Blue Tea

Nitesh Singh and Sunil Chandra Saha are Season 2's most globally-market-first herbal tea founders two entrepreneurs who built Blue Tea as an international brand before establishing a strong domestic presence, with 80 percent of their sales coming from overseas markets (primarily the US) at the time of the pitch, and only 20 percent from India. This reverse market entry building international credibility before Indian mass-market adoption gave Blue Tea the product quality validation that Indian consumers increasingly associate with brands that succeed internationally before coming home. The World Tea Awards in Zurich recognized Blue Tea as the "Most Innovative Tea-2018." The World Tea Awards recognition achieved in the same year the brand was founded is Season 2's most internationally immediate product quality validation for a tea brand. Winning "Most Innovative Tea" in Zurich in your founding year communicates that the product had achieved world-class quality from its very fi

Blue Tea is India's first premium floral tea brand producing caffeine-free, Ayurvedic, butterfly pea flower-based herbal teas that offer the health benefits of antioxidants and anti-aging without the bitterness of conventional green tea. The butterfly pea flower (Aparajita in Sanskrit, Shankhpushpi in Ayurveda) has been used in Indian and Southeast Asian traditional medicine for centuries and Blue Tea commercialised it as a modern, Instagram-friendly, globally distributable premium wellness beverage. Offers fifty plus herbal tea varieties in India and thirty five plus in the United States. Ayurvedic Benefits: Said to help with mental relaxation, skin, and digestion.

Amount Asked: ₹75 lakhs Equity Offered: 1% Implied Pre-Money Valuation: ₹75 crore

Nitesh and Sunil walked into Season 2 Episode 26 as its final pitch following the Gavin Paris equity controversy and Unstop's record-declining ₹5 crore offer. The Blue Tea pitch demonstrated the colour-changing butterfly pea tea live on the Shark Tank stage the moment lemon was added and the tea transformed from blue to purple was Episode 26's most visually captivating product demonstration. The Zurich World Tea Awards recognition was the pitch's most internationally credible quality signal a brand recognised as the world's most innovative tea in its founding year has demonstrated that its product concept is genuinely novel at the highest competitive assessment level.

Anupam Mittal was the most directly concerned about founder honesty. Anupam left the presentation since he was a little dubious because one of the co-founders was overstating things to impress them. Amit Jain exited on similar communication concerns. Amit had a similar view about the founders not giving direct answers to specific commercial questions. Entrepreneur Edge Namita Thapar exited on category expertise grounds pharmaceutical distribution offers no specific strategic value for a premium floral tea brand's international distribution expansion. Peyush Bansal exited optical retail expertise provides no commercial leverage for an international wellness tea brand. Aman Gupta remained engaged the 80 percent international sales distribution, the Zurich award recognition, and the colour-changing feature's social media virality resonated with his consumer brand marketing instincts.

Blue Tea secured an investment of ₹50 Lakhs for 3% Equity and ₹25 Lakhs Debt @ 12% Interest from Aman Gupta bringing the company's valuation to ₹16.67 Crore. The founders had asked for ₹75 lakhs for 1% equity (₹75 crore valuation). Aman offered ₹50 lakhs for 3% equity (₹16.67 crore valuation) plus ₹25 lakhs debt total ₹75 lakhs in capital but with a dramatic valuation markdown (₹16.67 crore vs. ₹75 crore) and higher equity percentage (3% vs. 1%). The founders accepted recognising that Aman's boAt consumer brand marketing expertise was the most relevant strategic asset for Blue Tea's India market acceleration challenge.

Nitesh Singh and Sunil Chandra Saha accepted Aman Gupta's offer of ₹50 lakhs for 3% equity plus ₹25 lakhs debt at 12% interest valuing Blue Tea at ₹16.67 crore. The deal matched the founders' original capital ask (₹75 lakhs total) but at a dramatically lower valuation (₹16.67 crore vs. ₹75 crore) and higher equity (3% vs. 1%). Aman's India market marketing expertise was the precise strategic asset Blue Tea needed to reverse its 80/20 international-to-India sales split.

Blue Tea Founder Nitesh Singh shared on a podcast with Surya Tiwari that after the show aired, they got a significant boost in sales from the Indian market, which was only 20% of their total sales prior to the show. Their sales jumped 7X within 24 hours of the show airing. He added that the Shark Tank show helped build trust in the Blue Tea brand. As of October 2023, The Brand is still in Business and Thriving! The 7x sales jump in 24 hours is Season 2 Episode 26's most dramatic post-episode demand spike for a beverage brand confirming that the butterfly pea tea's visual demonstration and Aman's investment validation had immediately converted millions of Indian viewers into first-time buyers.