Teabox to triple production capacity by March

Teabox, a global direct-to-consumer tea company, is looking at tripling its production capacity to 12,000 tea bags per day by March 2017, from the current capacity of 4,000 tea bags per day. The company has recently launched TeaPacs, individually packaged tea bags sealed at the source using a natural nitrogen flush that keeps tea fresh.

Speaking to DH, Kaushal Dugar, founder and CEO of Teabox said, “TeaPacs offers the highest quality loose-leaf teas from Teabox’s premium collection in a more convenient, on-the-go option, without compromising on flavour or freshness. We want to ensure that every cup of tea consumed is the freshest in the world, but we know that not everyone has time to steep loose leaf. So, we have created TeaPacs that anyone can enjoy anywhere and anytime.”

Dugar pointed out that Teabox is the world’s first company to use a natural nitrogen flush in the beverage market, a technique most commonly used in packaging food items, including potato chips.

This innovative approach creates a non-reactive environment that protects the TeaPac tea from oxygen, light, heat and moisture – elements that compromise the integrity of tea, causing deterioration and ultimately, loss of flavour.

Sharing the growth of the company, Dugar said, “We are seeing multi-fold growth year-on-year. Since the time we started in 2012, Teabox has shipped over 35 million cups worth of teas to customers across 95 countries in a short span of time. We will be shipping to another three countries in the coming period, and will cross the 100-mark before the end of this year.”

In 2014-15, the company has shipped five million cups of tea. In 2015-16, the number of cups have increased to seven million. During the current fiscal, it has shipped about 14 million cups of tea.

The company has raised $7.5 million in funding from Ratan Tata, who invested an undisclosed amount this year. Besides,Teabox is backed by Singapore-based JAFCO Asia, Accel Partners, Keystone Group LP and Dragoneer Investment Group.

“Looking at the growth of the company and demand for our products, we will continue to raise funds mid next year,” Dugar added.

“We source premium loose-leaf teas from over 150 tea estates in Darjeeling, Nepal, Nilgiri, Assam and Kangra regions in India,” he added.

About the future plans, he said, “I hope to give a Silicon Valley makeover to our tradition-bound tea industry. I want to introduce newer varieties of teas that are fresh and delicious that people can have anywhere in the world.”