“We aim to grow as India’s finest specialty tea brand” – The Tea Shore founder Neha Ranjan

From taking a digital-first approach, daring to introduce a startup when the pandemic was at its worst, catering to a niche audience of health-conscious population and bootstrapping her way to profitability, the journey of an unconventional startup The Tea Shore begins this way.

Beauty & wellness has always been Neha Ranjan’s cup of tea so she altogether thought to make it a cup of tea in reality by introducing her own tea brand, The Tea Shore which offers premium tea with a blend of great taste and healthy ingredients. Her confidence and vast knowledge on tea encouraged her to take her first step in the world of business.

In this elaborate interview, she talks about her journey as a young entrepreneur, what differentiates The Tea Shore from other tea brands in India, business modules, long-term goals of the company and more.

What encouraged you to go for a tea business despite knowing the fact that there are many existing players?

Challenges are everywhere and in everything. Nothing comes easy in life. Tea is a unique beverage that can give you multiple health benefits besides refreshment. Disappointingly, what I observed is that either quality/quantity is on the compromising side or otherwise price has been on the higher side. So, I thought of bringing a change by offering premium quality tea and that too at a fair price by The Tea Shore.

What makes tea as a beverage, so special?

Tea is considered as the second most consumed beverage in the world after water. This makes it a critical part of the daily lives of millions of people around the world. Tea is also associated with a rich history across continents and has enjoyed a cult status at social gatherings for hundreds of years. Thus, combining tea with some healthy fruits, herbs, and spices increases its overall health benefits and makes it an irreplaceable drink for an ever-growing health conscious population.

As a founder of the brand, what, according to you, is the USP of The Tea Shore?

Our gourmet tea blends because they are unique and are created by research on the health benefits of natural ingredients that we use. All the blends are made in-house without any use of artificial color or flavoring. To keep the freshness intact, we work extensively on the packaging of our teas and that’s another strong point.

Why did you restrict the business to e-commerce platforms? Why did you decide against not distributing your products via offline stores?

Currently, we are self-financed and organically growing by entering into new markets and developing new product ranges. Our latest is the Tea Gift Boxes (Wellness Treat Gift Box and Make a Healthy Move Gift Box) besides Exotic Assam Tea (for regular tea drinkers) and pure Chamomile Tea.

It was difficult to go offline during the pandemic hit last year because of multiple lockdowns and slow movement that happened even later. That’s why we thought to go online initially and let people pick healthier options for themselves such as green teas, or herbal concoctions. You will, however, see our products up for sale in offline stores soon.

Which of The Tea Shore teas are beneficial for health?

All our tea products are designed with the aim of offering health benefits to consumers. We have a variety of products including green, white, black, and herbal tea. We work very carefully on the type of tea and carefully decide whether or not to develop an infusion. Polyphenols in tea possess antioxidant, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties. They modulate detoxification enzymes and stimulate immune functions. Therefore, we blend some of our particular teas with herbs, fruits, and other natural ingredients to increase their health benefits and taste. Some of our unique variants include Weight Loss Green Tea, Masala Chai Black Tea, Orange Cinnamon Green Tea, Hibiscus Mint Green Tea and Lemongrass Green Tea.

What do you want to achieve with The Tea Shore in the next 5 years?

We aim to grow as India’s finest specialty tea brand with a presence in multiple domestic and international markets while focusing on commerce and setting up our retail presence.

The Tea Shore is one of the first brands in India that has taken the initiative of lending a touch of health and wellness to an everyday habit of Indians. In the past, a few brands had attempted to come up with tea variants that could offer a seamless blend of taste that appeals to one’s senses and ingredients that improved one’s health. Nobody has managed to do this as well as The Tea Shore is doing. The kind of response the brand has received in a short span of time serves as a testimony to the fact that it is all set to have a long and successful run for years to come.

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