MADHUCA LONGIFOLIA · CHHATTISGARH

From Forests
to Future.

We are reimagining Mahua for the modern botanical beverage — beginning with a carefully developed collection of botanical teas from Chhattisgarh.

Discover Mahua Explore VAANA

The Question

What if the forest's value is not being lost — but simply overlooked?

Mahua has been part of India's forest landscapes, food traditions and community economies for generations.

Yet outside those ecosystems, very few people encounter Mahua as a modern botanical ingredient.

Can we create a new way for people to experience Mahua?

Meet Mahua

Meet Mahua.

Madhuca longifolia

Mahua is a flower, not a leaf. It blooms on tall forest trees across central India and falls to the ground in the early summer months, when it is gathered by hand.

For the communities who live alongside these trees, Mahua has never been an obscure ingredient. It appears in food, in seasonal ritual, in local trade and in the household economy of the forest.

What has not yet happened is the careful work of translating it — of understanding the flower well enough to present it to someone encountering it for the first time, in a form they already know how to enjoy.

01

Forest

Mahua begins in the forest. It is gathered, not farmed — which shapes everything about how it reaches a cup.

02

Culture

It carries a long relationship with communities and traditions across central India, well documented and still living.

03

Potential

We are exploring how a flower this distinctive can enter modern botanical products without losing what makes it itself.

Approach

From Forest to Form.

We are exploring how traditional forest ingredients can be thoughtfully prepared for modern botanical beverages.

  • Forest
  • Mahua
  • Botanicals
  • Blend
  • Cup

Thoughtful sourcing

We currently begin with Mahua sourced through existing market channels as we develop our early products.

Careful preparation

We are studying how thoughtful processing can create a more consistent ingredient.

Botanical blending

Mahua is paired with familiar botanicals selected for aroma, taste and character.

Testing before scale

Our current focus is formulation, sensory evaluation and proof of concept.

The details of our processing and formulation are part of the work we are developing at VAANA.

The Botanical Collection

Five ways to experience Mahua.

Five proof-of-concept blends, each built around Mahua and a small set of familiar Indian botanicals. All five are currently in development and under sensory evaluation — none are commercially available.

01
Formulation in development

Forest Classic

Mahua · Tulsi · Ginger · Rose

An everyday botanical ritual rooted in Mahua and familiar Indian botanicals.

02
Formulation in development

Bloom

Mahua · Rose · Hibiscus

A floral expression of Mahua with a bright botanical character.

03
Formulation in development

Cinnamon Bloom

Mahua · Cinnamon · Rose · Ginger

Warm spice meets floral botanicals in a contemporary Mahua blend.

04
Formulation in development

Forest Masala

Mahua · Cardamom · Ginger · Cinnamon

A familiar Indian masala profile built around a forest botanical.

05
Formulation in development

Digest Forest

Mahua · Fennel · Ginger · Cardamom

A botanical blend inspired by India's long-standing digestive ritual.

Proof of concept

Each blend exists today as a recipe under sensory evaluation — not as a product on a shelf.

Nutrition & Science

Nature gives us the ingredient. Science helps us understand it.

We are not interested in simply calling Mahua healthy. We are interested in understanding its composition, how processing changes it, how quality can be preserved, how it behaves in a blend, and whether a result can be repeated batch after batch.

Understand

Study the ingredient — what it contains, and how it changes between the forest floor and the cup.

Preserve

Explore better ways of maintaining quality, colour, aroma and structure through preparation.

Validate

Test before making stronger claims. Until something is measured, we describe it as a question.

We don't believe in turning science into marketing claims. We believe in turning research into better products.

Mahua & Research

What does the research tell us?

What published research suggests

  • Different drying approaches applied to Mahua flowers produce measurably different outcomes.
  • Reported differences include colour retention, rehydration behaviour and carbohydrate retention.
  • No drying method preserves everything — some heat-sensitive nutrients decline across all approaches studied.
  • This literature concerns the raw ingredient, not any finished beverage.

What VAANA is currently testing

  • Whether a more consistent starting ingredient can be produced at small scale.
  • How Mahua behaves in combination with other botanicals across five formulations.
  • Sensory response — aroma, taste, colour and character in the cup.
  • Whether a result is repeatable, which is the precondition for any claim at all.

Sources · Comparative drying studies on Madhuca longifolia including Sethi, C. (2019), Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology. Research on the ingredient does not establish a health outcome for any VAANA product. We make no nutritional or therapeutic claims about our formulations, and we will not until they have been independently tested.

Why Tea

We could have started with a factory. We chose to start with a cup.

VAANA is starting with botanical tea because a product should earn the right to scale.

Before infrastructure, we want to understand taste, formulation, consumer response, quality and repeatability.

Tea is our first product — not our final destination.

First prove the cup. Then build the system.

Value & Community

Value should travel beyond the cup.

We are honest about the difference between what is true today and what we intend to build. The three stages below are not marketing — they are our actual position.

Today

Mahua is currently procured through open-market channels while VAANA develops and validates its product.

Next

VAANA aims to develop relationships with forest-produce institutions and Van Dhan Vikas Kendras.

Future

The ambition is to build more transparent and value-generating relationships around forest produce.

Our social impact is intended to come from the economics of the business — not from asking consumers to buy a social cause.

Philosophy

What is the use of education if it cannot create value for society?

Education should not only help an individual earn. It should help an individual understand a problem clearly, build something in response, and create opportunity for people other than themselves.

VAANA is an attempt to hold those five things in one business at the same time.

Science

Understand nature.

Technology

Improve quality.

Entrepreneurship

Create markets.

Community

Share value.

Consumer

Complete the cycle.

Nature already creates extraordinary value. Our job is to ensure that value is recognized, preserved, and shared fairly.

The Journey

Where the work stands.

  1. The Idea

    Discovering the opportunity around Mahua.

  2. The Research

    Understanding the ingredient and its processing challenges.

  3. The Formulations

    Developing five botanical blends.

  4. The Testing

    Sensory and proof-of-concept development.

    We are here

  5. The Product

    Validate the first Mahua botanical tea collection.

  6. The Future

    Build deeper forest-linked value chains.

About VAANA

Born in Chhattisgarh. Built around a forest idea.

VAANA is an early-stage botanical beverage company based in Chhattisgarh, working on a single question: what would it take to bring Mahua to people who have never tasted it?

Aman Singh Gautam

Co-founder

  • Product development
  • Research
  • Sustainable agriculture
  • Technology
  • Brand

Earlier work in agriculture taught an expensive lesson about validating a market before committing to infrastructure. That lesson is the reason VAANA is starting with a blend rather than a building.

Kamal Bhan Singh

Co-founder

  • Sales
  • Business development
  • Distribution
  • Commercial strategy

Brings B2B sales and channel experience across non-metro India — the distribution reality most early consumer brands underestimate.

Where We Are Today

VAANA today.

Published openly, because a company that hides its stage tends to make claims it cannot support later.

Stage
Proof of Concept
Current product
Mahua Botanical Tea
Formulations
5
Commercial production
Not yet started
Current Mahua sourcing
Open-market procurement
Current focus
Formulation, sensory evaluation and product validation
Community-linked sourcing
Future phase

The Future

Mahua is only the beginning.

If we can create a better consumer relationship with one forest ingredient, we can begin asking a much bigger question: what else is waiting to be discovered in India's forests?

  • Mahua
  • Botanicals
  • Forest foods
  • Future

Get Involved

Come discover Mahua with us.

We are looking for people who want to taste early, partner early, or simply follow the work as it develops.

Join the Journey Partner with VAANA Follow Our Work