Covid-19 Impact: DTC tea brand Vahdam Teas partners Blue Tokai for online delivery

BENGALURU: Direct-to-Consumer tea brand Vahdam Teas, popularised by international celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Mariah Carey, has partnered Delhi-based coffee brand Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters to stay relevant as most dine-in outlets remain shuttered amid the Covid-19 lockdown. With this partnership, Vahdam’s collection of artisanal teas will be sold at the coffee brand’s physical stores and flagship portal for delivery for at-home consumption, the company said in a press statement.

"Our values align with what Blue Tokai is building,” said Bala Sarda, founder of Vahdam Teas, awarded by Amazon’s chief Jeff Bezos during his India visit earlier this year.

The five-year-old homegrown tea brand has raised about Rs 120 crore from venture capitalists including Fireside Ventures, Mankind Pharma and Infosys’ Kris Gopalakrishnan.


“Vahdam sources directly from some of the tea estates in the country which resonated with us,” said Matt Chitharanjan, cofounder of Blue Tokai.

Backed by Canadian MNC ecommerce firm Shopify, Blue Tokai currently has three roasteries and 26 cafes in the country.

India is the largest consumer of tea, accounting for nearly 30% of global tea production. According to experts, the country consumes tea ten times more than coffee.