The Tea-man To gain a better understanding of the tea industry & the supply chain, he decided to join the family business for a couple of years. And after that, he dived right into VAHDAM at the age of 23 years in 2015. Today, VAHDAM India is a global brand from India that has been shipped to over 130 countries so far, and still gets 90% of its revenue from online sales.

Vahdam decided to enter the market by being a digital-first brand because of its multiple benefits. In the words of Bala Sarda, CEO & Founder, VAHDAM India, "I saw an opportunity to take India's finest teas & now spices, to the world through the internet, with a much lesser cost and a new-age brand." VAHDAM shipped to 50 countries in its first year of operations which would not have been possible had it not been for the internet and the fact that it is a digitally native brand.

Talking about the market transition, Sarda says, "There has been a drastic shift in the overall market in India from the time I began, especially post the pandemic. I've seen a massive change in mindset. COVID-19 has been a boon for ecommerce adoption globally. New & Relevant Product Launches also contributed to the overall growth engine." With a huge shift to wellness and immunity-boosting products, VAHDAM has been constantly innovating and trying to cater to the growing demand. When asked about his foray into a new segment Sarda mentions, "Given my lineage, we started with tea but the vision was always to do more and we launched our second biggest category last month - VAHDAM spices."

Sarda always had the entrepreneurial bug and knew, even in the early days, that he wanted to create value and do something of his own. VAHDAM India is actually his third start-up. "I started and founded 2 companies while still in college but they were more of student startups. Once Igraduated, I started looking for my "big" idea. While I was brainstorming ideas, incidentally, I ended up going to my family's holiday home in Darjeeling — the land where the world's finest teas grow. While I was there, I visited tea estates and got a chance to interact with various stakeholders in the industry, including veterans, tea growers and even the customers. I instantly knew that there was something amiss and saw an opportunity to add value," states Sarda.

To gain a better understanding of the tea industry & the supply chain, he decided to join the family business for a couple of years. And after that, he dived right into VAHDAM at the age of 23 years in 2015. Today, VAHDAM India is a global brand from India that has been shipped to over 130 countries so far, and still gets 90% of its revenue from online sales. VAHDAM India started as a 100% digitally native brand but now has an omnichannel presence in the US with its presence in over 1500 stores, 250 stores in Canada and over 500 stores in the UK.

FACTS:

>> Online platform resulting in maximum revenue: Marketplaces

>> Split between offline and online sales: 10% offline, 90% online

>> Year of Inception: 2015 >> Team size: 500 (150 whitecollar & 350 blue-collar)

>> Customer Repeat ratio: 35-40% of monthly revenue comes from repeat customers

>> Amount of external funding raised: ss290 crores