Tea has traditionally been marketed with images of classic sets of teapots and cups or cozy vignettes involving couches and knit cardigans. However, the drink, and the way we think about it, has been changing in recent years, as a new generation of brands connect with a younger and wider fanbase around the world. According to data collected by market research firm The Brainy Insights, the global tea market was valued at $52 billion in 2022, and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.2 per cent to $104.2 billion between 2023 and 2032.One of the brands that is helping to redefine the way we think about tea is the aptly named US start-up Chaiboy. From best friends to brand ownersGrowing up together in Houston, Texas, childhood friends Abhilaksh Sundaram and Samir Kavadi had always envisioned building a brand together, but they didn’t know what type of business they wanted to create until the pandemic hit in 2020. At the time, they were on an entirely different career track: Kavadi was working as a financial planning analyst and Sundaram was working as a financial advisor. But with the shift to remote working, they had extra time on their hands and began to question whether they were truly satisfied with the work they were doing.As Sundaram recalled to Inside Retail, “I’m sure for many aspiring entrepreneurs, Covid was a time of reflection, especially being in our early 20s when you think, ‘Am I really doing what I love?’ There’s so many questions that come up.”It wasn’t until the two friends were in a grocery store one day, scanning up and down the tea aisle, that they had a realisation.“It was always the same packaging, the same blends, the same experience. Tea for us was such a beautiful beverage, but we couldn’t get why people weren’t as excited about tea as they were about [other luxury goods] like fashion, perfume, and alcohol,” Sundaram said. “That’s when the light bulb moment hit and we knew we wanted to go on this adventure together within the tea industry.”Having studied at the EHL Hospitality Business School in Switzerland, Sundaram already had an interest in the luxury goods sector and the hospitality industry and had dreamed of developing a product that combined these two areas. Together with Kavadi, he decided to focus his efforts on elevating the experience of drinking tea, or chai, as it is called in many parts of the world, and also give the drink a modern twist. This is also what inspired the name of the beverage and lifestyle brand, which derives from the Hindu term chaiwala, also known as chai boy, referring to a male tea-seller. The founders wanted a name that paid homage to their Indian-American background and also had a playful ring to it. As the idea for Chaiboy fermented, the co-founders studied tea production and created the brand’s four foundational tea blends.With funds completely bootstrapped from their time working in the finance industry, they officially launched the Chaiboy in 2021. Since then, Sundaram and Kavadi have expanded their core offering to seven tea varieties, created four tea blends to be used for cocktails and similar specialty drinks, and several apparel items, including clothing dyed by the brand’s own brews.Currently, the founders are focused on selling direct-to-consumer online and catering to bars and restaurants specialising in tea-infused beverages. They have a long-term goal of shining a new light on a classic drink.As Kavadi explained, “The goal is to hopefully one day get our own bricks-and-mortar space to curate the environment for our ideal customer to see and enjoy our brand. But at the moment, it’s about maintaining the relationships that we currently have – the ones that make sure we are represented in the proper way and that shine a light on the story of why we started this in the first place.”