The big surge by small brands How young businesses grabbed shelf and mind space during the pandemic This April and May, when the country was still in the midst of a lockdown, as big brands and retailers struggled to get their logistics act together, seven-year-old Tea Trunk was sending out tea to its loyal customers and acquiring several new ones. “We saw 8X growth on our website,” says Snigdha Manchanda, the tea sommelier who brewed up the idea of a gourmet artisanal tea portal. The company recorded 3X growth on Amazon and Nykaa, she says. The fact that Tea Trunk operates out of Goa, which even at the height of the lockdown was a green zone, and is completely ecommerce-driven helped it sell more. Also the category it operated in — tea and botanicals, a product that was widely sought after, was an advantage. Turmeric tea, with the USP of immunity, was something that Tea Trunk was retailing long before the pandemic.