- Pre-Series A round led by IPV
- Sarcha Ventures also participated in the round
- TeaMonk has raised Rs 23.5 crore till date including the current round
- Funds raised to be used for expanding in domestic & international markets, product innovation and launch of subscription platform for Home market
- After Milkbasket and BluSmart, IPV leads yet another late stage round
- IPV emerges as one of the top 3 angel networks in India making 16th investment since March this year
TeaMonk, Bangalore based premium tea brand that offers more than 50 variants of premium tea has raised Rs. 6.5 crore in Pre-Series A round led by Inflection Point Ventures, one of India's largest angel investment platforms in India. Sarcha Ventures and Lead Angels also participated in the round. Additionally, US-based HNIs Dr. Madhu K Mohan (Eminent Endocrinologist in Washington DC & member of Public Health Foundation of India), Anil Menon (Senior Advisor to Chairman, World Economic Forum) and Jai Gupta (Entrepreneur) also participated in the round. The HNIs have participated in their personal capacity.
TeaMonk has raised Rs 23.5 crore funding till date and plans to use the current funding for further market expansion in global markets like the US, UK and Canada. The Company also plans to launch a subscription-based platform in India to further strengthen their presence in the home market.
Vinay Bansal, Founder & CEO, IPV says, "Tea is a socially connecting beverage. India is one of the largest consumers and exporters of tea in the World. TeaMonk presents us with a large market opportunity in premium green tea where few players are growing fast. We see premium green tea market exploding in the next 3 years as more people choose high immunity tea, that tastes great, for maintaining their overall health. The large market opportunity internationally and relevance of tea in Indian narrative has prompted us to lead the round in TeaMonk."
Started in 2016, TeaMonk is backed by former Unilever senior professionals. The Company counts marquee angel investors like Roots Ventures, Hunch Ventures, Suresh Prabhala, Rajat Gupta, Dr. Madhu Mohan, Piyush Pandey, Sanjay Khosla, Raj Makkam, Jai Gupta and Lead Angels.
Ashok Mittal, Managing Director, TeaMonk says, "We are delighted to partner with IPV towards our vision of building a "sourced in India" international specialty tea brand. During the pandemic, we have seen a marked increase in consumer preferences towards healthier beverages like green tea. We have seized this opportunity to launch a range of green tea variants focused on immunity and wellness. This includes Kadha green tea, Spice green tea and Ashwagandha green tea. There has been terrific consumer response to these introductions."
TeaMonk in a short span of 3 years has established itself as a trustworthy brand for its customers in India and 20 international markets like the US, Europe, Middle East and Japan. The Company has built their business around fresh teas which are sourced from the top tea gardens in India and have built a robust supply chains to ensure shortest go to market time in order to preserve freshness of the tea leaves.
The specialty tea market is estimated at $5.8 billion globally. In India, the market size is approximately $450 million growing at 30% CAGR.
About TeaMonk
Teamonk was founded in 2016 by group of professionals with rich experience in Unilever Tea business. While Ashok Mittal, Managing Director, TeaMonk has over 40 years of experience in tea (30 years with HUL), Amit Dutta, Executive Director has over 12 years of experience with HUL tea business (last assignment - Marketing Head for tea business) and Nalin Sood, CEO has 20 years of international experience as he has worked in India, East Asia, Europe. Nalid has a rich experience in Brand & Category P&L.
About Inflection Point Ventures
Inflection Point Ventures is an initiative of accomplished CXOs & Angel Investors who firmly believe that 'Everyone can Grow with Startups'. Started in 2018, IPV has invested more than Rs. 100 crores across 40+ startups. IPV's investors' base, currently at 2700+ is seeing a massive influx of highly accomplished CXOs and HNIs, looking to invest in startups with rational valuation and sustainable business model.
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