The internet sensation from 2016, Pakistani tea seller Arshad Khan, whose photo went viral and became a celebrity overnight, bagged investment from the TV program, Shark Tank Pakistan, to expand his ‘chai empire’.
Arshad Khan, who was clicked by a photographer in 2016, while making tea at his roadside stall in Islamabad had his fortunes changed after the picture went viral owing to the remarkable gaze with his blue eyes.
The fame from the photograph landed him a career in modelling and ventured out to become an entrepreneur in subsequent years.
Today, he runs a tea shop chain in Pakistan and contested in the first season of the Shark Tank Pakistan show, aiming to raise investments to scale his business up.
Pitching for their tea vending franchise Chaiwala & Co., Arshad and his partner Kazim Hasan impressed the judges on the show by sharing his vision of making his establishment an icon of Pakistani street culture, in and out of the country.
Arshad currently runs a chain of upscale tea shops, with three outlets in Pakistan and a shop in London, UK, under the name “Cafe Chai Wala.”
The judges were impressed by his pitch to transform “Cafe Chai Wala” into Chaiwala & Co., which sought an investment of Pakistani Rupee 1 crore from the investors and promised 5 per cent equity as returns for the investment.
Aimed at selling tea along with the experience of Pakistani street life and aesthetics, the London outlet of Cafe Chai Wala flourished in no time, while offering the ‘chai dabha’ vibe to the Pakistani and other South Asian diasporas.
“I am grateful for every opportunity that has come my way. My goal has always been to represent Pakistan and its culture through something as simple as chai.” Arshad said after winning the investment while inspiring the youth in the crisis-struck country to try and work upwards.
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