Bala Sarda Founder & CEO VAHDAM® India

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Bala Sarda Founder & CEO VAHDAM® India
Bala Sarda Founder & CEO VAHDAM® India

Bala Sarda is a 32-year-old founder and CEO of VAHDAM® India  who has made a significant impact in the tea industry.  He comes with over 90 years of lineage in the tea industry and is the fourth generation in his family to start a tea business. Given his lineage, he started with tea but the vision was alway to do much more.

VAHDAM is the reverse anagram of Bala’s father’s first name, ‘MADHAV’ whom he considers his biggest inspiration.

With a deep-rooted family heritage and an innate passion, Bala recognized the flaws in the conventional tea and spices supply chain early on. He witnessed the loss of flavor and freshness that occurred due to a broken and fragmented system. Driven by a burning desire to create and change, Bala set out to disrupt the 200-year-old global supply chain and forge a new path.

Bala’s entrepreneurial spirit was nurtured from a young age, setting the stage for his extraordinary achievements.

In 2015, armed with determination, knowledge, and an unwavering vision, Bala founded VAHDAM® India at the tender age of 23 with a vision to take the best of Indian wellness to consumers across the globe under a proud home-grown Indian brand devoid of any middlemen and direct from source. It has been shipped to over 4 million consumers across 130 countries.

Awards & Recognition

Bala Sarda has been recognized as a prominent young entrepreneur and featured in the following prestigious lists:

Under Bala’s leadership, VAHDAM® India  has emerged as a trailblazer brand garnering numerous accolades and recognition. VAHDAM® India has been honored with over 75 GLOBAL awards, including the

VAHDAM India was awarded the ‘Global SMB OF THE YEAR’ by Jeff Bezos, Founder, Amazon in January, 2020. The award was received in person by Bala Sarda

Brand Highlights

Today, VAHDAM® India is the country’s largest home-grown Indian teas and spices brand.

Under Bala’s leadership, the brand has been able to achieve the following milestones:

  • VAHDAM India has been endorsed by global celebrities and icons like Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey, Ellen Degeneres, Martha Stewart, Drew Barrymore, Wendy Williams, Chris Pratt, Nicole Scherzinger, all organically.
  • Only Indian brand to have featured in Oprah’s Favorite Things two years in a row – 2018
    and 2019.

  • VAHDAM India is the only Indian brand to be available in over 7000 stores in the US, 250 stores in Canada, 550 stores in the UK and over 50 stores in UAE. It recently entered in 4000 stores in one of the USA’s biggest chains, CVS as well as COSTCO.

  • VAHDAM® India has established its presence on over 100 online marketplaces Notably, the brand has achieved remarkable success on Amazon USA, emerging as one of the leading brands in its category.
  • VAHDAM® India made waves by being the first Indian wellness brand to have featured in the coveted Oscars and Emmys goody bags, 2022.

  • VAHDAM® India partnered with the popular Netflix original series, Emily in Paris, Season 3. In another exciting collaboration, VAHDAM® joined forces with renowned American singer and actress, Nicole Scherzinger, to introduce a limited-edition gift set

  • VAHDAM® India secured an organic placement in one of the country’s top talk shows – ‘Koffee with Karan’, season 7.
  • VAHDAM® India has been loved and featured heavily by the global press. Over 3000 features, globally.
  • Extensively featured on National Television in the USA including Good Morning America, CBS News, View Your Deal, QVC and more.
  • With its extensive portfolio, VAHDAM® India offers over 100 signature blends spread over 250 SKUs including Loose-Leaf Teas, Pyramid-Shaped Tea Bags, Gifts, Samplers & Assortments, Matcha, Iced Teas, Teawares, Drinkwares and more. It also recently launched its second biggest category – VAHDAM Spices with Michelin-star awarded chef Vikas Khanna.

  • The brand’s omni-channel presence, focus on marketing and strategic partnerships has helped expand its reach and build a loyal customer base to 4 million across 130 countries.

Financial Highlights

With Bala’s visionary leadership, VAHDAM India has become a globally recognized brand.

  •  The brand has raised over 290 crores in finding that include VCs like IIFL AMC, Fireside Ventures, Sixth Sense Ventures, Mumbai Angels (20+ Angels), Family Offices i.e Mankind Pharma, SAR Group, Urmin Group , Entrepreneurs – Kris Gopalkrishnan (Infosys Founder), Pankaj Chaddha (Zomato Founder), Amrish Rau (PayU Founder) & more and Individuals like Sachin Tendulkar (Cricketer) & Abhishek Bachchan (Bollywood Actor)
  • Since VAHDAM’s inception, it has delivered a CAGR of 151%.
  • It grew by 110% during COVID
  • In 2022, VAHDAM® India experienced significant growth and achieved net profitability
  • VAHDAM’s trademark is now registered in 80+ countries

 

Social Impact & CSR initiatives

Under Bala’s vision, VAHDAM® India accelerated their commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals, driven by the belief that businesses can create positive change. VAHDAM®India embraced the ethos of “DO GOOD BY DOING GOOD,” aiming to make a sustainable impact on the people and planet.

  • VAHDAM® India focuses on giving back to society and the community. A minimum of 1% of VAHDAM® India’s revenue is directed towards the education of its growers’ children under its flagship CSR Initiatives, TEACH ME.
  • TEACH ME has impacted the lives of nearly 15,000 children in 89 tea estates, schools, and community centers across West Bengal, Assam, and the Nilgiris.
  • Bala initiated VAHDAM® India Scholarship for Higher Education in 2020 with a clear aim of supporting the youth of tea estates who wanted to continue their higher education but did not have the means to. As of date, the total number of VAHDAM® Scholarships for Higher Education is 95.
  • VAHDAM India has been a certified Climate neutral & Plastic neutral brand for 3 years We have been offsetting our carbon footprint by purchasing verified carbon credits from Gold Standard Foundation, Switzerland and aim to become and remain a net-zero emission organization.

These accolades underscore VAHDAM’s success as a prominent direct-to-consumer brand in the food and beverage industry, showcasing its dedication to delivering exceptional products and experiences to its customers.