Teabox
Teabox is an Indian tea brand that sells tea and tea-based products sourced from Darjeeling, Assam, Nilgiris, and Nepal. Founded in 2012, Teabox has its offices in Siliguri, West Bengal, and Bangalore. In 2015, the company set up the country's first cold-storage facility for tea in Siliguri.[1]
Type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Internet |
Founded | 2012 |
Founders | Kaushal Dugar |
Headquarters | Siliguri, India |
Services | E-commerce (Online shopping) |
Website | teabox.com |
Early history
Teabox is an Indian tea brand founded in 2012 with offices in Siliguri and Bangalore. Its products feature teas sourced from Darjeeling, Assam, Kangra, the Nilgiris, and Nepal. The company sells its products globally and has shipped to more than 110 countries so far.
Funding
Teabox was founded by Siliguri-resident Kaushal Dugar. First started as Darjeeling TeaXpress in 2012, in 2013, the company raised US$1 million in seed fund from Accel Partners. In 2015, the company raised US$6 million in an investment round led by JAFCO Asia along with Dragoneer Investment Group, Keystone Group LP and Accel Partners. Teabox also has two customer-turned-investors, American Robert Bass who participated in the Series A funding and Singapore-based angel investor, Cameron Jones who invested in Teabox in 2016.[2][3] Early 2016 also saw Ratan Tata become an investor in Teabox.[4]
Product
Teabox's sources and selects tea from gardens across India and Nepal. The tea is vacuum-packed and stored in a temperature- and humidity-controlled facility, from where it is shipped to customers. Tea, stored this way, can be shipped to customers within 48 hours of production, cutting short the traditional cycle of 3–6 months.[5]
Awards and honours
Red Herring “Top 100 companies in the Asia-Pacific region” (2014) [6]
Business Today "India's Top 16 Coolest Startups (2014) [7]
References
- "Guwahati in queue for tea cold storage - Facility in city after Siliguri in Bengal". telegraphindia.com. 30 March 2015.
- "Teabox Raises $6M To Grow Its Global Tea-Commerce Business". techcrunch.com. 24 March 2015.
- "This Small Town Boy Is Turning Its Customers Into Investors". entrepreneur.com. 10 June 2016.
- "Ratan Tata Turns Venture Investor in Retirement Backing Teabox". bloomberg.com. 27 January 2016.
- "Teabox Raises $6M To Grow Its Global Tea-Commerce Business".
- "2014 Red Herring Asia: Top 100 Finalists". redherring.com.
- "Sipping Success". businesstoday.in. 13 April 2014.