Dorje Tea lands straight on Shark Tank India from the tea gardens of Darjeeling!

Dorje Tea is all set to bring the flavours of the Darjeeling tea fresh from the farms of the tea estates and makes its presence in season 2 of Shark Tank India.

Chai is the most loved Indian beverage, and if it's from one of the tea estates of India, then there is a high chance you would want to sip it. Bringing such flavours inspired by the seasons of the hills of Darjeeling, Dorje Tea is all set to scale to different heights with the support of the sharks from Shark Tank India as they received an investment of Rs. 30 lakhs.

"India has 10,000 tea gardens. But only 87 of them are in and around Darjeeling, producing high-quality teas known worldwide as "The Champagne of Teas." While these teas are India's pride, we realized that they are inaccessible, unavailable, or unaffordable, for most Indians," said Sparsh Agarwal, the founder of Dorje Tea on the episode of Shark Tank India. The Agarwal family has been in the tea business for 4 to 5 generations, but Sparsh wanted to bring this to the mainstream. Hence, he founded this brand along with his childhood friend Ishaan Kanoria.

Also Read: Drape an authentic handmade saree from Very Much Indian, a Pune based brand that was recently seen on Shark Tank India

Dorje tea sells a wide range of products grown in the Selim Hill Tea Station in Darjeeling. Their products are inspired by the weather of the place and tea leaves grown in a particular season, giving them a different colour, aroma, and taste. They are categorized into first flush (spring harvest), second flush (summer harvest), roasted flush (monsoon harvest), and final flush (autumn harvest). The co-founders made tea from all these flavours live during their pitch and the sharks tasted it.

The business model of Dorje is based on yearly subscriptions as well as retail distribution. You can subscribe to their products with an annual amount of Rs. 2099 (currently), where you get 4 deliveries every 3 months or 1 delivery each month, depending upon your preference from the flush category. Apart from these, there are various other flavours like Kashmiri kahwa, hibiscus tea, lavender tea, ginger tea, and milk tea, among others.

The Pitch

Dorje earns a gross margin of 75% on their products. They raised capital of 8.5 crores, out of which 6.5 crores was from brand capital and 2 crores from angel investors and HNIs. The brand made a cash burn of 2 lakhs on a revenue of 11 lakhs, as mentioned in the pitch.

Sparsh Agarwal and Ishaan Kanoria asked for 30 lakhs for 5% equity from the sharks, but Namita Thapar and Aman Gupta took a step back from investing. The deal was closed by Anupam Mittal, Peyush Bansal, and Vineeta Singh combined for Rs. 30 lakhs for 15% equity in the end.

Also Read: Swadeshi Blessings, an earthen cookware brand from Udaipur, makes it to Shark Tank India S2!

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