Tea Trails raises USD 1 million to fund expansion

Tea cafe chain Tea Trails has raised USD 1 million from a group of high net worth individuals (HNIs) to fund its growth and increase outlets count to over 250 in the country over the next three years.
"We plan to use the funds for growth and expansion with an aim to increase our network with over 250 outlets by 2018," the company today said in a statement here.
The group of HNIs was led by Anil Matai, former CEO of pharmaceuticals business of Novartis India, Vikram Tandon, regional head (middle east) of Back Office Associates and Shyam Sundar, partner at CPM consulting.

Major part of this network expansion will be through franchisee outlets, it said.
"The large part of the expansion strategy is based on franchise network development. This business model is asset light with high return on investment," company's co-founder Uday Mathur said.
It is looking at smaller kiosk formats to be opened in food courts, he added.
The company operates eight tea outlets in Mumbai.
During the year, Tea Trails plans to open 45 outlets in different markets like Maharashtra, Pune, Bangalore, NCR, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Ahmedabad.