Kolkata Chai Co. Achieves 10% Reduction in Shipping Costs Partnering with Operating Crew
How we helped KCC save on shipping with our unique access to exclusive enterprise-level shipping rates
Company Overview
Kolkata Chai Co is a food & beverage company reclaiming the narrative around masala chai. They opened America’s first authentic chai cafe in New York City in 2019 and have served millions through their cafes and packaged chai blends since. Inspired by their summers spent in India, founders Ayan and Ani Sanyal are on a mission to make authentic, healthy chai accessible for everyone.
“Kolkata Chai started with a simple idea: How do we extend the authenticity, respect and tradition behind a cup of masala chai to the Western world?”
"In this environment of rising costs, any and every margin improvement is incredibly valuable. Working with Yan and the Operating Crew team was the best decision we've made - they are patient, knowledgeable and bring a founder-first POV to everything they do. Couldn't recommend more.”
- Ani Sanyal, Founder of Kolkata Chai Company
Challenges Faced
KCC’s customers can order high-quality chai from their website to be delivered directly to their doors. With online orders climbing, Kolkata Chai Co. was seeing higher fulfillment and shipping costs eat into margins. Kolkata Chai was looking to clean up its carrier mix. With more customers outside the Northeast, speed and cost consistency were becoming harder to manage.
On top of that, their packaging—sturdy, paper-padded mailers—was designed to protect fragile items but was used for nearly every order. These mailers were nearly 3 ounces each, cost $0.60–$0.70 per unit, and most of their products didn’t need that level of protection. On top of that, they were unbranded.
How We Helped
1. Smarter Shipping Strategy
With the myriad of choices between carriers and service level types, it can be challenging to figure out the best options across the shipping profile for your brand, and balance cost and delivery speed. It doesn’t have to be so! Using our access to enterprise-level shipping rates, we helped KCC segment its shipments and reroute them to the most cost-effective carriers based on zone, weight, and transit time. This included:
Upgrading transit speeds for customers farther from the warehouse
Simplifying rate structures to reduce complexity
Mapping service levels to actual delivery needs
2. Lighter, Smarter Packaging
We ran a packaging audit to understand what actually needed protection. Turns out, over 95% of products didn’t. So we:
Switched the majority of shipments to lightweight poly mailers
Kept padded mailers in rotation for fragile items
Rolled out branded poly mailers to improve customer experience
The Transition
A key focus throughout was ensuring a smooth transition to a new shipping carrier and packaging setup, with no disruption to customer experience.
We took care of everything—from setup to switchover.
On the shipping side, we installed new carrier rules and service mappings, tested labels, updated shipping software, and built a real-time dashboard so the KCC team could track daily order volume, transit times, and shipping costs.
On the packaging side, we implemented new SOPs aligned with their updated materials, introduced branded poly mailers, and trained the warehouse team on usage.
We also visited KCC’s New Jersey warehouse to support the first pick-up, meet the team, and ensure everything—from shipping labels to packaging flow—was working smoothly. The transition was seamless, fully managed end to end, and delivered with zero downtime.
Results Achieved
~10% reduction in total shipping costs
$0.60–$0.70 saved per shipment from lighter packaging and lower postage
90%+ reduction in packaging cost by replacing $0.70 mailers with $0.05 poly options
Faster pack times and smoother operations at the warehouse
Improved brand presence with new custom mailers
Full visibility into shipping and packaging metrics through a live dashboard
