Tea Post Founder: From Small Beginnings to a 700-Crore Business with 225+ Stores Despite COVID

We used to drink tea near the K.K.V. Hall every day. There was a tea stall nearby a shop, which was part of a complex. So, one day, I jokingly said to the tea stall owner, “Buy this complex…” At that moment, the tea stall owner’s response left me in shock. The tea stall owner said, “I also want to buy it, but the owner is asking for 5 crores, and I have 4.5 crores… If you can make a deal, I’ll give it to you immediately. Settle it among yourselves.”

“These words are Darshanbhai Dasani’s… Recognize them?”

These words belong to Darshanbhai Dasani… Recognize them? Oh, Darshanbhai is your favorite tea maker, the owner of your favorite place, the founder of ‘Tea Post’ that serves delicious and special tea. Darshanbhai started Tea Post after managing various businesses, shops, retail, and farming. He did not just make tea; when he opened a café, people wondered why he’s putting so much effort into selling this tea. But he showed them that even a business like tea could be a big deal. I found out back then that in our country, there are more than 225 Tea Post cafes. How did he attract people?

“Who is this guy?”

Let’s start with questions from now on. We first enjoyed the delicious tea at our table… Before knowing about Darshanbhai’s journey from ‘Darshanbhai’ to ‘Founder of D Tea Post.’ Darshanbhai’s story begins with, “We’re originally from Amreli. My family was well-settled there. My grandfather was a principal, and my father was a superintendent… Everyone in our family had good jobs. I completed my 10th grade in 1987, and I moved to Rajkot. From there, I completed my graduation. My first job was as a marketing representative. This was my first job, and my last. I thought at first that this job is really good. You wear a suit, go to people in a pleasant way, and make the doctor understand, showing everything. I thought this was my dream job. However, after working for 10 months, I realized that ‘This is not my cup of tea.’ I couldn’t work for a job for the sake of medicines. Sometimes, a patient would smile and not give money. Money comes out with medicines, and there is no other option. So, I couldn’t do it. I could see the happiness of the people in the money. I left the job. After that, I didn’t even apply for a job, and I never even tried for a government job.”

“I Had to Rely on Others, and I Didn’t Like That.”

Darshanbhai says, “I understood very early that I am not just a job person; I wanted to run a flourishing business.” “Start a business? How many businesses did you start?” “Oh, I started many businesses. In 1994, after I left my job, I started my first business with calcium carbonate. I closed it within 6-8 months. After that, I started a plastic business. I also imported from abroad, and whatever goods came to me, no one else had them. So, this business worked well. Money was coming, but I didn’t feel thrilled at all. Because I had to rely on others, the goods came from outside, and I also had to sell to others. It was a B2B business. So, I was always dependent on others, and I didn’t like that. Again, I left this business.”

“Starting a Business and Closing It at the Right Moment”

Darshan Bhai began his journey with automobiles. He says, “After entering the electronics business, I had the distribution of an entire region in Saurashtra in my hands. There were significant turnarounds in this venture as well. I felt that I should either do the latest work for others or not do it at all. I chose the latter. Subsequently, I had Vadilal’s store. It was a business where I started it and closed it at the right moment.”

We laugh, “What do you mean?” “What I mean is that we opened this shop on 31st December… but business starts during the Navratri. It continued for a full year and closed during Dussehra. That’s considered the best time…”

“Why? How did it happen?”

“The best time for any food business is on the day of Dussehra. On Dussehra, my shop also did very well. I calculated that the most profitable day of the year was on this day. Considering that, I decided to close the shop during Dussehra.”

“Leaving a Business in West Bengal”

Darshan Bhai was clear that one should not engage in a business that works under someone else’s franchise. He said, “Later, we got together with some friends and bought a tea garden in West Bengal. We wondered how to manage tea farming, how to run the garden. But the business was mine. The tea garden business did not work as we expected.”

On the other hand, people in West Bengal work at a slower pace. They work slowly, and if we have to get something done today, they also want it today. After some time, it dawned on us that we couldn’t handle the tea farming ourselves. So, I left this business, sold the garden, and returned to Rajkot.”

“Creating a Brand Tomorrow, Not Today”

Darshan Bhai left the tea business in Hirapar and opened a tea packaging unit in Rajkot. They started packaging tea. Now, this factory needed to become a brand. Darshan Bhai advised young entrepreneurs beating themselves up about creating a brand, “Creating a brand is like raising a child. Just as a child takes years to grow up, it takes months to years to build a brand, and if it has any problems, it might need repairs too.”

“He Says It’s 5 Crores, I Say 4.5 Crores…, If He Offers It, Grab It Immediately”

There are some stories from which the T-post was born. Darshan Bhai narrates, “We used to go every day to drink tea at a small tea stall near the Kakekavi Hall in Rajkot. We set up a stall outside and offered lari. At that time, a complex was up for sale. We just casually said, ‘Let’s buy this complex…’ And then, what they replied left us astonished. The lari-wala brother said, ‘I also wish to buy it, but the owner is asking for 5 crores, and I can only offer 4.5 crores…’ (The real price could have been 30-40 crores!) When you negotiate a deal, and if you get it for the price he offers, then grab it immediately. He might change his mind. At that time, these words took me by surprise. What the lari-wala brother meant was that if I could give him 4.5 crores and take it now. It made me wonder how big this business could be. I said it in jest at the time, but these words stuck with me. If a lari-wala says that if I give him 4.5 crores, and if I take it, how big can this business be? I then realized that I should clarify it right away, as it could be such a significant business.

“Results from the Top 200 Teahouses of Rajkot”

Darshanbhai’s journey in the world of tea was quite unique. Rather than focusing on traditional tea preparation, he opted to engage in organized business. He emphasized creating a structure that allowed him to serve tea to over 200 teahouses across Rajkot, ensuring consistency and quality. When asked about the number of cups of tea sold daily, customers served, and monthly profits, Darshanbhai proudly expressed, “Every tea that goes out meets my exacting standards… I made sure that I do this business and do it best.”

‘Why? What happened?’

In response, Darshanbhai explained, “The profit margins for even the smallest tea vendors were not exceeding 50,000 below 200 teahouses. The monthly income for each of them ranged from 50,000 to 2-3 lakhs. Then, I created a unique test for all teahouses, and that marked the beginning of the tea business.”

“My First Shop Was Prepared in Six Months for 25 Lakhs, Which, in Reality, Cost 5 Lakhs.”

Starting any business involves its challenges, but Darshanbhai had it perfected. He decided to open a shop, which was a huge business move. Darshanbhai says, “I have decided to open a store. I was certain that I wanted to do big business, but I was not particularly interested in making tea; I was focused on running my business. I rented a store on Kalavad Road for 22,000 rupees and started a furniture business. I had a vision in my mind about what kind of shop it should be, and I was especially fond of the ‘Iranian café.’ Since I liked it, I thought that my shop should be like this. A craftsman came, did all the furniture; I did not like it; I broke it. I did this, and it took me six months to prepare the shop, which eventually cost me 25 lakhs. How the store should be is the kind I wanted to make.”It took six days to decide the decor for the tea shop; that’s how particular he was about it.

Darshanbhai discussed his efforts to make tea posts unique. “At that time, there was no organized business for tea. There were only cafes in hot beverages, and only cafes for coffee. Nobody sold tea except for tea shops. I was the only player in the market. When I looked at the other players, I noticed that not everyone had a place to sit, not every place was clean, cups were not well-maintained, there was no proper water arrangement… I started it. I made improvements in all these things. I served the poor, the middle class, and the rich. So I needed to provide all kinds of food and the market price. It was the demand of the public. I did not have a habit of playing slow music at the café at that time, and I did it. It was not everywhere; I did that too. This is how “T-Post” became a public attraction from the beginning.”

“Poor, Middle-Class, and Rich, All Three Classes Came This Way.”

Darshanbhai put in a lot of effort to make the tea posts unique. He explained, “At that time, there was no organized business for tea. There were only cafes in hot beverages, and only cafes for coffee. Nobody sold tea except for tea shops. I was the only player in the market. When I looked at the other players, I noticed that not everyone had a place to sit, not every place was clean, cups were not well-maintained, there was no proper water arrangement… I started it. I made improvements in all these things. I served the poor, the middle class, and the rich. So I needed to provide all kinds of food and the market price. It was the demand of the public. I did not have a habit of playing slow music at the café at that time, and I did it. It was not everywhere; I did that too. This is how “T-Post” became a public attraction from the beginning.

How Was ‘Tea Post’ Named?

In this story, we begin with the first question, “Who are the founders of Tea Post, and how did they come up with this name?” Darshanbhai, in the naming story of Tea Post, says, “The name Tea Post came from me. In Tea Post, we used to write ‘Mukam Post’ when we sent letters earlier. Rajkot Post, Ahmedabad Post, Surat Post… meaning the final destination. Similarly, Tea Post means it’s a destination for tea, a place for tea.”

The Two Turning Points for Tea-Post

With hard work, there’s always a bit of luck needed, and Darshanbhai experienced that too. He talks about how in 2013 when the internet was scarce, he provided free Wi-Fi in his café. Due to the free Wi-Fi, 200-300 people used to come to his cafe. Within just 3 years, he had expanded to 50 stores.

How Tea Post Became a Sensation in Gujarat

Furthermore, during that time, when Modi Ji started ‘Chai pe Charcha’ (discussions over tea), and for telecasting that, they started from Tea Post. Darshanbhai even installed televisions, which boosted his store’s popularity.

How to Create a Chai (Tea) in Tea-Post

Elvish Yadav’s line, “You need to set up a system,” may have become popular now, but Darshanbhai understood this concept a decade ago. He says, “In retail business, setting up a system is crucial. I can’t personally oversee everything. If everything depends on me, it can be a long time. So, I’ve set up a system where it functions on its own, and you don’t need to think. You don’t need to use your brain when making tea. What’s written in the recipe is what you get. So, making tea in Tea Post is consistent in quality.”

At this point, the question arises, “What’s the network of Tea-Post?”

Darshanbhai responds, “If we talk about last year, there were around 90 crores in sales, and this year it will reach 125 crores.”

Why You Get Fast Food at Tea-Post But Not Pizza?

If you’ve been to Tea Post, you might wonder why they have fast food but not pizza. Darshanbhai explains his logic, “In the beginning, when I started selling Fafda (a popular snack in Gujarat), people thought, ‘What is he doing? Why would someone sell Fafda at a café?’ But I continued because I had made the place a sitting place for everyone. People can do anything with a sitting place. Pizza can’t be served because you can’t have pizza with tea. I’ve kept everything that goes well with tea. Everything can be served along with tea in Tea Post.” “Here, there’s no place for anything!”

Here, There’s No Place for Anything!

Darshanbhai says, “A few days before the store opened in Dubai, the food menu and taste had to be changed a bit. People thought, ‘What are you doing? What can you do here? Who will buy Fafda in Dubai?’ But, I continued it because I had turned the place into a local… A place for locals. It may seem true when locals say, ‘There’s no place for anything in this town!’ But you’d notice that even in such a place, some people have been doing business for more than 50 years. The reason? Because the people who come here are considered locals.”