Chai has always been a constant in Monica Sunny's life.
Not the Americanized spicy, sugary version. In India, "chai" simply means "tea" – and after emigrating from Punjab, India, to Atlanta when she was nine, Sunny and her parents made chai together. They'd mix spices like ginger and fennel, boil them with milk or water>First hints of traction
For the first two years, Sunny says, she operated The Chai Box casually, fulfilling orders>A woman on a mission
Sunny says she only wanted to launch The Chai Box if she could "sustainably and ethically" scale organic ingredients from India. "I wanted to teach people about this drink that is so meaningful to our culture, but also helps you, too," she says. "Not everyone knows that the spices are good for things like inflammation, digestion and blood circulation."
Her father-in-law lived in Kerala, India, a region known for its spice production, so she and her husband traveled there to sample potential ingredients and meet local farmers. Today, The Chai Box — up to seven full-time employees, including Sunny and her husband, and 20 part-time employees — directly trades with some of those same farmers.
As business blossomed, the company outgrew Sunny's basement, moving into a nearby 4,000-square-foot production facility in February 2021. Mere months later, one of Oprah Winfrey's interns reached out to Sunny, asking if The Chai Box could send samples to be considered for Oprah's Favorite Things list.
At first, Sunny thought it was a mistake. But Winfrey's team had apparently heard about The Chai Box through one of Sunny's AmericasMart connections, and watched Sunny's Instagram chai meditations.
Sunny and family celebrate The Chai Box's selection onto Oprah Favorite Things list. Sunny says has dreamed of making chai for Winfrey since she was little.Monica Sunny
In August, The Chai Box learned that it would make the list. Winfrey's team helped Sunny start selling chai boxes on Amazon, and arranged for the product to be featured on ABC's "Good Morning America." Sunny says the show's producers forecasted a sales bump after the appearance, predicting she could sell 3,200 variety packs at 50% off. It wasn't enough: The discounted packs sold out within seven hours.
The momentum hasn't stopped. Over the past four calendar months, The Chai Box has sold more than 20,000 units in total — effectively quadrupling its monthly revenue. Its variety packs are set to appear in goody bags at the Academy Awards on March 27, and the Grammy Awards on April 3.
But Sunny insists the sudden traction — and allure of Hollywood — hasn't tempered her original mission.
"It's just so damn fulfilling to have my entire family working here and to watch how chai brings people together," she says.
