The eternal love for tea in India dates back to several centuries, tea has been used as a beverage and also as a medical entity. The first instance of tea being used as a medical entity was mentioned by Mendelslo in the year 1662. Later in the decade 1820, The British East India Company began the large-scale production of tea in Assam, which marked the large-scale commercialization of tea in the country. The love for tea spread across the world, directly causing an increase in its demand.

India is the second-largest tea producer in the world. India produces tea for self-consumption and for exporting, although almost 80% of the total output in India is consumed domestically. North India dominates the industry in India, accounting for more than three-quarters of the total. The state of Assam produces the most tea in the country, followed by West Bengal. South India accounts for about a quarter of the industry, with the Nilgiris producing the majority of it. While the region's output is substantially smaller than that of North India, the region's business is fueled by the development of premium, high-quality cultivars. In terms of sorts, black tea is the most popular in India's tea business.

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Tea Sommelier Snigdha Manchanda launched Tea Trunk in 2013 to source teas directly from farmers and combine them into unique blends. Tea Trunk houses the best tea leaves from around the country and provides them to customers without any additives or artificial color. Snigdha set out to Sri Lanka to study tea professionally and expand her knowledge about teas, she states that “the idea for Tea Trunk was inspired on a sabbatical from work” 

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Tea Trunk is based out of Goa and experienced a surge during the Pandemic, Tea Trunk being classified as an ‘essential service’ and Goa being a green zone allowed the company to resume its operations from April 3rd. Although the delivery time took a hit and extended to nearly twice the amount it would normally take. The increased number of people working from home chose to opt for a premium tea brand to satisfy their routine craving for a beverage. Tea Trunk also launched an economical range of products to attract a wider audience. 

Tea Trunk has over 2 million consumers spread across 130 countries. This number continues to rise every day, thanks to the never-ending hustle and dedication of Snigdha and her team. The love for tea that Snigdha possesses is evident from the product line and their urge to constantly seek and implement customer feedback.

What led to the growth of Tea Trunk- 

India’s masses have an eternal love for tea, Tea Trunk understands that and produces only the best tea to help elevate that passion. Tea Trunk houses dozens of regular and niche types of tea and in every price range to enable everyone to taste authentic tea.

The expertise of the founder helps the brand experiment and produce unparalleled beverages. Snigdha Manchanda is a Tea Sommelier with extensive training and expertise. Having professionally studied tea in Sri Lanka, under a Japanese master Snigdha has attained knowledge in the field. She is also a spokesperson for the Tea Board of India.

Tea Trunk has a great online presence and is available on all leading e-commerce websites, this ensures a wide availability to any corner of the world. Tea Trunk applied efficient marketing strategies and positioned their brand effectively, this brought the spotlights on them and helped attain widespread recognition. 

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Tea Trunk positioned itself as a premium product in a heavily competitive market and provided a product that had a clear USP, unparalleled quality. It relied the most on its ability to produce natural tea with no additives and colors. This attracted customers who wanted to experience authentic tea and the difference it has over generic brands, once they were hooked up on the taste of Tea Trunk’s offerings, there was no way back. This is how Tea Trunk build a vast base of loyal customers who swore by the brand.

Salient Learnings:

• As long as your premium is justified and your products match the promised quality, customers will be willing to spend more.

• Customer retention is a continuous and hefty process, but this is the way to build a loyal customer base who make a recurring purchase and help the company by spreading the word.

• Invest time in learning about your product and educate yourself as well the audience about its perks.