Sastasundar aims big

Calcutta, Feb. 24: Calcutta-based Sastasundar.com is eyeing a turnover of Rs 100 crore for the fiscal ending March 2017.

"We have been meeting our business expectations every year and this time we will be crossing the Rs 100-crore mark," said B.L. Mittal, founder and executive chairman of Sastasundar.com. In the last financial year, the company registered a turnover of Rs 60 crore.

The firm, which is a digital marketplace for medicines, FMCG and healthcare products, had entered the tea segment in 2015 with a single variety of green tea. It is now offering 41 varieties, including organic, black and flavoured teas.

The national packaged green tea market is pegged at Rs 760 crore, which is approximately 8 per cent of the total market of packet tea in India.

"We source Darjeeling tea from an organic garden called Arya Tea Company, while we buy Assam crushed-tear-curl tea from public auctions in Calcutta and Siliguri," he said.

Arya Tea Company has a single estate in Darjeeling spread across 125 hectares, which starts at an altitude of 1,820 meters and goes down to 900 meters. The plantation produces around 60,000 kg of tea annually.

For the fiscal ended March 2016, the company had clocked a revenue of about Rs 28 lakh from its tea business and is eyeing Rs 75 lakh in the current fiscal.

"We have a blending unit and a laboratory at Baruipur where tea is mixed proportionately and tested as well," said Mittal. The facility has a maximum blending capacity of 1,000 kg a day. However, as of now it blends around 1000-2000 kg a month depending on the demand.

The company will be selling its products not only through its online platform but also through its 168 Healthbuddy stores across the state.

"We already have 1.5 lakh regular customers buying medicines from us who may now also buy tea. Besides, we will add over 30 new Healthbuddy stores in Bengal by March this year," said Mittal.

Additionally, we will be setting up 10 stores in Delhi in April and will expand into Maharashtra and Karnataka," said Mittal. The tea being sold is also available on Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal, he added.

Sastasundar.com is also keeping aside Rs 1 crore for the next two years to market tea.