A master storyteller can compel his target audiences to try his product at least once. Such was the power and visual imagery created by Sparsh Agarwal – the cofounder of this Darjeeling Tea brand. The tea seller weaved his way beautifully into the hearts of three sharks to grant him his asking. So what is so special about this Dorje tea, the founders, the amazing Darjeeling tea story, and the pitch? Let us find out…
Pitch
With a mission and a vision to create a 100-crore business in India, co-founders Ishaan Kanoria and Sparsh Agarwal pitched in their Dorge Tea brand in Shark Tank India Season 1 with an asking of 30 lakhs in funds for a 5% equity.
About Dorje Tea
Sparsh Agarwal explained in his pitch that India has around 10,000 tea gardens but only 87 of these are located in Darjeeling. The high-quality teas produced here carved a niche for themselves in the global tea market and are known as ‘the champagne of teas’. While these teas are so delicious and different, they are mostly unavailable, inaccessible, and high-priced for most Indians.
The co-founders explained the four flushes of the Dorje tea beautifully:
Spring Flush – also known as the first flush or spring harvest, this tea is quite mild but refreshing.
Summer Flush – the tea leaves in this season are attacked by a unique insect called thrips. This results in an oxidation process just before plucking the leaves. The process releases a unique muscatel or ‘Kasturi’ fragrance in the leaves. This tea flavor is strong, yet mildly sweet.
Monsoon Flush – Amid thunderstorms and rains, the tea starts getting darker and muskier. It is also known as roasted Darjeeling tea. It has a smoky flavor.
Autumn Flush – This one is Darjeeling’s best-kept secret and the last harvest of the season. It should be had in a traditional way of slurping to get the best taste.
Explaining Dorje teas further, Sparsh said that the famous Selim Hill tea gardens, bordering the town of Kurseong and located 4000ft above sea level, are amongst the 87 tea gardens in Darjeeling. It is known after the Englishman Henry Selim who planted it in 1871. The Selim Hill Forest covers around 500 acres of these hills, while the other half is used for tea plantations.
The brand name ‘Dorje’ is derived from the word Darjeeling. Tea drinkers can get 250gm of each flush for a price of Rs. 2100. The tea flushes are distinct to each season of the year in Darjeeling – spring, summer, monsoon, and autumn.
Sparsh further explained that despite the unique musky flavor of the Darjeeling teas, the entire tea business is currently suffering owing to the pandemic. To counter this problem, the founders thought of making four flushes of Dorje tea available to the customers through an annual subscription plan.
Founders
Sparsh Agarwal and Ishaan Kanoria are the co-founders of Dorje Tea. Sparsh Agarwal’s family is connected to this tea business for 5 generations. Through this idea, he wants to revive the tea business in Darjeeling. Ishaan is from Kolkata and is a childhood friend of Sparsh. Ishaan looks after the brand’s business, marketing, and financial aspects, while Sparsh looks after production.
Revenue and Business Scale
The price of Dorje Tea varies between 200 and 1000 Indian rupees. The cost of a Dorje Tea subscription is 2100 Rupees per year. The owners assert that they will generate INR 10 crore in revenue over the next five years. They brought in 11 lakh rupees in revenue in August 2022. Their net margin is negative, and their gross margin is 75%.
Discussion with the Sharks
The pitch was beautifully crafted and well executed. The sharks became fans of Sparsh with his story-telling expertise. Sparsh called on shark Anupam to smell the different flavors of tea and help him serve the tea to the other sharks.
Namita Thapar exited the pitch saying that she is quite particular about the milk tea that she has with ginger and lemongrass. She said that she will not want to quit her traditional tea-drinking method for another tea.
Shark Aman exited the pitch as their business was already in a loss, despite raising a lot of funds from angel investors.
Final Offer
Shark Vineeta Singh advised them not to be so particular about the subscription thing as most Indians will not want to pay an advance sum for buying tea in India. But, she showed interest in the brand, and later, along with sharks Anupam and Peyush, offered 30 lakhs to the founders for 15% equity.
These three sharks told the founders that they will have to do a lot of work to make the vision of Dorje Tea being a 100 crore brand in 5 years, a reality. The co-founders accepted this offer gracefully.
Final Thoughts
It was a fun episode to watch. Post this pitch on Shark Tank, the sales of Dorje Tea online grew considerably. The smooth oration of Sparsh Agarwal was one of his finest skills as an entrepreneur and, as per shark Peyush Bansal, a quality that can lead entrepreneurs to success.
