VAHDAM® India is India’s largest home-grown, award-winning, digitally native and vertically integrated brand taking India’s finest teas and superfoods to consumers across the globe under a home-grown, sustainable brand. So far, VAHDAM® India has been shipped to over 2 million consumers in 130+ countries.

All VAHDAM® Teas are sourced direct from plantations & farmers within days of harvest, packaged garden fresh at their BRC Certified state-of-the-art facility, one lakh square foot in size in the National Capital Region of India and shipped directly to our global fulfillment centres in various parts of the world.

By eliminating all unnecessary middlemen, VAHDAM® is not only able to make available garden fresh, high-quality teas & superfoods to consumers across the globe, but are also able to retain all earnings in the region where they are grown and nurtured by millions of farmers with immense love, care, and passion. A process which ultimately helps every farmer get a better price for their produce.

All of this with a social conscience and to give back in whatever manner possible. VAHDAM is deeply committed to the people and planet. It is a Certified Climate Neutral & Plastic Neutral Brand and directs 1% its revenue towards the education of the tea growers’ children under its flagship social initiative, ‘TEAch Me’. VAHDAM also Partnered with BYJU’S, the world’s most valuable EdTech startup, and committed 100,000 academic program’s access which is being distributed to the tea grower’s children, absolutely free.

Impact Report, 2021 – CLICK HERE TO READ

Tell us about yourself? And your background.

I am the single founder of VAHDAM® India and started VAHDAM 6 years back in 2015 at the age of 23 years. I come with a lineage of over 85 years and am the fourth generation in his family to run a tea business.

‘VAHDAM’ is the reverse anagram of my father’s first name, ‘MADHAV’.

I’ve been featured in:

• Forbes 30 U 30 Asia (2018)
• Business World 30 Under 30 (2021)
• Entrepreneur 35 Under 35 (2019)
• Business World 40 Under 40 (2019)
• Entrepreneur of the Year, FMCG by Entrepreneur India – 2020
• GQ Top 25 Influential young Indians (2021)

VAHDAM India is my 3rd start-up. I started and founded 2 student startups companies while still in college. Youth 360 was a youth-led network created to connect students across Delhi NCR

colleges and help them collaborate on various fields including print, online, publishing, events & programs. It earned revenue by connecting brands with their target market.

B10 Media – A focused Social Media Management company with an objective of helping brands go social.

After graduating from college, I wanted to start something of his own where I was solving a real problem and creating true value. While on a family visit to Darjeeling, I deep dived into the tea industry and realised there is a massive opportunity to add value.

What made you get into this line of work/ Why did you start VAHDAM®? What inspired your business? What problem are you trying to solve and for whom?

India is a magical land of ingredients. All of these ingredients have strong wellness connotations which have been accepted by people globally. Tea is one of the healthiest beverages after water. India grows 25% of the world’s tea production and some of the finest teas in the world.

Additionally, it grows herbs, spices and superfoods like Turmeric, Moringa, Ashwagandha., Tulsi, Giloy. Turmeric is one of the most trending and high growth superfoods. India produces 80% of the world’s turmeric production. All of these products come from India, but no

Home-grown Indian brand was actually taking it global. Also, the supply chain was broken with products reaching consumers way long after they were harvested. That is where I saw an opportunity and launched VAHDAM® in 2015. VAHDAM was founded with a vision to take India’s finest teas & superfoods to consumers across the globe under a home-grown, sustainable brand while creating value for our communities back here in India.

What is your magic sauce?

VAHDAM® India is making available an extremely high quality, superior product, straight from source and devoid of any middlemen. It is offering a genuine brand story, an origin-based product with a rich legacy of 85 years in tea and building a high trust factor with consumers while being truly consistent at it.

How do you differ from the competition?

VAHDAM® India basically differentiates itself on the following points –

• It is taking India’s finest teas and superfoods to the world under a sustainable, home-grown brand.

• Making available a much fresher, higher quality product to the customers direct from source, devoid of any middlemen.

• Offering an origin-based product with a rich legacy of 85 years in tea and building a high trust factor. We’re selling what India is best known for – Tea

• Deeply committed to the people and planet – VAHDAM is a certified plastic neutral and carbon brand and redirects a minimum of 1% of its revenue towards the education of its tea growers’ children under its flagship CSR initiative ‘TEAch Me’

Where do you see your company going in 3 years?

The pandemic has accelerated our growth, given the shift towards high quality & trusted wellness products, larger adoption of e-commerce globally. We are excited to be on this journey of building one of the most loved consumer brands in the US and global markets. We plan to continue deepening our distribution in key markets, both online & offline. We will also look at entering new categories, new markets, investing heavily in R&D. We are also on track to do 500 crores in revenue over the next 3 years.

What has been your biggest moment so far?

The fact that our teas were endorsed organically by the global icon, Oprah Winfrey. She is an inspiration for millions around the globe, is a tea connoisseur and a huge chai lover. She has been extremely vocal about her love for Chai. Chai originated from India and VAHDAM® was the first tea brand from India to make it to her list. The entire team at

VAHDAM® was thrilled and honored to be a part of Oprah’s Favorite Things. What made it even more special is the fact that Oprah is one of the biggest philanthropists globally and it resonated with VAHDAM’s brand ethos.

What has been your biggest challenge?

Like any other small business, we also faced some challenges ranging from limited exposure, investments and internal logistical concerns as we are a global brand based out of India.

In 2020, the world was faced with an unprecedented pandemic which took every business and individual with storm. COVID also had an adverse impact on the tea industry in India, and in turn, our business with the 2nd wave hitting India really hard.

With the lockdown implemented, the tea farmers were stuck indoors and there was a massive gap in the demand/supply equilibrium. The production capacity at our plant was impacted massively leading to huge revenue losses. We faced major issues with shipping the teas globally from India. However, we faced the situation head on and ensured that every consumer continued to get their VAHDAM product.

VAHDAM’s SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLES

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/vahdamindia/ LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/vahdam-teas/ Twitter – https://twitter.com/VahdamTeas