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Tuk Tuk Chai will open a pop-up shop at the Metrocentre in Gateshead, Newcastle this week, June 30 as part of Virgin StartUp’s Foodpreneur 2017
A Wimbledon business that has created authentic Indian chai has taken a top spot in a national competition.
Tuk Tuk Chai will open a pop-up shop at the Metrocentre in Gateshead, Newcastle this week, June 30, as part of the semi-final stage of contest.
Rupesh and Alexandra Thomas, who have been running Tuk Tuk Chai for less than three months, beat almost 200 other entrepreneurs to be named semi-finalists of intu and Virgin StartUp’s Foodpreneur 2017.
Chai is an infusion of black tea, whole spices, milk and sugar. The pair currently have three different flavours, ginger, masala and cardamom.
They will be competing against seven other semi-finalists to win six weeks of free retail space with intu.
Rupesh said: “Tuk Tuk Chai is the first and only ready to drink real Indian chai in the UK. It’s amazing tasting and even kids love it because they think it’s like a milkshake, so we’ve got a wide range of customers loving our product.
“We wanted to create a product that people love, that there is a demand for but that does not exist already. Foodpreneur is probably the best place for us to get exposure with intu and Virgin collaborating together and it is going to create a great platform to take our product to the next level in the UK.”
Four finalists will be selected to pitch to top judges including Dragons’ Den star Levi Roots, award-winning entrepreneur and founder of Ella’s Kitchen Paul Lindley and Instagram star and food author Alice Liveing.
