Business Remedies | Charu Bhatia | Senior News Editor | May 11,2025 |  Deepak Matolia, the owner and founder of the brand, Tea Tradition, in an interview shares his journey and vision behind this establishment. With four of its outlets in Jaipur, Tea Tradition is resonating with the aim of expanding its café business in Rajasthan. As a working professional, carrying a business dream, Deepak Matolia’s journey tells that when an idea grows in an experienced mind, the result is a successful brand. Here are some interesting excerpts from the interview.

Interview Series | Entrepreneurs with Charu Bhatia | In conversation with Deepak Matolia, Owner and Founder of the brand, Tea Tradition

Question: Tea Tradition is one of the popular brand names in the segment of cafes. Tell us something about your idea of this brand.

Answer: Since childhood, I always wanted to build something of my own and create a brand with a national presence. Tea was the only thing I knew how to make well, and being India’s national drink, I thought—why not create a space where people can enjoy tea in the right way? Back then, the only option outside home was a roadside thadi. There wasn’t a specific moment when the idea struck, but around 2014, brands like Chai Point and Tapri were emerging. That’s when the thought took root in me. At that time, the concept of homemade chai wasn’t very popular. Over the years, the idea grew stronger and eventually took shape as Tea Tradition.

Question: What business ideas did you have before this?

Answer: My father had his office on the ground floor of our home. Except for when he went to the factory, bank, or outside work, he was mostly at home and often got involved in household matters—sometimes leading to small friction between my parents. Watching that, I started imagining a different version of myself—someone who steps out, attends meetings, stays busy through the day. My father was the first in our family to start a business, and I believe that planted the seed in me early on. I was always drawn to food-related ideas, and over time, that interest shaped itself into the concept of a café.

Question: What education did you receive all along, from school to college?

Answer: Like everyone else, I studied all subjects till Class 10 and was a fairly good student, scoring over 80%. My father wanted me to pursue science and become an engineer or doctor, but I felt more inclined towards commerce, so I chose that stream. I scored over 90% in my higher secondary exams, especially enjoying subjects like accounts. I then completed my graduation from Banaras Hindu University with a decent 70%+. My father wanted me to go for CA, so I enrolled and even did my articleship for about a year. Eventually, I pursued an MBA and completed it from the School of Management Studies.

Question: Elaborate on your working experience as a businessman.

Answer: My first real exposure to business came during my MBA, when my father met with an accident during a business tour and was bedridden for a year. I stepped in to manage his business, which was into net manufacturing. But over time, I realised that the work was too labour-intensive and not something I saw myself doing long-term. After completing my studies, I moved into the corporate world. I joined Philips and handled the entire Eastern U.P. region, later getting transferred to Rajasthan. I also worked with Tata Sky, where I was part of launching their services in the Lucknow division. Eventually, I joined Reliance Retail as Category Head for Telecom, based out of their corporate office in Navi Mumbai.

After nearly nine years in the corporate world, I entered into a partnership for distribution—starting with LG Mobile for East India and later Consumer Electronics across 13 districts in Rajasthan. Even with all this, the dream of building something of my own never left me. That’s when Tea Tradition began in Jaipur, initially alongside the distribution business. Over time, I shifted my full focus to Tea Tradition, and by 2018, it became my core venture. We had 13 operational cafes at one point—including locations in Neemrana, Kota, and Noida—but post-COVID, only one café in Jaipur, at Manipal University, survived. Now, Tea Tradition is back in a new avatar, and we’ve recently opened our fourth outlet at RIC in Jaipur.

Question: Do you think in the coming times; you will open more outlets in other cities?

Answer: Yes, definitely. We’re already planning for expansion, but our focus right now is on building strong systems and infrastructure to support future growth. The RIC branch is our latest, and I’m currently deeply involved in its operations. Once we are fully equipped in terms of backend and operational readiness, we’ll be ready to scale to other locations. Alongside this, I’m also working on a project of both national and international importance. If that succeeds, it will bring even greater visibility to Tea Tradition and open new doors for the brand on a much larger platform.

Question: What was the last year’s annual turnover of the brand and what are your expectations for this year?

Answer: It was 1.5 crores last year and this year, I expect it to rise to 2.5 crores due to our marketing techniques and prospects of ideas like Tea Tradition Outdoors.

Question: What were the marketing and brand- building techniques you used?

Answer: Whenever we open any branch, we consider factors like the area around (we prefer it to be full of greenery), and the vibe of the place should be embracing and cozy. The interiors are all designed to be subtle; I don’t prefer to overdo anything. Merging tradition with the national drink is really crucial for us. For that, one of our goals has been to give back to the society and nature. Therefore, concepts like Suspended Teas (where customers are encouraged to pay extra Rs. 5 so that we are able to provide tea for really poor, living on streets), and planted Kulhads (which is we gift our customers a plant sapling in a used kulhad) are introduced and have been successfully running. This is how we keep our tradition alive. We also run Tea Tradition Outdoors, which is a small outlet or a kiosk, set up in parties, marriage events etc., which not only provides the attendees of the event an amazing cup of Tea and other snacks but also assist in building the brand further, in terms of its reach to wider number of people. 

Interviewed & Edited By:

Charu Bhatia