If you have been following the start-up scenario then it’s hard not to know about this next venture we are talking about. Whether it is the staggering amounts of funding that they have raised or millions of tea cups that they have sold or how they have been shipping tea all across the world. Kaushal Dugar, the founder of “Teabox”, has been creating waves with his venture. Over a phone call, Kaushal shared his vision for creating a global brand and revolutionizing the way the Tea Industry works.
Kaushal’s tryst with tea is not something that began recently. Kaushal hails from Siliguri and grew up with tea around him. His family has been a part of this industry since 1940, and his father was in the business of tea garden supplies and equipment. Kaushal fondly recalls how as a kid he was amazed by the huge machines and always thought that the whole process was fascinating.
After his schooling, Kaushal won a scholarship to study Business at the Singapore Management University. During his stay at Singapore, he set up an e-waste management company and a luxury limousine service company. He also worked as a corporate financial analyst for four years. Curious to explore opportunities back in India, Kaushal moved back to Siliguri and decided to work in his brother’s tea export business. Kaushal says this showed him a new side to the tea business, and he was surprised by how dated the infrastructure was. He realized that it was time for a change.
“I was surprised at how; many things in the tea industry had not changed. There are many intermediaries between the producers and the end consumers, like the auctioneers, the importers, the exporters etc. This adds a huge chunk of time between the production and when the product reaches the customer. It also has an impact on the quality. I quickly realized that there was a need to close this gap and create a global brand. With so many intermediaries, there is no end user interaction, which is why people have never felt the need to create a brand. My vision with Teabox is exactly that. To create a brand at a global scale and to provide customers with a range of high-end products that retain their quality, freshness, and aroma.”
Teabox sources its teas from Darjeeling, Nepal, Nilgiri, Assam & Kangra regions. Teabox visits the tea gardens, tastes and selects all the teas that you find on their website. “Once the tea is obtained from the tea gardens, they are cleaned and vacuum packed. We have also set up a cold storage facility, a first of its kind facility. By having control over the entire process and excluding middlemen, we have been able to reduce the timeline between production and shipping, from 6 months to less than a week.” This is how Teabox brings you the best of tea to your doorstep.
Visit the “Teabox” website today, pick a tea of your choice and this is what you will see- details about the tea, steeping instructions, time of the day when the tea is suitable, condiments that you can add to it, and tasting notes. Teabox’s R&D team which consists of food technologists and blenders is constantly working to create interesting new blends. Currently, Teabox has about 50+ in-house blends. The number of cups served? “About 30 million cups of tea to over 90 countries.”
Teabox has recently launched a subscription service which is the first one of its kind. Take a small quiz and Teabox will suggest choices based on your tastes. In fact, your first box will be shipped within 24 hours! “This is a clear application of technology in the food sector. Once you take the quiz we will ship you a box that has tea samples based on your palate. You will then be asked for a feedback on the tea you have tried. This feedback will be factored in along with your previous responses to better under understand your tastes. Between your 4th and 5th box, you would have found “the tea” that matches your taste completely”. It is evident that Teabox’s innovative ways have touched every aspect of the industry right from the supply chain, technology, R&D, and even understanding consumer preferences.
When Kaushal first started working on the Teabox concept he was met with a lot of skepticism, as he was trying to change the way the entire industry functioned. Through his perseverance, he was able to bring Teabox to where its stands today. “Having lived abroad and observed the impact of e-commerce in various sectors, I was able to look at the industry from a completely different angle. Every start-up is a huge learning experience, and my previous start up experiences have taught me that there will be multiple issues that you have to face, but the key is to focus on one at a time. It is also important to focus on creating value for your customer. I was able to apply all my learning’s to the vision I had with Teabox. Once it was launched a lot of customers came back to us and gave us a very positive feedback. In fact, there have been people who have told us that they have been drinking tea for many years, but it has never tasted this good. All this helped us to keep doing more and create a global impact.”
As his approach with Teabox Kaushal’s advice to future entrepreneurs is to, “believe in your concept and work towards your dream. If you believe in your concept and if you know you are doing something that creates value for the customer then go ahead and work on it. Do not get disheartened if everyone does not support your idea right away. Once you have cracked the initial concept focus on scaling it. Always keep quality in mind.”
We thank Kaushal Dugar for taking the time to talk to TYT and wish Teabox success in all its future endeavors.
Teabox is your destination website to find “your tea”. Don’t forget to stop by their Facebook page, to stay updated on what’s new in the world of tea.
Images Courtesy of Teabox