When Snigdha Manchandana (Owner, Tea Trunk, Goa) was studying in Sri Lanka, she realised that in India tea is gravely mis-understood. She operates from the online space and is based in Goa. She plans to have a store of her own but till then her online store is growing well.
Launch
It may sound silly but I guarded my collection of teas from around the world in my dad’s vintage trunk until the day I realised that tea tastes best when shared. Tea Trunk is the home of my teas and their aromatic stories. Tea has been a ritual for over a decade, and even before I formally studied the product, it was a very big part of my life. My father was posted in Assam and in the early 90’s brought me a pack of green tea that opened up my world of teas. I had teas from Kenya, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Korea, but while I had a great collection, I barely knew anything about it.
Her early memories go back to her mother putting two kettles to boil on the stove. Tea boiled in one, while the other had carom seeds or mint leaves or lemongrass boiling inside. Snigdha and her sister would dutifully sip on the herb-infused concoction throughout the day. “We grew up drinking these herbal infusions, and I recall times when my mother returned home from Assam with teas, and visits to tea estates. For over a decade, I’ve been consumed by the love of tea. I collected teas in my trunk since my teenage days, and currently my tea treasure includes over 100 exotic and rare teas and blends from around the word. This precious treasure became my inspiration to start Tea Trunk (a boutique Tea Consultancy) – a venture that was about the art of tea appreciation.
Challenges and benefits
We drink a lot of tea, but not necessarily the best quality or for the right reasons. It’s important to know the difference between good tea (which comes with health benefits), and what-most-people-think-is-good tea. Our first challenge was to change the perception of tea for the youth and make it appealing to them. This a progressive change. It was challenging to get tea lovers try out different kinds of tea. Our tea tastings and tea appreciation workshops were instrumental is getting people to experience a new world of tea.
Our tea range includes Black Tea, Vanilla, Ginger Root, ChilliChai, Green Tea, Lemon and a Limited Edition Marigold & Lemongrass, Rose Oolong and a White Tea called Moon White. Our teas are 100 percent natural and that is our USP. A Lemon Green Tea bought off the shelves in a supermarket, will contain natural flavours or citric acid or lemon essence, but our lemon green tea uses real lemon peels for flavouring, which makes it healthy too. A significant part of our services include gifting for corporates and seasonal hampers, and tie-ups (for instance) like when we worked with the blind and deaf students at The Hellen Keller Institution to create tea cup candles for the festive season.
We have 6 types of teas in our Trunk currently and the most popular is Vanilla. Our customers love the aromatic whiff of the vanilla pod and its soothing aroma. ChilliChai,which is a twist on the favourite masala chai, is infused with red chilli flakes; it is our most recent launch and has become an instant hit.
Innovation is key. We plan to launch a new flavour of tea every 2-3 months. Our customers e-mail us on what kind of new flavours they would like and as a Tea Sommelier, I am constantly crafting new blends with unique ingredients. Our next launch is an indulgent saffron kahwa – a detoxifying and luxurious blend.
We are planning to launch a Tasting Circle where our customers get to be a part of our new product development. They willparticipate and join the tea sommelier in crafting new blends. Members get exclusive privileges and discounts on our website store and at our offline tasting events. We are also planning to launch a subscription based model for members to get tea samples of garden fresh teas all year round. We plan to take our teas international to a global audience. In 2014 we will launch our international payment gateway and start shipping worldwide.
Why a specialty store?
Speciality stores are patronsed by connoisseurs. When nothing but the best will do, customers look for speciality stores, and when there are limited options available for luxury teas, customers appreciate a store like ours.
Expansion plans
In 2014, we will expand to international markets, offering to the world the finest teas from India. We do intend on opening a brick and mortar store too, but haven’t put a date to it yet.
Box
Facts Year of start : Online store launched in June 2013
Average bill size: Rs 500
Target audience: Primarily women between 25 to 42 years; SECA and SECB
