E-commerce · Beverages
Our estate has a famous name, but buyers cannot tell our tea from the next one.
Tea is bought by people who already know what they want, and by people who want to learn. The first group searches by garden, flush and grade: Darjeeling first flush, Assam CTC, Nilgiri. The second looks for a gift, a daily cup that is better than what they have, or a tea to try.
A 90-minute audit call and a written, scored report. Turnaround, reporting and term are agreed in writing after the audit.
In one paragraph
Tea e-commerce is the online sale of loose leaf, CTC, tea bags, green, black, white, oolong, masala and herbal blends, by gardens, blenders and brands, in packs and gift boxes. GullySales works on telling the buyer what a tea is and how to brew it, on garden and flush stories that can be shown, and on gifting and repeat orders.
Few buyers know the difference between a tea that is good and one that is merely named well. They can be helped by pages that explain how to brew, how to store and what each type tastes like.
Last updated 7 Oct 2026. Product, labelling and advertising rules for beverages differ by product and change. We describe them in general terms, so check the current position with your own adviser or the regulator before you publish a claim.
Who it is for
This is written for you if you sell tea online.
- Tea gardens and estates in Darjeeling, Assam, the Nilgiris and Kangra selling directly
- Blenders and brands selling CTC, masala chai and everyday packs
- Specialty tea sellers with green, white, oolong and herbal blends
- Gift sellers who pack tea boxes and sampler sets for festivals and offices
Not for
It is not the right fit if.
- A seller who uses a garden name on a blend that does not come from there. Buyers and the authorities notice.
- A brand that has no way to say what is different about its tea
How buyers choose
What decides the sale of tea.
Garden, flush and grade
First flush, second flush, autumn, FTGFOP and other grade marks. Collectors search with them, and everyone else needs them explained in a sentence.
Loose leaf or bags
A household making chai in a pan wants CTC by the kilo. A person who drinks one cup at their desk wants tea bags. The listing has to say which it is.
How to brew it
Water temperature, amount of leaf, time. A buyer of green or white tea can spoil an expensive pack by brewing it like chai, and may blame the tea.
Sampler and gift sets
Many buyers want to try several teas before committing to a bag. Sampler boxes and tea gift sets are also the main gifting product.
Where sales are lost
What usually goes wrong when you sell tea online.
In the words sellers use on the first call.
“Everyone claims their tea is premium”
The word means nothing to a buyer. Naming the garden, the harvest and the way it is sorted gives a reason to believe the price.
“Buyers of specialty tea do not know how to brew it”
A bad cup of an expensive tea ends in a poor review. Brewing cards in the pack, and a short video on the page, prevent it.
“Gift sales peak at festivals and corporate season”
A gift box is bought once for a date. A plan to bring a gift buyer back for themselves is needed, and few sellers have one.
The scope
The work we would propose for tea.
Measured on purchases, conversion rate, cost to win a customer, average order value and repeat purchases. Anything here that needs a platform or tool we have not used with you is confirmed in the audit before it goes in the scope.
- Garden and flush pagesA page for each garden and each harvest, in the words collectors use and with a plain explanation for everyone else.
- Brewing guides on pack and pageWater, leaf and time for each tea, written once and used on the listing, the pack insert and the first-order email.
- Sampler sets and gift boxesPages for tasting sets, festival boxes and corporate gifts, with contents, weights and a delivery date.
- A second-order plan for gift buyersA message to people who bought a gift box, offering a pack for themselves, after the occasion has passed.
- Marketplace listingsTitles and images for the platforms where everyday tea is bought, with weights, type and brewing noted.
What we do
What you get for tea.
Each deliverable and what it is there to change.
A garden and flush guide
For each tea: where it grows, when it is plucked, how it is sorted and what it tastes like, in a few lines.
A brewing card per tea
Leaf amount, water, time and a note on milk or no milk, for the pack and the page.
A tasting sampler specification
Which teas, in what sizes, at what price, designed for the person who wants to try before buying a bag.
A gift calendar and box list
Occasions, boxes and the date by which an order must be placed to arrive in time.
How the result is measured
- Purchases
- Conversion rate
- Customer acquisition cost
- Repeat purchase rate
- Return rate
- Sampler to full-size conversion
Recorded as a baseline before work starts, so every later report has an honest comparison.
How it works
From your first message to the first report.
No open-ended retainer. Every step gives you something in writing.
First
Free audit call
90 minutes with whoever handles your enquiries: how they arrive, how fast they are answered, where they are lost.
After the call
Written, scored report
Six areas scored, fixes ranked by return and cost. If you want our help, the scope, the fee and the reporting come with it, in writing.
Before work starts
Baseline recorded
Enquiries by source, reply time, conversion and cost per order, written down so every later report has an honest comparison.
After the baseline
The first fix goes live
Usually the cheapest one on the report: reply time, a follow-up sequence or the marketing-to-sales handover.
As agreed
Report against the baseline
What moved, what did not, and what changes next, in plain words. How often you get it is set in writing before work starts.
At renewal
Renew on the numbers
The term ends and you decide whether to continue from the results. The length is agreed in writing before anything starts.
What we need from you
What to have ready before the audit call.
None of it has to be tidy. We read what you have.
- Your teas with garden, grade and prices
- Pack sizes, boxes and gift sets
- Your store, marketplace and Instagram links
- Complaints and returns, especially those about taste or brewing
- Corporate and gifting orders you took last season
Selling in India and abroad
Selling tea beyond your own market.
Where you sell decides sizes, units, seasons and returns. We work from Bengaluru and have no overseas office, so for a new country we start from your own sales and the platforms you already use.
Indian tea has a name abroad
Darjeeling and Assam are known in the UK, Europe, Japan and the US. Buyers abroad search by garden and harvest, and read ounces or grams, and the rules on labelling and geographic names are for your adviser to confirm.
Direct, stockist or auction
Many estates sell through auctions and agents. A direct consumer sale from India is a smaller line, and the first step is to look at the overseas orders you already receive.
FAQ
Questions about selling tea online.
Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.
How do I explain tea grades to ordinary buyers?
Can I use the Darjeeling name on my tea?
What sells better, loose leaf or tea bags?
How much does it cost?
How long is the contract?
How soon will we see results?
Who will actually do the work?
What do you need from us?
What if we are not happy with the work?
Sellers of tea also need
Also selling from a shop, a workshop or a warehouse? See the page for fmcg and beverage brands and cafes and coffee shops.
This page is part of the e-commerce section. The D2C brands page covers the arithmetic of acquisition cost and the second order for any brand.
Why us
Why owners pick GullySales over an agency.
Marketing and sales, as one job
Most agencies stop at the enquiry. We also fix what happens after it: the reply, the follow-up, the quote and the CRM.
The person on the first call does the work
No account managers in between. You are never handed to someone you have not met.
A baseline before anything starts
Your numbers are written down on day one, so every later report compares against something honest.
The fee in writing, split three ways
Our time, your media spend and production on separate lines. You always see what goes to us.
No guarantees we cannot keep
The term is agreed in writing and never a default twelve months. We never promise a ranking or a lead count, because nobody controls those.
One office, and we say so
Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru. We work across India by call and WhatsApp and travel when a session needs to be in person.
#257, 3rd floor, Sri Nanjundeshwara Complex, Nagarbhavi 8th Block, Outer Ring Road. How we work.
Engagement options
Ways to work with us.
Pick the size of commitment that fits. Every option starts with the free audit.
Option 1
The audit on its own
A 90-minute call and a written, scored report. It says honestly whether you need outside help, and many fixes are ones your own team can make.
Option 2
One fix, scoped
Start with the fix the audit ranks first, such as reply time or follow-up. The fee is in writing before anything starts.
Option 3
An ongoing programme
We run the work, report against the baseline, and you renew on the numbers. The term and the reporting are agreed in writing first.
Option 4
Guidance for your own team or agency
We plan, brief and check the work of your in-house team or current agency, instead of replacing them.
The offer
Start with a free audit of how your tea sell.
It is useful on its own, whether or not you hire us.
What you receive
- A 90-minute call with the person who will do the work
- A written, scored report on the six places orders leak
- Every fix ranked by what it returns and what it costs
- The one thing to do first, and why
- An honest line on whether you need outside help at all
- If you do, the scope and the fee in writing
No invoice. No obligation. No sales script.
Your next practical step
Get a free audit of how you sell, and a scored report of where the work is.
90 minutes. A written, scored report. No invoice and no obligation.