Home-grown brand Vahdam Teas and Superfoods named the Global SMB of the Year at Amazon SMBhav Summit

In the last few years, Vahdam Teas, a home-grown premium Tea and Superfoods brand from India has made waves worldwide with its exclusive range of premium Indian Teas, award-winning in-house blends, and dedicated Superfood wellness products. The company has already seen an unprecedented growth since its inception, completed three successful rounds of funding, and is the only Indian brand ever to be inducted in the prestigious list of ‘Oprah’s Favorite Things’ for 2018 and 2019.
At the recent mega-summit Amazon SMBhav hosted in the capital city of New Delhi,Vahdam teas and Superfoods was declared as the Winner of the Global SMB of the Year Award.
Bala Sarda, the man behind the award-winning premium Indian Tea and Superfoods brand Vahdam and a fourth generation Tea entrepreneur, received the prestigious award, from the mega-icon entrepreneur and Founder of Amazon- Jeff Bezos, who had arrived in New Delhi for the summit.
“As a young, home-grown Indian brand, I am honored to have received this prestigious award from Jeff Bezos, a man whom I have always looked up to for inspiration. Having grown from a small team of just 25 members to an award-winning Tea and Superfoods company that has a high-end product line, shipping the best quality Indian Tea to customers in more than 93 countries – It all still feels like a dream!  I am incredibly thankful to Amazon for providing us with a robust platform to maximize our potential and help win in potential global markets, ”Sarda said.
A fourth generation tea entrepreneur, Bala joined his family business of bulk tea export, where he learnt that most of the tea being sold across the world shuffles between multiple middlemen like retailers, auctioneers, distributors etc. Before reaching the consumer. All this time that the tea sits in unregulated warehouses, it loses its character and flavor.
In addition to this, India despite being the second-largest producer of tea in the world, had a debilitating home industry which has been forced to depend only on bulk tea export for its sustainability. These foreign brands keep shifting from one sourcing region to another to compete on price points. This prevents any real value addition to the home industry and millions of farmers keep struggling with low wages and an uncertain future.
In order to change this scenario, Bala launched Vahdam Teas in the year 2015 as a young, passionate home-grown brand. By leveraging technology and by cutting out all middlemen, Bala established the world’s first vertically-integrated company.
Vahdam Teas brings the consumer a better, fresher cup of tea. Teas are sourced from renowned plantations within hours of harvest and they are brought to Vahdam’s state- of-the-art, BRC-certified tea facility in New Delhi, where more value is added to the harvest and delectable blends are curated. By employing advanced packaging systems that protect the tea against any contaminants like oxygen, moisture or heat, Vahdam Teas are packed garden-fresh and shipped off to consumers across the world in the shortest time possible.
Till date, Vahdam has shipped more than 100 Million + cups of tea to consumers in more than 93 countries around the world. With expertly curated blends like the latest Turmeric wellness range that got Vahdam Teas to be inducted into the list of Oprah Winfrey’s Favorites for a second time in 2019, the brand has set its footprint as a leading global tea company. In recent accomplishments, Vahdam Teas was also chosen by famed pop-star Mariah Carey to be part of her Amazon gifting guide for 2019.
Vahdam’s line of premium single-estate blends, herbal tisanes, and gifts have won several esteemed awards at the Global Tea Championship, Great Taste Awards, SOFI ( Specialty Food Association, USA) Awards etc. With more than 70 percent of its
business catering to USA, UK, and Europe ; the brand has recently entered the Indian scene. Vahdam is amidst an aggressive launch strategy in India with plans to bring more tailored teas and superfoods that can effectively cater to the Indian populace.