The founder of Vahdum Tea shares the story of his ‘healthy tea’ journey and the Oscar goodie bag
The founder of Vahdum Tea shares the story of his ‘healthy tea’ journey and the Oscar goodie bag
This year the Vahdum tea box found a place in the Oscar goodie bag. Started in 2015 by 23-year-old Bala Sarada from Delhi, the brand has a range of wellness teas that include a variety of Indian spices.
Bala shares Oscar goody bag journey: “The Oscar basket is a curated assortment of gifts featuring companies embracing diversity, inclusion, health and philanthropy. Vahdham is the first Indian wellness brand to be a part of the iconic Oscar goody bag of 2022 It was an honor to be in the bag with many exclusive brands from around the world. The endorsements from Oprah Winfrey, Ellen Degeneres and Mariah Carey helped the brand find its audience. Oprah is a tea connoisseur and a biggie tea the lover. Vahdum was the first tea brand in India to make it to the list of its favorite things. We also worked with Mariah Carey to launch a custom assortment from Vahdum India to mark the 25th anniversary of Carey’s 1994 holiday album. merry christmas and its record-breaking single ‘All I want for Christmas is you’. Apart from the range of wellness teas, Vahdham also has a wide range of tea accessories.
Bala pays tribute to his father Madhav who initiated him into the tea business. By naming his brand Vahdum, an anadrome to his name.
Bala feels that the journey of the domestic brand is global, which is extremely satisfying, though the global journey was not easy from the beginning. He shared, “Building trust and credibility among consumers in established global markets, building a deeper distribution, growing as a brand is a difficult task and vital to success. We saw an opportunity to take ‘Best of India’ to the world through internet, at very low cost, on built distribution and a new age brand. Today, we have delivered to over 130 countries.
To Avoid the Wellness Tea Dubbed As Homemade Hard:Bala’s team worked to make it stylish, delicious and full of healthy spices. Noting that tea is considered a drink of the ‘old’ people and hence it is not so trendy, Bala explains his point of view, “Tea is one of the healthiest beverages. India produces 25% of the world’s tea production and some of the best tea. In addition, it also produces herbs, spices, and superfoods like turmeric. Moringa, ashwagandha, basil And Giloy, Turmeric is one of the most trending, high-growth superfoods. India produces 80% of the world’s turmeric production and yet, no domestic brand was taking it to the global level. When I joined my family tea business, I realized that most of the tea sold around the world passes through many middlemen before reaching consumers. By then the main freshness and flavor of the tea is gone. It was also astonishing to see that although globally acclaimed brands continue to grow significantly every year, millions of farmers in India, which produces 25% of the world’s tea, still suffer from low wages, poor education and an uncertain future. facing problems. Going deeper, I noticed that this problem extends to other products like spices and herbs as well. That’s when I decided to launch Vahdum India.
With so many players in the tea section, what’s the trick to stand out? “The tea market is busy. That’s why from day one we have consistently focused on providing an exceptional quality product. We do this with direct procurement (from gardeners, farmers and cooperatives) within days of harvest, freshly packaged gardens in our BRC (British Retail Consortium) certified state-of-the-art facility in India and shipped directly to our fulfillment centres. World. By eliminating middlemen, we are also able to pass on monetary benefits to the farmers who nurture them with care and passion.
The brand Vahdum is also strong on wellness teas with herbs and spices; Especially their range of turmeric teas. Was it a result of COVID-19? “The brand has been trying to be #VocalforLocal since we started 7 years ago. We launched our range of turmeric tea and superfoods long before the pandemic. We have always been preaching that immunity is not something you can build overnight, it is a process and it takes time. COVID made everyone rediscover and appreciate the wisdom of Indian lifestyle – simple, natural, organic and holistic. ,