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Accel India, Horizen Ventures back tea commerce start-up

  • Andrew Woodman
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Accel Partners India and Horizen Ventures have together invested $1 million in Teabox, a start-up that operates out of Singapore and Bangalore.

Founded in 2012, Teabox sells fresh specialty teas such as Darjeeling, Assam and Nilgiri, sourcing products directly from plantations and shipping them worldwide. The company - which offers around 100 different teas from over 75 different plantations - already claims to have delivered 5 million cups of tea to over 65 countries. 

"The tea industry, which is expected to touch $40 billion in turnover is ready for disruption," said Prashant Prakash, a senior partner at Accel Partners India, in a statement. "Global e-commerce can circumvent the existing value chain and enable tea producers to connect with customers directly world over."

The statement adds that the India is the world's second largest producer and fourth largest exporter of tea yet relies heavily on retailers and distributors to market its teas.

Following the investment, Teabox plans to adds a number of new features to its business such as subscription service and an expanded catalogue. It also plans to "aggressively" expand into other countries

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