Vahdam Teas raises Rs 11 crore from Fireside Ventures, others
, ET Bureau|
Updated: Dec 11, 2017, 08.50 AM IST
MUMBAI: Premium online tea brand Vahdam Teas has raised Rs 9 crore ($1.4 million) in its second round of institutional funding led by consumer focussed fund Fireside Ventures. The round also saw participation from existing investors - Singapore Angel Network, Mumbai Angels and some HNI investors.
Vahdam Teas has raised an additional Rs 2 crore through a secondary transaction with some individual investors in the earlier seed round making an exit this time.
Founder of Fireside Ventures, Kanwaljit Singh, who was formerly with Helion Ventures, will join Vahdam Teas as a member of its board.
The Delhi-based tea maker will use the capital to aggressively market the brand, introduce new products in existing and new categories of teas as also strengthen its warehousing & logistics in the USA which forms its key market, driving over 70% of the firm’s sales.
“We are working with a partner warehouse in US and by January, we will establish a larger partnership there to handle distribution and logistics,” said Bala Sarda, Founder of Vahdam Teas. The firm currently has one warehouse in Delhi and 3 sourcing centres in Nilgiris, Assam and Darjeeling which are used seasonally.
Currently, Vahdam Teas has 1,50,000 customers across 83 countries, clocking a run rate of 15,000-20,000 orders per month.
The company procures tea directly from over 150-200 plantations across Darjeeling, Assam, Kangra Valley, Nilgiris and Nepal, within 24-72 hours of production and delivers it to international markets within 3-12 days. With an average gross margin of over 50%, Sarda claims the company has grown 7x in revenues in the last 10 months.
Vahdam Teas sells loose leaf teas with over 70 in-house signature blends, that form about 80% of the sales. The firm is looking to introduce newer products in flavoured teas and wellness teas category while penetrating deeper into the US market.
Vahdam Teas has raised an additional Rs 2 crore through a secondary transaction with some individual investors in the earlier seed round making an exit this time.
Founder of Fireside Ventures, Kanwaljit Singh, who was formerly with Helion Ventures, will join Vahdam Teas as a member of its board.
The Delhi-based tea maker will use the capital to aggressively market the brand, introduce new products in existing and new categories of teas as also strengthen its warehousing & logistics in the USA which forms its key market, driving over 70% of the firm’s sales.
“We are working with a partner warehouse in US and by January, we will establish a larger partnership there to handle distribution and logistics,” said Bala Sarda, Founder of Vahdam Teas. The firm currently has one warehouse in Delhi and 3 sourcing centres in Nilgiris, Assam and Darjeeling which are used seasonally.
Currently, Vahdam Teas has 1,50,000 customers across 83 countries, clocking a run rate of 15,000-20,000 orders per month.
The company procures tea directly from over 150-200 plantations across Darjeeling, Assam, Kangra Valley, Nilgiris and Nepal, within 24-72 hours of production and delivers it to international markets within 3-12 days. With an average gross margin of over 50%, Sarda claims the company has grown 7x in revenues in the last 10 months.
Vahdam Teas sells loose leaf teas with over 70 in-house signature blends, that form about 80% of the sales. The firm is looking to introduce newer products in flavoured teas and wellness teas category while penetrating deeper into the US market.
