Get All Access for $5/mo

This Startup is Driving Gupshup around Brands Over a Cup of Tea CupShup is peppering our local tapri moments with a dash of marketing

By Aastha Singal

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

CupShup

India runs on chai! Hundreds of corporate geeks socialize and crack business deals over a cup of tea or coffee. An average person spends at least 5-10 minutes sipping the brewing cup of goodness. During the time, one is bound to notice the cup – its shape, size and even the design. During one of their own local tapri moments, Sidharth Singh and Sanil Jain stumbled upon the idea of branding through teacups.

Singh had submitted the concept as a part of his college project whereas Jain, who after realizing the potential exposure that cups offer, dived directly into transitioning the idea into reality. The duo launched their advertising company CupShup in November 2014 to offer end-to-end services around paper cups to its clients.

Cashing in India's love for Chai

"We devised a business model where our partners – corporates, college canteens, tea stalls, airlines, clubs and hospitals – will get these cups for free, and we will be charging brands for their promotion and marketing campaigns," Jain recalled. The startup is based on the idea that there can't be a more effective medium of communication than tea breaks in India.

When a company approaches CupShup for branding, the startup takes over the entire task, from ideation to providing creatives, including printing as part of the campaign. It basically takes the campaign order of minimum one lakh cup units and charges roughly around INR 1.5 per piece.

GupShup Over the Cup

The overall cost for the startup to produce one cup is nearly INR 1.2 per cup while making a profit of INR 30 paisa per cup as client servicing cost. The founder claims the brand has a strong distribution network of more than 1,500 corporates, 500 colleges, 5,000 retail tea vendors and partnerships with country's 4 airline companies.

Source: CupShup

CupShup has served over 150 clients which includes names of some of the biggest brands like Google, Amazon, Unilever, Uber, Ola, Kotak, ICICI Bank, Coke along with startups such as FoodPanda, BYJU's, Swiggy, EarlySalary, Clovia, PaySense, among others. Currently, present in over 30 cities in India, the startup claims to have over 8,000 points of service airlines, clubs and hospitals.

The Brand Recall

CupShup promotes brands through word-of-mouth marketing. The founder maintains that the recall value of those consuming tea in their cups determine how well the campaign has been designed. He adds that the content on the cup also plays a big role in asserting the brand's recall value, which can be as high as 95 per cent.

For any brand-specific requirements, the startup adds QR code, coupon code, and missed call numbers on their cups to help brands track the campaign's output. CupShup is also careful about its target audience. Jain said, "The target audience for products such as Flipkart and Amazon will be very different from that of a movie."

Source: CupShup

The Digital Transformation

The advertising startup, which primarily runs its operation through the word-of-mouth, which is offline marketing, is already in the process of digitizing their offering. The startup has recently launched its in-house digital marketing brand, called It's Official, to promote experiential marketing activities of its clients.

It also provides activation services to brands that include taking corporate permissions to ideation, engagement, execution, output, etc. They are already involved in over 5000 activations. Cupshup has successfully completed the last financial year with an INR 4.7 Crore in revenue. Bootstrapped and surprisingly profitable so far, the founders would be looking at raising funds by the year-end.

Aastha Singal

Entrepreneur Staff

Former Features Writer

A business journalist looking to find happiness in the world of startups, investments, MSMEs and more. Officially started her career as a news reporter for News World India, Aastha had short stints with NDTV and NewsX. A true optimist seeking to make a difference, she is a comic junkie who'd rather watch a typical Bollywood masala than a Hollywood blockbuster. 

News and Trends

"45% of All Ongoing Hydropower Projects in India are Ours": Patel Engineering

Patel Engineering reported a turnover of INR 4,400 crore in the last fiscal year, with a projected 10 per cent growth for the current year.

Side Hustle

'Hustling Every Day': These Friends Started a Side Hustle With $2,500 Each — It 'Snowballed' to Over $500,000 and Became a Multimillion-Dollar Brand

Paris Emily Nicholson and Saskia Teje Jenkins had a 2020 brainstorm session that led to a lucrative business.

Living

70% of Small Business Owners Experience Monthly Burnout. Follow These 3 Rules to Avoid the Same Fate.

Here are three guidelines to help entrepreneurs achieve balance, growth and success in both their professional and personal endeavors.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Franchise

Kick-Start Your Small Business With These Cost Effective Strategies

Starting a small business is an exciting adventure, brimming with both opportunities and challenges. A key to success is effectively managing costs from the outset.

Science & Technology

5 Rule-Bending AI Hacks to Make Your Mornings More Productive and Profitable

By 2025, AI will transform productivity by streamlining workflows and cutting costs. Major companies like Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI are leading the way, advancing AI into "Phase 3," where tools act as digital assistants. Discover 5 AI hacks to boost efficiency and redefine your daily routine.