Kolkata-based Tea Junction eyes to have a pan-India presence

Kolkata-based Tea Junction is planning to have a pan-India presence. Currently, the company has 50 outlets across Kolkata and Siliguri.

Tea Junction was started as a single tea-and-snacks outlet in June 2004.

Parthiv Neotia, Co-Founder of Tea Junction, said, “Tea Junction is a convenience-format outlet and not a destination. It was important for us to be in a smaller format, which could fit in various locations and grow aggressively in number. Location is the key asset for us in this business, as we want to be the go-to place for comfort snacks with tea.”

The concept of Tea Junction originated from the concept of the Bengali ‘adda’, where intellectuals and common folk would gather at local teashops to discuss politics and the state of the economy over a cup of tea.

“Tea Junction hopes to imbibe the culture of ‘adda’, where our cup of tea becomes a reason to engage anyone in a conversation,” Parthiv stated.

Tea Junction sources all its tea from Assam. Its stores are available in multiple formats, including kiosk, lounge, shop-in-shop, and cafe.

The company has worked on strengthening its footprint in Eastern India and will expand across other geographies this year. Before expanding to other regions, Tea Junction wants to add 50 more stores in the North East.

The company is eyeing to have 100 outlets or more, in five or more states of India by 2020.

Parthiv added, “We plan to be better priced, simpler in our offering, emphasise on freshness, and customise for the local palate. Lately, we have been exploring options like bubble tea to attract a different segment of customers and also increase our value proposition through our current 50 distribution centres.”