Teamonk plans to raise $5M; aims 3-fold jump in revenue in FY22

Teamonk Global plans to raise $5 million to expand its business in overseas markets and tap the growing demand for green and black teas amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a top company official said.

The Bengaluru-based startup, which markets speciality teas, expects its revenue to grow by 55 percent this fiscal to Rs 10.5 crore and over Rs 30 crore in 2021-22 despite the disruption caused by the pandemic, its founder and MD Ashok Mittal said.

It sells more than 60 variants of premium tea ranging from black teas, white teas, green teas and oolong teas.

Teamonk, which was founded in 2016, has so far raised $3 million from angel and institutional investors to grow its business. It is backed by Inflection Point Ventures, Hunch Ventures, Roots Ventures and Lead Angels.

"We sell pure and natural teas sourced from mountains like Nilgiri and Darjeeling, primarily through ecommerce platforms," Mittal told PTI.

Nalin Sood, CEO and Co-Founder, Teamonk, said the company's asset-light ecommerce distribution model helps in scaling up the business.

Teamonk has strategic alliances with two tea processing units in Nilgiris. In Darjeeling, it has an alliance with two plantation companies having four tea gardens. It has a packaging unit in Bengaluru.

"We are looking at raising Series A funding of $5 million sometime in the middle of next year," said Mittal, who has around four decades of experience in the tea business.

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The fund will be utilised to grow business primarily in international markets. Asked about growth in revenues, Mittal said the company posted a turnover of Rs 6.76 crore last fiscal year, of which 45 percent came from exports.

"We are expecting revenue of around Rs 10.5 crore this fiscal," he said.

Mittal said the company has set a target to reach around Rs 30 crore turnover in 2021-22 and Rs 95 crore in 2022-23 financial years.

"We will grow aggressive in international market where the price realisation is 2.5 times higher than the domestic market," Sood said, adding that exports would contribute 75 percent of the business in coming years.

Teamonk is present in key international markets including the US, Canada, the UK, France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands and will launch products in Poland, Germany and Japan in the next 15 months.

The global speciality tea market is estimated to be $5.8 billion. The market for speciality tea in India is estimated to be around Rs 3,500 crore and has been growing at around 30 percent year-on-year, Teamonk said.

The brand competes with brands like Vahdam India and Teacupsfull.