We brew every single tea individually- Ivan Teo

Arteastiq is an all day breakfast and boutique tea café in Singapore which is blending the finest tea with art and culture. With successfully running outlets in the country, Arteastiq is now ready for global expansion.

Tell us something about your café?

We are a boutique tea house and studio. We focus a lot on special teas. We treat tea the way we treat our people. We brew every single tea individually and that’s one of the unique features of our brand. The way we work on our tea is very different from regular tea house where they put a sachet and serve the tea. We actually brew every single tea. We use real ingredients from in-house brands.

From where do you import the tea?

We import our tea from China, India, Srilanka. We get the finest produced teas from these countries.

What is your plan entering to India?

India is definitely a very huge market and is moving very fast as I expected. And, I do feel a lot of opportunity for India. For us, the important thing is getting the brand to right location. Of course, we are not looking at mass market. We are looking at people who have a boutique kind of experience. We have 80 per cent of ladies customers in Singapore.

What is the idea behind launching such café?

The whole idea is to make a place where people can come and enjoy the whole day. Our customers have the freedom to do painting and art work and then they can go and start to learn about the colours of life.

What is the charge for doing paintings and art work at your cafes?

We charge them for every three hours session. We provide every material for painting, a drink of their choice. The current price that we are charging is $48 per three hours including a drink. On weekdays we have several promotions. So, it is a lot cheaper on days. We have ladies day, a special fest.

When can we see the first outlet opening in India? What are the locations you are looking at?

I am hoping to start the first outlet this year and I am looking at 5-10 outlets in following three years time. Mumbai, Delhi-NCR would be the preferred locations.

Who will be your target customers in India?

For us mass market is not the target. We have to look at our niche. We are looking at middle upper class, professional, youth.

How many outlets are presently there in Singapore? And, what is the expansion plan?

We are operating two outlets in Singapore, one in Shanghai. We are opening in Srilanka which is a boutique hotel and arteastiq café. We are looking at 50 profitable units in next 4 years.