India-based tea brand Vahdam has raised Rs 1.74bn ($23.5m) in a series D round that included food, beverage and hospitality conglomerate Urmin Group, Press Trust of India reported yesterday.
Asset manager IIFL AMC, venture capital firms Sixth Sense Ventures and White Whale Ventures, Mankind Group Family Office and private investor Krish Gopalkrishnan also participated in the round, which bought Vahdam’s total funding to over Rs 2.9bn ($39.2m).
Vahdam sells tea, superfoods and spices across India, Europe and North America. It will use the money to expand its global footprint along with its online and offline distribution in key markets, as well as entering new product segments.
The company raised $11m in an October 2019 series C round led by Sixth Sense Ventures and filled out by Urmin Group, Fireside Ventures, Mankind Group Family Office, SAR Group Family Office and private investors Pankaj Chaddah and Kris Gopalakrishnan.
A year earlier, Vahdam had raised $2.5m in series B funding from Fireside Ventures, which had backed its $1.4m series A round in December 2017 alongside Mumbai Angels, Singapore Angel network and unnamed other investors.
Fireside Ventures, Mumbai Angels and Singapore Angel network had already provided $650,000 in funding in January 2017 round that included private investors Anand Ladsariya and Ajay Pandey.
Bala Sarda, chief executive of Vahdam, said: “The pandemic has accelerated our growth, given the shift towards high quality and trusted wellness products and larger adoption of e-commerce globally.
“We will also look at entering new categories, new markets, invest heavily in [research and development] and further strengthen our management team.”
