{"id":554574,"date":"2026-06-26T03:29:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T03:29:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/554574\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T03:29:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T03:29:40","slug":"global-then-local-how-vahdam-india-is-aiming-to-scale-revenues-of-rs-500-cr-by-next-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/554574\/","title":{"rendered":"Global, then local: How Vahdam India is aiming to scale revenues of Rs 500 cr by next year"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Founder & CEO of tea and wellness<\/a> brand Vahdam India<\/a>, Bala Sarda<\/a>, remembers the early days of the brand in 2015 when the chief marketing officer (CMO) of a leading company cautioned him against placing India<\/a> at the heart of the brand positioning. \u201cHe said build a brand but don\u2019t talk about India because then you won\u2019t be able to take it to the world,\u201d Sarda recalls, reflecting on the advice he ultimately chose to disregard.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy point was simple. If Scotland can proudly market Scotch whisky as Scottish, then someone has to proudly say they are from India too,\u201d says Sarda. \u201cThat became our core piece, and fortunately we did it. Our logo, even in the early days, said \u2018Vahdam Teas<\/a>\u2019 with the tagline \u2018India\u2019s finest tea\u2019. India was right up there in our branding, packaging, and storytelling,\u201d the entrepreneur says fervently.<\/p>\n

While India was at the forefront of the company\u2019s brand identity, Sarda launched the brand first in the US market. The move, according to him, was deliberate, as at that time, the Indian market was predominantly controlled by CTC (crush, tear, and curl) teas. \u201cThese are teas typically consumed with milk and sugar. That is a massive market, but it is not the segment that we operate in. Our focus has always been wellness teas, green teas, herbal infusions, and premium orthodox teas. In 2015, there simply wasn\u2019t enough depth in those categories within India,\u201d he says.
For Vahdam, the US market at that time translated to a large market where consumers were open to innovation; e-commerce adoption was high and it being an English-speaking country. \u201cLooking back, it was the right decision,\u201d says Sarda.<\/p>\n

Building trust<\/b><\/p>\n

\"ETLive EventsThe US and Canada together account for roughly 60% of the brand\u2019s business, while Europe and the UK jointly contribute 30%. The rest comes from the remaining regions worldwide.
However, building credibility in a market where people perceive Indian products unfavourably wasn\u2019t an easy task. The biggest challenge in the US, according to Sarda, was trust, as consumers weren\u2019t used to Indian brands in premium packaged tea. \u201cMany brands from India at the time didn\u2019t present themselves as premium global<\/a> brands. We wanted to change that perception. Our goal was to build a modern, premium brand from India and offer products that were better in quality since we were sourcing directly from the origin,\u201d he says.
Sarda remembers, initially, the brand received several queries on where the product was made, whether it met quality standards, what the factory looked like, and if proper hygiene and testing protocols were followed. Transparency became a key part of their communication, showcasing the tea gardens, the sourcing process, and the people behind the product.
\"VAHDAM<\/p>\n

Late last year, Vahdam formally launched in India as well, expanding its tea portfolio and introducing the supplements business in January 2026.<\/p>\n

What made a difference was \u201cinnovation,\u201d says Sarda. The brand vacuum-packed the loose-leaf teas, even for retail customers right from the start. \u201cEven if someone bought 100 gm of Vahdam Darjeeling tea, it arrived in vacuum-sealed packaging. At that time, very few brands were taking such steps. Small innovations like these helped reinforce our quality credentials,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the company identified wellness as a key consumer trend, with most of the innovation happening in health-oriented beverages. The company responded by introducing ingredients like turmeric and ginger, expanding its portfolio of wellness-focused products. \u201cWe were among the first brands to launch turmeric-based wellness infusions in the US market. Initially, our portfolio consisted largely of black teas and chai, but within a year and a half to two years, wellness became a major focus area,\u201d he says proudly.<\/p>\n

By 2017, the company began seeing strong signs of growth and demand in the US, supported by strategies that proved effective over time. <\/p>\n

The India launch<\/b>
Today, the company ships its products to customers in over 160 countries through its global website. Late last year, Vahdam formally launched in India as well, expanding its tea portfolio and introducing the supplements<\/a> business in January 2026. Sarda says the Indian market has now evolved significantly, with categories like green tea, herbal infusions, and wellness products growing rapidly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndia as a consumer market has matured. Digital commerce has evolved dramatically, with D2C and quick commerce creating entirely new distribution opportunities. Besides this, the nutraceuticals market with ingredients, such as turmeric, ashwagandha, moringa, tulsi, and giloy is seeing strong consumer demand, whether in tea form, capsules, or other formats. All of this made us feel that this was the right time to invest aggressively in India,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

From a scale perspective, Sarda believes India can become a much larger business and achieve faster growth than markets such as the US or the UK. \u201cIt will happen far more quickly. The demand environment is much more favourable today,\u201d he contends.<\/p>\n

Data supports Vahdam\u2019s narrative. Since formally activating business in India, the company has already achieved a Rs 30 crore annualised run rate within the first few months. \u201cBased on the current performance, we believe India can become a Rs 100 crore business this year,\u201d Sarda says. <\/p>\n

The company claims that they are on track to reach nearly Rs 500 crore in revenue this year compared to the Rs 350 crore projected for FY26. The company says that its long-term goal is to reach around Rs 1,000 crore in revenue by FY29.<\/p>\n

Marketing & Innovation
<\/b>India is the second-largest producer and consumer of tea in the world, with a reputation more focused on its tea-production than on branding its tea. From a broader perspective India needs to change its approach to capture more value from the tea market.<\/p>\n

Ramakrishnan M, Managing Director, Primus Partners, says while some of India\u2019s teas are already globally respected, the real gap lies elsewhere. \u201cIf India wants to capture more value, the focus must move from (largely) exporting tea as a commodity to (more of) selling tea as a finished consumer product. That means increasing the share of branded and packaged exports, strengthening traceability and sustainability practices, and building direct relationships with consumers through digital channels. The opportunity is not necessarily to produce more tea but to earn more from every kilogram of tea that is already being produced,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He highlights how premiumisation can play an important role for the future of Indian tea exports since competing purely on volume or price will not be a sustainable strategy in the long run. \u201cIndia has many advantages that can support a premium positioning. The challenge is building globally recognised brands and experiences around that premium identity. This is a long-term exercise and not something that can be achieved through export promotion alone,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Sarda brings it down to one simple solution\u2014marketing which should include the entire mix of product, price, promotion, and place. \u201cIt\u2019s not just advertising. We need to become better marketers and better innovators. Innovation is probably one of the biggest opportunities to tap into,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Elaborating further, he says that brands haven\u2019t always been willing to change the playbook. \u201cTake wellness, for example. Many traditional tea companies resisted it for years because it wasn\u2019t considered part of the conventional tea category. In doing so, they missed a major growth opportunity. Today, almost everyone is embracing wellness products,\u201d Sarda explains.<\/p>\n

He says that the lowest-hanging fruit is to build brands around products that India is already known for. \u201cThese are categories where we have natural credibility and heritage. Tea, herbs, botanicals, wellness products\u2014India already has an advantage here. The issue isn\u2019t a lack of intent. Building a brand in India is hard enough. Building a global brand is significantly harder. That\u2019s really the reality,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

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