We were lucky to catch up with Monica Sunny recently and have shared our conversation below.

Monica, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Parents play a huge role in our development as youngsters and sometimes that impact follows us into adulthood and into our lives and careers. Looking back, what’s something you think you parents did right?

After moving to Georgia from India at a young age, I didn’t see many women of color in leadership or entrepreneurial roles. Even In the South Asian community, most businesses were run by men, including my own Dad. But being a female didn’t stop my Dad from encouraging me to pursue my goals. In particular, my dad has always encouraged me to take risks. There’s a version of a quote he always said, “The thing about trains, it doesn’t matter where it’s going, it’s about getting on that matters”. And that has always been my philosophy with The Chai Box. Take the risk and keep moving forward.

Furthermore, while everyone’s experience is different, growing up in Punjab, women were treated differently, but my dad made it a point to treat my brother and me the same which has shaped who I am as a person and business owner. So I’ve been fortunate that my dad and mom have been huge supporters of The Chai Box. I still call my dad daily to consult on business advice and he always knows the right thing to say.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I grew up in an Indian household where Chai represented family time. Inspired by fond memories of having chai with my parents I wanted to start a tradition of my own with my three boys. Every Friday after school I would have Chai time with my boys and teach them how to make Chai using a traditional spice box (“The Chai Box”). The box had a little notecard so they could easily follow along and make their cup.

When my parents of my sons’ friends would come over they wanted to learn too, so I started gifting it to everyone I knew and sure enough, a Chai business was born. We started with our signature box for creating a custom cup of Chai with whole fresh spices that the customer could crush and grind themselves, then transitioned to loose-leaf blends and finally launched a Chai concentrate (which I co-developed with my son Ethan who was 16 at the time) where someone can simply add milk and enjoy. We felt like the Chai concentrate on the market didn’t remind us of what we made at home, so we set out on a mission to make our own. Little did we know that it would take one year and 174 batches. One sleepless night at 2 AM, the spice notes hit just right and my son Ethan said to me, “Mom, this tastes like home”. We have a Chai for every type of person and every mood.

When I launched the business, people didn’t know what Chai meant. Chai means tea in Hindi, it’s not a flavor it’s a drink rooted in wellness and culture. Chai with or without spices is still Chai! And I think a lot of people didn’t understand what it truly was or how to make it as the market at the time was saturated with sugar “chai” drinks with low-quality spices (or spice dust), taking away from the many wellness benefits that Chai can provide.

That’s why when I launched the business, I knew I wanted to focus on sourcing quality spices. We source single-origin spices from sustainable small-scale farms in Kerala, India (the spice capital of the world), and also have a focus on sustainability. For example, we compost the Chai mulch from our Chai Concentrate production. In the last 7 months, we have composted 13,000 pounds of compost which is equivalent to growing 7,000 tomatoes!

I’m very proud that we have stuck to our non-negotiables and have continued to pay a premium for spices that not only make our Chai taste better but also support the larger network of farmers that make our product possible!

The Chai Box blends premium Chai that honors our culture and heritage.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Two words: Chai Education.

During the pandemic, we were all in the same boat, stuck at home with nowhere to go. I make Chai every morning and I decided that I would start sharing my morning ritual with my social media followers. Nothing staged, just me in my PJs making my normal cup of Chai, and taking a few minutes to be myself to relax and enjoy it. During this series, which I now call “Chai Meditation”, I would showcase different ways to make Chai, the benefits of spices (e.g., how Cinnamon can help with headaches), and talk about the importance of taking a moment for yourself. This caught the attention of people and helped us build a loyal following. I think the best messages were those of medical staff who shared how watching these stories helped them relax and bring a moment of peace in such a difficult time. I continue to do it today. And it’s something I do for myself and happen to share on Social media! So my advice would be to just be your true self, I think why we have a loyal following is The Chai Box is just an extension of my home and family and people recognize that authenticity.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

One of the biggest risks I took marketing-wise was showcasing at a tradeshow in January of 2021 (the Atlanta Mart). I knew that while at the time The Chai Box was not in a financial position to pay for the trade show, but I had to think that if I COULD afford it then what would I do and accordingly take the risk?

I knew that if I could get eyes on the product, have people hear my story, understand our mission and taste it that I could grow our customer base. I had already proved this through my countless hours spent at the storefronts of Pottery Barn and Williams and Sonoma testing my product and just needed to apply the same philosophy to a trade show.

We spent $10K at the time (which was a lot for us), but needed to make an impact. There were cheaper options for the trade show booths, but I knew we needed to splurge on the Corner Booth at the Entrance of the Gourmet Luxe entrance. And you know what it paid off, because Oprah’s (yes OPRAH) team saw our booth right when they walked in and later that year we were picked as one of Oprah’s Favorite Things!

It was a risk I took, but well worth it in the end!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thechaibox.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechaibox/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thechaibox/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/80686799/admin/feed/posts/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC84Lo1Bcf9_DqrhcZbJYwNQ

Image Credits
The Chai Box