As Founder & CEO of tea and wellness brand Vahdam India, Bala Sarda, remembers the early days of the brand in 2015 when the chief marketing officer (CMO) of a leading company cautioned him against placing India at the heart of the brand positioning. “He said build a brand but don’t talk about India because then you won’t be able to take it to the world,” Sarda recalls, reflecting on the advice he ultimately chose to disregard.
“My point was simple. If Scotland can proudly market Scotch whisky as Scottish, then someone has to proudly say they are from India too,” says Sarda. “That became our core piece, and fortunately we did it. Our logo, even in the early days, said ‘Vahdam Teas’ with the tagline ‘India’s finest tea’. India was right up there in our branding, packaging, and storytelling,” the entrepreneur says fervently.
While India was at the forefront of the company’s brand identity, Sarda launched the brand first in the US market. The move, according to him, was deliberate, as at that time, the Indian market was predominantly controlled by CTC (crush, tear, and curl) teas. “These are teas typically consumed with milk and sugar. That is a massive market, but it is not the segment that we operate in. Our focus has always been wellness teas, green teas, herbal infusions, and premium orthodox teas. In 2015, there simply wasn’t enough depth in those categories within India,” he says.
For Vahdam, the US market at that time translated to a large market where consumers were open to innovation; e-commerce adoption was high and it being an English-speaking country. “Looking back, it was the right decision,” says Sarda.
Building trust
The US and Canada together account for roughly 60% of the brand’s business, while Europe and the UK jointly contribute 30%. The rest comes from the remaining regions worldwide.
However, building credibility in a market where people perceive Indian products unfavourably wasn’t an easy task. The biggest challenge in the US, according to Sarda, was trust, as consumers weren’t used to Indian brands in premium packaged tea. “Many brands from India at the time didn’t present themselves as premium global brands. We wanted to change that perception. Our goal was to build a modern, premium brand from India and offer products that were better in quality since we were sourcing directly from the origin,” he says.
Sarda remembers, initially, the brand received several queries on where the product was made, whether it met quality standards, what the factory looked like, and if proper hygiene and testing protocols were followed. Transparency became a key part of their communication, showcasing the tea gardens, the sourcing process, and the people behind the product.
