[100 Emerging Women Leaders] This accidental entrepreneur strives to give Indian consumers choice and access to healthy sugar-free tea

Like in many Indian households, 4 pm tea made with ginger and milk was an essential practice at Jyoti Bharadwaj’s home as well. However, belonging to a family of diabetics, she had always been cautious of her sugar consumption. 

So, Bharadwaj, who hails from Mumbai, went on a quest to find a healthier, no-sugar tea option. Her exploration led her to realise the huge gap in the market, prompting her to start something on her own.

“Tea has been a cultural code for most Indian households; however the category has not been innovating for a very long time. I realised that there was an immense potential to innovate tea flavours and create a new responsible beverage brand,” Bharadwaj tells HerStory. 

In 2020, Bharadwaj became the first entrepreneur in her family with TeaFit–a beverage brand that offers no-sugar options such as ready-to-consume green tea and black tea and instant premixes, made from a blend of 14 Ayurvedic herbs. 

Need for healthy, sugar-free drinks 

According to the World Health Organization, in India, around 77 million people above the age of 18 years suffer from diabetes (type 2) and nearly 25 million are prediabetic.

Although many people have become conscious about their sugar consumption these days, Bharadwaj rues the lack of “healthy options”, especially in the tea segment. She also notes that the market is flooded with sugary energy drinks. 

“For building a healthy society, easy access to good quality and clean products is necessary,” she says. 

Recalling her visits to Japan in 2013, Bharadwaj shares that she found a range of unsweetened beverages in the country–crafted using Japanese teas, toasted grains, and their native botanicals. 

“The sheer abundance of choices amazed me; it was truly like Alice in Wonderland for me,” she says.

This experience brewed the idea of creating a sugar-free beverage brand in India. However, it took eight years for Bharadwaj to translate her idea into reality. 

Most loved story

---

[100 Emerging Women Leaders] How Myah Payel Mitra made a career shift to become a successful somatic leadership and career transition coach

About the brand

TeaFit offers peach green tea, lemon black tea, barley tea, and instant premixes in flavours such as ginger, cardamom, and spiced tea. 

The tea is made using natural ingredients including pepper, cinnamon and amla, while the instant tea premixes are made with tea extract and blended with milk powder and spice powders.

TeaFit's products are available in about 400 retail stores including Reliance 7/11 stores and Nature's Basket across India. They are also sold through TeaFit's own website and platforms such as Blinkit, Zepto, and Amazon. TeaFit also exports its products to six countries including Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia. 

Premixes come in sachets priced at Rs 360 each, while the beverages com in bottles that cost Rs 60 each. 

TeaFit competes with brands such as Honest Tea (from  Coca-Cola) and Raw Pressery. 

“We are customer-obsessed and the energy we invest in the product and processes is what gives us an upper edge over our competition,” says Bharadwaj. 

TeaFit appeared in season 2 of Shark Tank and raised Rs 50 lakh for an equity of 8%.

Most loved story

---

[100 Emerging Women Leaders] From an engineer to a marketing maverick, here’s how Sarika Naik found her inner calling

Challenges of an entrepreneur

Bharadwaj completed her MBA in finance and marketing from the Indian School of Business in 2013. Then she worked with the startup Oven Fresh and real-estate portal Housing.com. In 2020, she quit her job to start TeaFit. 

“By this time I had children and a house. I felt like I had nothing to lose at this point in my life. So I mustered up the courage to start anew,” she says. 

Bharadwaj says building a bootstrapped startup can be quite challenging. The journey towards generating revenue, she says, can be slow and long. 

Then there is the challenge from within–self-doubt–which Bharadwaj describes as an “annoying friend” who always stays with an entrepreneur, no matter what the stage of the business is.

“Watching your friends getting successful in jobs or not getting mainstream despite efforts are a few of the many reasons that generate self-doubt. Additionally, I believe women have more self-doubt embedded in their DNA,” she says, continuing, “But this doubt can also be effective as it keeps you hyper focused.” 

Bharadwaj also finds gender bias a huge hurdle. She recalls that, initially, when she was meeting manufacturers, the men did not look her in the eye to discuss the details of the business.

“But I never took offence; instead I found this quite funny. I tried to understand that they found it hard to reconcile with the fact that a lady can run a business alone,” she says. 

For any new entrepreneur, establishing trust with retailers and manufacturers can be hard. This challenge is even greater for women, especially those with children, as there may be doubts about their long-term commitment, says Bharadwaj. 

The entrepreneur stresses that having children is not an obstacle in business; in fact it helps shape a person’s nature. 

“I feel that I am more kind and loving to my team because I am a mother,” she says.

She also points out that many women are ambitious while growing up, but when they get married and their lifestyle changes, they tend to lose sight of their dreams.

“Don’t lose your dreams. Life is tough but nothing we do is easy. Utilise your capabilities as unfulfilled potential brings regret. Lastly, don’t forget to make yourself a cup of that chai, ” she signs off.