Blue Tea India - Growing 5X yearly; Riding on global shift on wellness

Kolkata-based D2C tea brand, Blue Tea India is taking advantage of the accelerated demand for high-quality wellness-oriented teas. The brand is now easily one of the global leaders in the micro category of Flower Herbal Teas.

Herbal Tea definition has changed in the global market. Herbal Tea, now in 2021, is considered an herbal hot beverage with some health benefits. It’s a new category emerging out, especially in Europe and North American markets. With the democratization of the internet and heightened self-awareness among consumers who are reading more about body and mind fitness than ever before.

Global consumers’ perspective for tea is changing and it is more to do with specific health benefits for the body, slimming, etc. Internet penetration and eCommerce have fuelled this growth even more in the past decade. This effect has also coincided with the rise of Instagram and influencers with more Videos and Internet articles about recipes, health benefits, etc. Blue Tea India has been there at the right time to ride the effects of macroeconomic factors. The brand is now one of the global leaders in the micro category of Flower Herbal Teas. Friends turned co-founders - Sunil Chandra Saha and Nitesh Singh want to build a global brand coming from India which customers love across the globe.

Today, the three and half-year-old start-up offers 30 flavors of flower teas across 12 countries, including in UK, Ger, the US, Australia, and 6 More countries in EU via Amazon with a revenue run rate of Rs 10 crore FY22.

“Even though Blue Tea competes with Vahdam India, Teabox, Yogi Tea & Tea Forte (US) globally. But there is a huge market to be tapped online and offline, as long as you have delightful value to offer to the consumer,” says Chandra Saha. He has been in offline Retail with Aditya Birla Group, Bestseller Denmark, and Shoppers Stop.

D2C Tea Brand, Vahdam India, has raised about Rs 174 crore (US $ 24 million) in FY22 and US $ 38 million in total so far, expecting higher revenues from offline retail and b2b along with online expansion. Blue Tea, even though bootstrapped, has been on the route for fast online expansion and is backed by an organic way of consumer adoption.

Blue Tea is taking advantage of the accelerated demand for high-quality wellness-oriented teas. Having seen a 5X YoY growth for the past two years, the brand is set to make ‘flower tea’ synonymous with Indian Teas.

“Availability of organic herbs will play a crucial in future to provide consumers high-quality tea. One of the reasons as Blue Tea, we are focusing on the farming side as well to sustain such high growth,” Singh adds.

Blue Tea now has contracted about 100 Acres of farms in Uttarakhand - in the foothill of the Himalayan region along with Ganges Plains, to cultivate Butterfly Pea, Hibiscus, Chamomile, and Lavender.

“Speedy delivery and availability are critical for Blue Tea. We will strive for 100 cities one day delivery in 5 countries by FY23 end,” adds Chandra Saha.

Operationally, the brand offers one-day delivery in 22 cities in India. At this moment, 60% of Blue Tea’s business comes from foreign markets.

The wide variety of ‘Flower Tea’ is one of the most significant competitive advantages of the brand, along with beautiful packaging. Blue Tea aims to be a global leader in the micro categories, and for this brand is prepared for the continuous introduction of new products into the market.

“We aim to touch Rs 56 crore($7M) in the subsequent year if we have just the right funding support. Healthy margins have enabled BLUE TEA to continue this high growth rate even in our 4th year of operations, thus far,” says Singh, the finance professional himself.

The founders have created a debt-free start-up and actively look to raise investments to fuel their future growth and quest to lead global markets.