Gingercup - A Cup That Serves A Purpose

Q: Who is the founder of Gingercup?

Deepak Bansal is the founder of Gingercup.

Chayanika Goswami

Aug 23, 2021 — 9 min read

Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by GingerCup.

Tea is India’s most favourite beverage and tea breaks are something that everyone enjoys. We rewind, relax, chat and discuss over a cup of tea. Bengaluru based paper cup startup, known as Gingercup is trying to make the best out of tea breaks, by reaching out to potential customers at tea time through their branded and beautiful paper cup.

Gingercup - Highlights

Startup Name	GingerCup
Headquarter	Bangalore
Founders	Deepak Bansal & Devleena Neogi
Sector	Advertising/Marketing
Founded	2015
Services	Paper cup advertising

Gingercup - Vision and Mission
Gingercup - Industry Details
Gingercup - The Idea
Gingercup - Name, Tagline, and Logo
Gingercup - Product
Gingercup - Funding
Gingercup - Business Model
Gingercup - Customer Acquisition
Gingercup - Challenges
Gingercup - Achievements
Gingercup - Founders
Gingercup - Work Culture
Gingercup - Competitors
Gingercup - Future Plans
Gingercup - Tools/Software Used
Gingercup - Advisors and Mentors
Gingercup - Founder's Advice
Gingercup - Founder's Productivity Hacks
Gingercup - FAQ

We interviewed the founders Devleena Neogi to know more about this unique marketing idea.

Gingercup - Vision and Mission

GingerCup is a paper cup startup that thrives to provide the most innovative and effective marketing solutions, to its clients in creating a strong emotional connection with their customers. Ginger Cup is also known as the Ginger media group, has a long term goal is to be a media company that is the best and the default choice for branding across various verticals and to convert every white paper cup into a coloured cup branding.

Gingercup - Industry Details

The offline marketing industry is rapidly growing with the evolution of new media in OOH space. Consumers spend more than 70% of their working hours outside their homes. 60% of them are dedicated to regular consumer tasks such as commuting to work, working in the office, socializing, and drinking and eating outside their home or in the workplace.

Also, since India is a tea-drinking nation, people from the age group of 18 to 80, from tier 1 city to villages, everybody loves tea. A typical Indian starts their day with tea and consumes at least 2 to 3 cups throughout the day. And that is where all the hot topics of the day get discussed.

The ability to engage with consumers in their tea break makes paper cup marketing a powerful standalone medium and this is how the Ginger cups marketing strategy complements with other media. When an emotional moment combines with a discussion topic over tea, it exceeds the reach of word of mouth, amplifies the campaign and drives consumers to engage with brands online and in-store.

Gingercup - The Idea

GingerCup founders is Deepak Bansal and Devleena Neogi said -

Deepak came up with this innovative idea and discussed it with me one day. I could completely visualize the impact of paper cups as a media for branding at that very moment. The beauty of the idea was its simplicity. That was my AHA moment. I loved it, but I had mixed emotions. I was very excited to execute the idea but at the same time a bit hesitant because of my stability in profession. Back in our mind, we were thinking - Why no one has tried this so far? Is it really going to be impactful? Whether the market will accept it or not?

Every idea has its pros and cons. When we say simplicity is best at the same time it’s a threat in terms of business perspective. After hours of research, observation and executing a pilot campaign, they realized that it really was a breakthrough paper cup advertising concept.

They both then decided to dedicate their full time to Ginger Cup. Also, the families and friends encouraged and supported us in every way. And that’s how GingerCup was started.

Gingercup - Name, Tagline, and Logo

GingerCup logo and name comes from India’s favourite, “adrak wali chai” or ginger tea.

'adrak wali chai’ holds a special place in the hearts of every individual. That’s where the name of our company, GingerCup, came from. Just like ginger gives flavor to the tea, our cup branding concept enhances the look of plain-white boring paper tea cups by displaying marketing messages.

The tagline of the Ginger Cup reads-"‘cup that serves a purpose”. It serves a dual purpose, as it can be used to serve any beverage such as tea, coffee or water and for advertising purposes.

The paper cup startup has a beautifully designed and meaningful logo.

Gingercup Logo

The letter ‘G’ denotes a piping hot paper cup reaching out with an arrow to a brand’s target audience.

Gingercup - Product

Ginger media group is a creative advertising agency that specializes in paper cup advertising. The paper cup business helps brands engage and interact with their target audience by printing marketing messages on paper tea cups. It helps brands reach out to their target group during tea breaks at offices and colleges.

Unlike other advertising mediums, our paper cups advertisement provide an exposure time of 5-7 minutes in a clutter-free environment. Every cup branding campaign is planned keeping a client’s target audience in mind. For example Professionals in Tech parks, Corporate Companies, HNIs in Airlines, Trains, Colleges, Hospitals or Fitness centers, shopping malls etc.

Gingercup - Business Model

GingerCup business model is based on outsourcing paper tea cups from third-party vendors and prints advertising messages on them. The uniqueness of cup branding is the biggest USP of the company. Today, brands are constantly on the lookout for innovative ways and techniques to reach out to their target group and get them to take a call to action. This paper cup startup helps brands realize this dream.

We strongly believe that our product is different in the market because it is a personal, dynamic and cost-effective marketing medium. We want our client’s message to reach as many people as possible. Thus, we have created a large inventory base through our tie-ups.

Paper cup advertisement with Gingercup, allows brands to get access to 1400+ corporate companies that include MNC, SME, Startups, Co-working spaces, Food Courts of tech parks, 1500+ colleges, 60+ Hospitals, Shopping Malls, 7 Airlines (International and Domestic) and 75+ Premium trains (Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto) across India.

Gingercup - Funding

When its comes to Gingercup funding, the company gets its funds through seed funding and angel investors. The two major Gingercup investors are

Sanket Gupta, Programme Lead, Google USA.
Rahul Shah, Technical Lead, Microsoft.

Gingercup - Customer Acquisition

Initially, Ginger Cup acquired clients through general sales and marketing techniques. Cold emailing worked great for them. After a couple of pilot campaigns, people began to notice and contact them.

That’s when they truly started getting recognition for their work. From facility managers to leading brands, everyone was interested in understanding the advertising concept and ginger cup business model.

Word of mouth has really helped us become who we are today - Devleena

GingerCup counts Hotstar, Uber, Volkswagen, Huawei, NH Hospitals, Bookmyshow, Exide Life Insurance, Clovia, ISL - Delhi Dynamos, bahubali and Jet Airways as their clients.

Gingercup - Challenges

There are two major challenges faced by GingerCup at the beginning was getting the right manpower and building an inventory base.

Firstly, hiring the right set of people was a big hurdle. However, to our luck, we were soon able to overcome it. Thanks to networking and references, we soon had the right talent joining our team.

Secondly, building an inventory base was not a breeze either. Based on a campaigns demand, we were required to build consumer networks in new domains. Soon, we tied up with consumers in various locations and set up a large inventory base. Ginger media group is now operational in PAN India.

Gingercup - Achievements

Within a short period of time, Gingercup has started offering services Pan-India, in cities such as Bangalore, Delhi, Noida, Pune, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Kolkata, and many more. The paper cup startup is also planning to expand abroad.

Gingercup - Founders

Deepak Bansal and Devleena Neogi are a couple entrepreneurs and teh Ginger Cup founders.

Deepak Bansal was working in the IT sector. He also worked as ‘Tech Lead’ in Samsung Research Institute, Bangalore.

Devleena Neogi was an HR professional with exposure in business development for 6 years at different organizations like Wipro Technologies, iGatePatni and Magna Infotech Pvt Ltd.

Gingercup - Work Culture

We encourage an open door policy and believe every person should have a voice. We bridge the gap between leaders and employees by fostering open and honest communication. Our culture fosters diverse communities to create a large impact. Every employee in our organization works together to enhance the value we provide to customers.

Gingercup - Competitors

There is no direct competition to GingerCup. But some of the GingerCup Competitors are Cupshup, Google and Facebook.

We look at Google and Facebook as our competitors. Today, digital marketing and social media marketing have created a firm place for itself. We consider ourselves still in the nascent stage of experimental marketing. - Devleena

Gingercup - Future Plans

To sustain the attention of various target groups, GingerCup is looking to add a burst of innovation to their paper cups.

Paper cup advertising and innovation are synonymous We are already working on an AR-enabled paper cups that will offer brands enhanced awareness, visibility, and engagement. Ginger cups aim is to make paper cup business a potent marketing tool rather than just limiting it to a beverage container.

Gingercup - Tools/Software Used

The tools that GingerCup uses are

Google suite
HubSpot
Email Verifier Tool
Sales Navigator

Gingercup - Advisors and Mentors

Mr. Rahul Shah and Mr. Sanket Gupta who happens to be the GingerCup investors and also is the mentor of the startup.

Gingercup - Founder's Advice

Start fast, move fast and fail fast.

I would like to tell my fellow entrepreneurs and readers not to rush immediately into fundraising. Rather create a real profitable business, solve real problems, and provide real products and services to real customers.

Also, stay away from mental pollution. Maintain a good work-life balance by taking care of physical health and well being. Prioritize eating well and exercise. Only when the mind, body, and spirit are energized you will be able to get the taste of success.

Being an entrepreneur, it’s sometimes a lonely journey. Besides, look at the brighter side. You get to do what you want and you get to do it your own way.

Gingercup - Founder's Productivity Hacks

GingerCup founder Devleena Neogi shared some of her productivity hacks with us. Starting up a paper cup startup is definitely not easy. But it’s very important to keep yourself productive and organized always. The biggest productivity hack for Devleena is to strike a fine balance between his work and personal life.

I give a lot of emphasis to self-care. Only when your mind is clutter-free can the creative juices flow. I also lead a systematic and disciplined lifestyle. My morning starts with yoga and meditation. Staying in sync with nature keeps me refreshed and helps me take on every new day with enthusiasm and confidence.

Gingercup - FAQ

Who is the founder of Gingercup?

Deepak Bansal and Devleena Neogi are the founders of Ginger cup.

What is the business model of Gingercup?

GingerCup outsources paper cups from third-party vendors and print advertising messages on them.

When was the Gingercup founded?

Gingercup was founded in 2015.

Who are the Ginger Cup competitors?

The Gingercup competitors are cupshup, Google and Facebook.

What are the tools Ginger cup uses?