success with influencers shows that it is a trend that has much potential in the country. Got Tea cafe Got at Home Another innovation ...

By March 2021, things were beginning to look up for Got Tea – the team had carved a space for themselves in the Delhi market, and were beginning to gain a lot of recognition. Things were looking good! Got Tea had its most successful weekend, to date, on 10-11 April. They had brought back their fried chicken for that weekend and many excited customers dropped by (including me!). They had finally started to gain momentum, and they were excited for the future.  Until the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hit India, and it hit Delhi hard. The steep rise in cases daily meant that the government had to take quick action, which included weekend curfews and then ultimately a city-wide lockdown. And with the sudden announcements, the Got Tea team did not have much time to figure out their next steps.  Armaan, Jo and YuSung at the store, before the lockdown They had a difficult time getting passes from the Delhi government to remain open and operational during the curfew, and the sto...

Today, I want to talk about snacks. Now those of you that have known Got Tea since their first day will remember that when they launched, they had a Korean fried chicken special, along with the original four drinks, as part of their menu. When they decided to launch, the team thought that they should serve a small snack with bubble tea. And who doesn’t like some fried chicken? So SuAh sent the team in Delhi some Korean fried chicken recipe, but it didn’t work out great. So the Delhi team experimented and found a recipe and made some fabulous chicken. And on opening day, they decided to give all their customers a free serving of chicken.  I remember my first visit to Got Tea was with another friend, and we drank way too many bubble teas and ate way too much fried chicken – it was all so delicious! And then about a month later I went back, hoping to get some more chicken and bubble tea, and Armaan broke the news that they had discontinued the chicken – I was shattered.  Well, di...

What is the priority for the Got Tea team in their business? Money, fame, success? Not at all! Their one and only priority is serving the most authentic bubble tea experience. For the Got Tea team, they aren’t only selling a product, they’re selling a whole unique experience. And they are there to help you and guide you through it. Hence, their whole store has been designed with this in mind.  If you’ve been to their store, you’ll note that they don’t have any menus anywhere – no menu board, no paper menus, nothing. They have their products on display at the counter, and that’s it. This is intentional – they want you to be able to see what the product looks like, and they want to help guide you to the flavour that will be best for you.  When a customer enters the airy café, they see the menu items on display, and they are greeted by a Got Tea team member, who guides them through the different flavours of the drinks that are available? Want something milky, a strong tea, a uniq...