Starbucks spills the tea on viral meme, denies collaboration with Dolly Chaiwala: 'No official brand ambassador in India'

Tata Starbucks on Monday, June 16, issued an official statement denying widespread rumours and ongoing speculations on social media suggesting the appointment of Dolly Chaiwala (real name is Sunil Patil), who is a popular tea vendor and internet sensation.
Amid the growing rumours, the company issued a statement saying that there is no such partnership that exists, as per the narrative that emerged from a viral meme that has been misinterpreted as a formal endorsement.
The confusion appears to have stemmed from a viral meme created by a third party that led to a 'misconstrued formal campaign'.
Dolly Chaiwala became the brand ambassador of Starbucks India pic.twitter.com/YjN3G2wNWW — Dixit Dave (@dixit_dave_) April 1, 2025
Starbucks denied any collaboration with Dolly Chaiwala
Starbucks, in a public statement, denied any collaboration with Sunil Patel, popularly known as Dolly Chaiwala. In the post, the company wrote, "We have noted recent social media posts suggesting that TATA Starbucks has appointed an official brand ambassador. We would like to clarify that TATA Starbucks does not have any official brand ambassadors in India. Specifically, we have not entered into any collaboration with Dolly Chaiwala."
Credit: LinkedIn
The clarification comes in the wake of rumoured social media memes and digital articles claiming that Dolly Chaiwala, whose real name is Sunit Patil, had been officially appointed by the famous coffee brand.
What really happened?
According to the company, the claims regarding Dolly Chaiwala being the brand ambassador of TATA Starbucks India surfaced on social media from an April Fool's Day prank. The post was posted by an influencer called Aditya Oza.
The post used a photoshopped picture of Dolly Chaiwala, and as soon as the fictional narrative dropped on the internet, it quickly went viral and instantly became a part of meme pages. However, many on social media pointed out that the image is fake.
But now clarifying this, the company said, 'Tata Starbucks is committed to communicating with accuracy and authenticity, and we value the trust of our customers and communities."
Who is Dolly Chaiwala?
Sunil Patil, also famously known as Dolly Chaiwala, is a tea seller from Nagpur who gained massive fame and became an internet sensation when his flamboyant tea-making style went viral after serving it to an American businessman and philanthropist, Bill Gates.
Most recently, Patil also appeared on Indian reality shows, including Bigg Boss 18.
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