The global tea market, according to one estimate, is currently just under $88 billion.

While the Indian market sees significant production and consumption of tea, specialty teas reportedly account for only about 1 per cent of the country’s tea production.

Over the years, green tea consumption has seen increases in India, but according to Teamonk, there’s a demand for healthier teas in general across the country, including oolongs, whites and others.

“Teamonk aims to become a global brand in tea even as it captures more and more of the home market which translates to a potential market of roughly five million urban households across India."

Ashok Mittal, Co-founder and Managing Director, Teamonk Global, says, “There are many portals selling tea. And why will anyone buy any ordinary tea from us when you can get it at a kirana store? So, we want to offer something exclusive which you can’t buy that easily. Our teas are not normal milk and sugar teas… we want to capture what may be a small base but a growing market.”

Price & quality lure

Teamonk’s range of ‘Signature Teas’ – currently about 25 variants – start at about ₹400 and go up to ₹750 per 100 gram.

Sourced from Nilgiri and Darjeeling plantations before being packed and dispatched from Bengaluru, the company plans to gradually expand its supplier base.

The teas are tagged as “pure”, “natural” and the “freshest”; they are sold on the company’s own portal.

“If store-bought teas take about ten months to reach your home, Teamonk, takes only about two months,” Mittal says. Ingredients like cardamom, cinnamon, tulsi, jasmine and ginger are also “natural additions” to the teas rather than artificial flavouring.

Teamonk is not too concerned about its prices being a turn off in a market like India.

By the end of October this year, just three months since dispatching its first shipments, Teamonk had reportedly closed 1,000 transactions from online orders and corporate orders.

“We’re not looking for large volume. Even small volumes will give us reasonable value… even if we have a loyal base of customers of about 100,000 who are regularly buying, that’s enough for us, that gives us almost ₹100 crore turnover in a year,” Mittal explains.

Select channels

Teamonk will avoid modern trade as a distribution channel unless it’s the likes of Le Marche in Gurgaon, Foodhall at One MG in Bengaluru or a Godrej Nature’s Basket. But even with names like these, the company will consider if trials in the store can be arranged.

Pallavi Pandey, Chief Marketing Officer, Teamonk Global says, “We’ll be looking at where the consumer is doing his monthly shopping. So we’d also like our brand to feature on Big Basket, Snapdeal and Flipkart. We’re already live on Amazon… by the end of this year, we should be covering at least ten portals.”

Over the next few months, Teamonk aims to be in the cafeterias of large companies, besides having major airlines and hotels serving and selling its specialty teas across India.

The company’s international expansions will be phased starting with the US, Germany, the UK and Japan, where it will partner with local e-commerce names.

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