India is one of the largest producers of tea and spices in the world. Despite that, Bala Sarda, Founder and CEO of VAHDAM® India, noticed that the industry has a complicated supply chain with multiple middlemen, making teas and spices more expensive and less fresh for consumers. With an 85-year legacy in tea, Sarda founded VAHDAM® India at the age of 23 years in 2015 with a goal to make available and supply better quality tea & spice to every corner of the world. He cut down the middleman and focused on direct to consumer (D2C) digital channels. Today, VAHDAM® India uses a variety of ecommerce channels to provide Indian teas, spices, herbs, and superfoods to over 2 million customers globally as an ethical, sustainable, and home-grown brand.
This digitally native global wellness brand offers teas for any need or functional benefits, like better sleep or a health detox, for single or subscription orders. Their range of Organic Turmeric Herbal Teas is their most popular product. VAHDAM® India centers itself around making a positive impact on the environment and their community. The company is certified Climate Neutral and Plastic Neutral, and directs 1% of their revenue towards the education of their tea grower’ children under their social initiative, TEAch Me.
Customers appreciate VAHDAM’s dedication to quality and freshness. One customer writes, “I happen to love my tea rather strong, with milk and sugar in the morning. This tea stands up to that very well, retaining a wonderful full flavor and aroma. Every package we have received has contained fresh, exceptional tea, some of the best I’ve ever had.”
VAHDAM® India is a farm to cup business with their teas grown in India and shipped globally. Sourced from Indian farmers, the teas are packaged in a BRC certified state-of-the-art facility in India and exported to all markets that the company sells in. After which, VAHDAM® imports their own product and sends it to a fulfillment center, where it’s then delivered to their customers’ doorsteps.
As a fast-growing brand in the grocery space, VAHDAM® India was challenged with making their last mile delivery fast and affordable. The company already sold their products in their Amazon store and knew Amazon set the standard for fast shipping at the right price. Choosing to use Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) to fulfill their ecommerce orders from other online marketplaces, like their D2C website Vahdamteas.com, gave the company access to a world-class fulfillment network and the operational expertise they needed.
“Amazon has been a key player from day one and continues to be a key part of VAHDAM’s success. MCF is an incredible service that has empowered us to grow and offer our customers what they want, fresh tea, delivered fast.” said Sarda.
The cost to service VAHDAM’s customers was a critical issue, but with MCF it was made simple. MCF allows them to bring high quality, fresher products to their customers, and maintain their streamlined supply chain. VAHDAM® India was also able to increase their efficiency by using the Shopify integration for MCF. They use multiple D2C Shopify websites catering to different regions worldwide. The company directly connects MCF with their Shopify websites for automatic order fulfillment.
“The Shopify integration for MCF is extremely useful because it completely automates the fulfillment process,” explained Sarda. “Our team simply maintains inventory in Amazon fulfillment centers. Then, everything is taken care of by MCF, from order picking, packing, and shipping to the customer. It’s an extremely seamless experience, all of which can literally happen with just a single click!”
MCF has enabled us to offer a superior customer experience with faster delivery and better pricing for our customers. It has saved us a lot of money, especially for shipments during the peak holiday season. Because of the competitive fulfillment rates, we’re able to offer holiday discounts to customers. MCF is an extremely reliable fulfillment solution that we can work with and grow with, together.
MCF helped the business scale and offered the right price for their teas. With localized inventory across different regions worldwide, VAHDAM® India saves 15% in fulfillment costs by using MCF for the fulfillment of their D2C channels and other marketplaces. The company features delivery promises on their website, as well as subscription options and free shipping for certain order thresholds. All of these factors impact their bottom line. VAHDAM® India has seen their sales grow 400% YOY.
Bala Sarda said, “MCF has enabled us to offer a superior customer experience with faster delivery and better pricing for our customers. It has saved us a lot of money, especially for shipments during the peak holiday season. Because of the competitive fulfillment rates, we’re able to offer holiday discounts to customers. MCF is an extremely reliable fulfillment solution that we can work with and grow with, together.”
VAHDAM® India offers discounts on subscriptions and delivery promises on their Shopify website, which is directly connected to MCF for easy fulfillment.
What’s next?
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated ecommerce businesses, especially in the wellness space. VAHDAM® India has been able to manage their spike in growth, taking advantage of MCF’s predictable pricing. The company plans to continue using MCF to grow in the gifting and wellness categories, while further leading the effort in improving business for tea farmers in India.
