Teabox bags $6 million in funding from JAFCO Asia, others

Teabox, the innovative startup that delivers delicious teas to the tea-curious worldwide, announced today the close of $6 million in Series A round of funding led by JAFCO Asia. The other participants include Accel Partners, which seed funded the company in early 2014, Keystone Group LP and Dragoneer Investment Group. The new financing will be used primarily to support Teabox's growth in key markets.

Founded in 2012, Teabox is a premium tea brand that is focused on vertical integration of sourcing, branding and distributing teas - while upending the traditional tea-retailing model in the process. With a catalog consisting of selections from over 200 different tea plantations in India & Nepal, Teabox offers the largest variety of delicious loose-leaf teas at a great price. Additionally, customers can also choose from a variety of subscription plans to receive curated boxes of delicious tea samples for $20/month.

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Robert M. Bass, President of Keystone, said, “We are delighted to be partnering with Kaushal, JAFCO, Accel, and the entire Teabox team. I am a longtime tea drinker and first discovered Teabox as a customer. Given the superior quality of the company’s product and its innovative approach to sourcing, marketing, and distribution, we see great things ahead for Teabox.”

Kaushal Dugar, Founder, Teabox said, "We are very excited about the opportunities this financing gives us as we continue to grow our business and expand our offerings. Both Accel and JAFCO believe in the value proposition of Teabox and we look forward to having them as valuable contributors to Teabox's evolution and growth".

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Talking about the significance of this investment, Supriya Singh of JAFCO said, "Teabox’s disruptive business model is highly scalable and allows complete control of the customer experience. JAFCO's expertise across different markets will add significant value to Teabox in the coming months."

Over the last 12 months, Teabox’s orders have grown by 10x. Teabox has thus far shipped 20 million cups' worth of tea to customers in 75 countries. Prashanth Prakash from Accel Partners said, "We are excited to continue our association with Teabox in building the first vertically integrated consumer brand to come from India.”