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Within three years of its existence, the online tea retailer claims to have delivered over 30 million cups’ worth of tea to customers in 93 countries

L-R: Teabox CEO Kaushal Dugar, Ratan Tata and Teabox Marketing Manager Rohan Jahagirdar

Ratan Tata himself owns a tea company — Tata Tea — in India which ships to many countries. But the aroma coming from another ‘Teabox’ was so irresistible for him that he just had to taste it.

The business tycoon, who recently ventured into startup funding and has invested in over 20 companies in the past 12 months, has just backed India- and Singapore-based speciality online tea retailer Teabox, which ships tea to 93 countries across the world.

The fresh capital will help fuel Teabox’s continued growth, as it expands to other major markets around the world.

“We have grown up admiring and respecting his (Tata’s) vision and business acumen on scaling Tata Group to a global level. His direct guidance and experience in the tea industry will surely help us grow Teabox to be the first global premium tea brand from India,” said Kaushal Dugar, Founder and CEO, Teabox.

Tata joins Teabox as an investor almost a year after the firm secured US$6 million in Series A, led by JAFCO Asia, with participation from Accel Partners, Keystone Group and Dragoneer Investment Group.

Established in 2012, Teabox delivers fresh, delicious teas from Darjeeling, Assam, Nilgiri and Nepal to most parts of the world. The startup sources high quality teas directly from over 200 growers and estates.

Within three years of its existence, Teabox claims to have delivered over 30 million cups’ worth of tea to customers in countries including Russia, Korea, Japan, the UK and the US.

Teabox is disrupting the US$40 billion tea industry with its innovations in technology and supply chain. Tea companies in India have continued to rely on a legacy supply chain that has existed since the estates were first set up by British and Scottish planters.

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