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Jyoti Bharadwaj

Founder, TeaFit - Inc42's Top 30 Startups (Jul 2021) - Ex Housing.com - ISB Hyderabad 2013 -

Jyoti Bharadwaj is an entrepreneur and founder of multiple companies in the food and beverage industry. She is the founder of TeaFit, a zero-sugar beverage brand launched in 2021, and Battlestar Food Technologies Private Limited, which she founded in February 2019.1

Bharadwaj gained national recognition after appearing on Shark Tank India Season 2, where she successfully pitched TeaFit and secured an investment of Rs 50 lakhs for 8% equity at a valuation of Rs 6.5 crores.2 TeaFit produces healthy, zero-calorie drinks made with natural herbs and ingredients, without sugar or sweeteners.3

Prior to her entrepreneurial ventures, Bharadwaj worked as a Business Head at Housing.com from July 2015 to December 2018.1 She holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Finance & Marketing from the Indian School of Business, which she attended from April 2012 to March 2013.1

Bharadwaj is based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, and has over 500 connections on LinkedIn.1 Her entrepreneurial journey has been marked by several achievements, including being recognized among Inc42's Top 30 Startups and being a TED X speaker.1

Highlights

Aug 23 · linkedin

यात्री गण कृपया ध्यान दें । अपनी कुर्सी की पेटी बाँध लें । और TeaFit की बिना शक्कर वाली चाय का आनंद लें 💜

Ladies and gentleman, May I have your attention please - please fasten your seatbelts and enjoy TeaFit’s sublime unsweetened teas.

Our unsweetened spiced tea is now available on India’s youngest and fastest growing airline Akasa Air -

We are proud and humbled by this collaboration - please do ask for TeaFit when you fly Akasa next.

Thank you to the Akasa Air team for making it happen, we are committed to nothing but excellence for your fliers - let’s go 🙌🏼

If you are an organisation and would like to have TeaFit for your employees or customers - DM me, we’ll make it happen.

#milestone

Jul 22 · linkedin

Thanks to my work with TeaFit and to you the community - I now have a tiny tiny voice in the industry. I decided to use it and share expectations (more like suggestions) from Ms. Seetharaman's third budget due tomorrow.

There are many expectations from the #FMCG sector for the government to drive demand in general and rural demand in particular. But that's an industry wide expectation and far more qualified leaders would be sharing their views on the same.

I personally am optimistic about the upcoming #Indianbudget and its potential to drive innovation in the beverage industry. We strongly urge the government to classify healthy #zerosugar beverages under the lower 12% tax bracket, similar to fruit-based beverages. Currently these product, including TeaFit fall under 18% tax bracket.

Additionally, we advocate for a differentiated GST on carbonated beverages based on their product category. Currently it’s a blanket 28% GST + 12% Cess for all carbonated beverages irrespective of its content. This would incentivise new-age brands to develop healthier alternatives to traditional, high-sugar options like colas and energy drinks, ultimately promoting better public health outcomes. Not all carbonated beverages are #sin. We have been unable to look at this space despite being a healthy beverage brand due to the 40% GST. I am certain we aren't the only ones.

Here are some examples from around the world

  1. UK #SugarTax: Introduced in April 2018 The levy is tiered: 24 pence per liter for drinks with more than 8 grams of sugar per 100 milliliters. (Almost every Indian beverage brand falls in this bracket) 18 pence per liter for drinks with 5-8 grams of sugar per 100 milliliters. #Impact: This has led to many manufacturers reformulating their products to reduce sugar content. For example, Coca-Cola reduced the sugar in its Fanta product to avoid the higher tax bracket.

  2. Mexico #SugarTax: In 2014, Mexico introduced a tax of 1 peso per liter on sugary drinks. #Impact: There was an immediate decrease in the purchase of taxed beverages by approximately 6% in the first year, with an increase in water and non-taxed beverages' consumption.

  3. South Africa #SugarTax: In 2018, South Africa taxes 2.1 cents per gram of sugar content that exceeds 4 grams per 100 milliliters! #Impact: This measure has driven manufacturers to reduce the sugar content in their beverages. Coca-Cola reduced sugar in its Sprite brand by 37%.

#PublicHealth: Reducing sugar consumption will

  1. Improve public health and reduce government spends on the same
  2. Encourage manufacturers to reformulate their products
  3. Drive consumer awareness and help make better choices.

Thank you to The Economic Timesmoneycontrol.comCNBCHindustan Times Financial Times for featuring this in your publication. We do hope that people are listening. 🙏

#budget #publichealth #fmcg

Related Questions

What inspired Jyoti Bharadwaj to start Battlestar Food Technologies Private Limited?
How did Jyoti Bharadwaj's experience at the Indian School of Business influence her entrepreneurial journey?
What are the key challenges Jyoti Bharadwaj has faced while building TeaFit?
How did appearing on Shark Tank impact TeaFit's growth and visibility?
What are Jyoti Bharadwaj's future plans for Battlestar Food Technologies Private Limited?
Jyoti Bharadwaj
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Location

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India