Indian tea brand, Vahdam India, said on Wednesday it has raised about $24 million (Rs 174 crore) as a part of its Series D round led by IIFL AMC’s Private Equity Fund.
Following the current round of investment, the total funding raised by Vahdam India stands at Rs 290 crore, till date. Post this funding, the company’s valuation stands at about Rs 700 crore, said an individual aware of the discussion.
The company’s existing investors including a consortium of Sixth Sense Ventures affiliates, the Mankind Group Family Office, Infosys founder Kris Gopalkrishnan’s family office, Urmin Group and White Whale Ventures also participated as a part of this round.
VCCircle first wrote about IIFL PE's plan to invest in Vahdam India.
The company plans to use the amount to expand its distribution across online and offline channels, as well as for entering new geographies and foraying into new complementary categories.
The six-year-old startup retails tea, spices and superfoods across various geographies in the world, under a home-grown label. By leveraging technology and cutting out middlemen, the brand looks to disrupt the traditional supply chain of products like tea and spices in India.
“The pandemic has accelerated our growth, given the shift towards high quality and trusted wellness products, and larger adoption of e-commerce globally. We are excited to have IIFL AMC join our mission. With the current fundraising, we plan to continue deepening our distribution in key markets, both online and offline. We will also look at entering new categories, new markets, investing heavily in R&D and further strengthening our management team,” Bala Sarda, founder and chief executive officer (CEO), Vahdam India, said in a statement.
Vahdam directly sources tea and spices from farms and estates across India, and also owns a in-house manufacturing unit in the national capital region. It also locally distributes its products across key markets including the US, Canada, and Europe.
“Vahdam is a rare example of a company, which has successfully taken products of Indian origin to global markets. With its superior quality and innovative blends, Vahdam has been able to create a premium brand and reach out to global consumers via digital channels. It is remarkable that the company under the leadership of Bala has been able to execute this by being highly capital efficient and achieving EBITDA profitability,” said Chetan Naik, fund manager, private equity at IIFL AMC.
In FY’21, Vahdam India more than doubled its income and clocked over Rs 160 crore in net revenues, as compared to Rs 75 crore in FY’20. The company now plans to reach Rs 500 crore in revenue, over the next 3 years.