Jay and His Wife Radhi ON: Respecting Boundaries & Growing as a Couple

TL;DR

A shared tea ritual can create reliable moments for connection, even when two partners have demanding schedules. Jay and Radhi turned that experience into Sama, an organic hot tea brand developed over 18 months, combining predominantly herbal blends with adaptogens and a mission centered on togetherness, mindfulness, balance, and personal reflection.

Transcript

everyone is rushing around trying to find time in their day we've all got busy schedules me and you have busy schedules we don't always get to have breakfast together we don't always get to have dinner together roddy's got shoots she's working with brands and companies i've got podcasts to be recording we're making content but we found that we alwa... Read More

Key Insights

• A dependable shared ritual is a practical way to maintain connection when schedules do not allow regular breakfasts or dinners. Jay and Radhi found that they could consistently make time for tea despite their separate shoots, recordings, brand work, and content production.
• Sama is an organic hot tea brand that Jay and Radhi developed together over approximately 18 months. It was their first joint professional project, giving them an opportunity to discover more about each other as business partners and as spouses.
• The name Sama represents togetherness, equality, community, oneness, and being fully balanced. These meanings reflect the founders' intention to create experiences that help people connect with others, remain present, and develop a more mindful relationship with themselves.
• Adaptogens are described as plant-derived herbs or substances that support the body through physical, mental, emotional, or cellular stress. Sama uses different adaptogens for different intended purposes, including ingredients associated in the discussion with stress support and mood elevation.
• Ingredient quantity is an important part of Sama's product concept. Radhi wanted adaptogens to appear in meaningful amounts rather than merely being listed, with consumption guidance designed around receiving the intended quantity of an ingredient such as ashwagandha.
• Tea can support both social connection and personal reflection. Jay and Radhi describe it as a reason to pause, communicate openly, share vulnerable moments, or sit alone mindfully without treating solitude as loneliness.
• Warm tea is associated with comfort, family, and memory in Radhi's experience. Her family regularly gathered for tea after meals, creating moments marked by laughter and coziness that still help her feel connected to them while living far away.
• Pivoting is presented as a normal part of developing a brand. Sama's creation included collaboration among different teams, changes to its branding, repeated formulation and taste-testing, and the challenge of balancing heartfelt sharing with the practical need to sell a product.

Questions & Answers

Q: How can busy couples create more time for connection?

Busy couples can establish a small, repeatable ritual that fits between larger commitments. Jay and Radhi could not always share breakfast or dinner because their schedules included shoots, brand projects, podcast recordings, and content production. They nevertheless found time to drink tea together. That dependable pause gave them an opportunity to reconnect without requiring a large block of time or a complicated plan.

Q: What is Sama Tea and how was it developed?

Sama is an organic hot tea brand created by Jay and Radhi through approximately 18 months of joint work. Its teas are predominantly herbal, although the range also includes caffeinated options, and the blends contain adaptogens. Development involved different teams, multiple stages of formulation and taste-testing, evolving branding, and adjustments made before launch. It was also the couple's first professional project together.

Q: What does the name Sama mean for the brand?

Sama carries several meanings that shape the brand's purpose, including togetherness, equality, community, oneness, and being fully balanced. Jay and Radhi chose the name because it sounded calming and reflected their desired experience of stillness and connection. The concept applies both to bringing people together over tea and to helping an individual pause, become present, and reconnect with themselves.

Q: Why did Jay and Radhi build a brand around tea?

Jay and Radhi built the brand around an experience already embedded in their relationship and family histories. Tea remained a shared activity even when work prevented them from eating meals together, and they drank it frequently during the pandemic. Radhi also associated after-meal tea with family laughter, comfort, and coziness, while Jay remembered tea as part of his own family connection and upbringing.

Q: How can drinking tea become a mindfulness practice?

Drinking tea can become a mindfulness practice when it is treated as a deliberate pause rather than another rushed activity. Jay and Radhi describe holding a warm drink, noticing its aroma, becoming still, and reconnecting with the present moment. The ritual can be shared with another person, but it can also provide restorative time alone without making that solitude feel disconnected or lonely.

Q: What are adaptogens according to Jay and Radhi?

Adaptogens are described as herbs, plants, or plant-derived substances intended to help the body cope with different kinds of stress. The discussion identifies physical, mental, emotional, and cellular stress as relevant categories and notes that different adaptogens are selected for different purposes, such as stress support or mood elevation. Sama incorporates adaptogens into its tea blends as a central product feature.

Q: Why does the amount of an ingredient matter in tea?

The amount matters because an ingredient name on a label does not necessarily show whether the product contains enough to deliver its intended role. Radhi wanted Sama's adaptogens to be included in purposeful quantities rather than added only for recognition. She describes designing consumption around a specified number of tea bags so drinkers could receive the planned quantity of an ingredient such as ashwagandha.

Q: What did Jay and Radhi learn from building a business together?

Building Sama allowed Jay and Radhi to encounter each other as professional partners for the first time after previously pursuing separate jobs and passions. The project required around 18 months of collaboration, coordination with several teams, product testing, branding changes, and a willingness to pivot. It also made business development a personal learning experience, revealing how working together can teach partners more about their relationship and one another.

Summary

In this video, Jay Shetty and his wife, Radhi Devlukia Shetty, discuss their new business venture, Sama. Sama is an organic tea beverage that incorporates adaptogens, which are herbs or plants that help support the body's responses to stress. They share their journey of creating Sama and emphasize the importance of finding time for connection and mindfulness in our busy lives. They also highlight the significance of infusing authenticity and passion into your brand and the importance of setting clear boundaries when working with a partner. Throughout the video, Radhi explains the different teas and their ingredients, as well as the benefits they provide.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is Sama?

Sama is an organic hot tea beverage that includes adaptogens, herbs or plants that support the body's response to stress. It has both herbal and caffeinated teas, with a focus on providing a unique and authentic tea experience.

Q: What is the significance of the name Sama?

The name Sama means togetherness, equality, and community. The focus of Sama is to bring people together and create a sense of connection, both with others and with oneself.

Q: How did Jay and Radhi decide to create Sama?

They realized that tea was something they both consumed daily and found great enjoyment and connection in. They wanted to create a product that would improve people's lives and provide a tool for mindfulness and presence.

Q: What did Jay and Radhi learn about each other during the process of creating Sama?

Jay learned that Radhi is proactive, thinks outside the box, and has a big vision. He appreciated her ability to think big and her passion for what she does. Radhi learned that Jay is disciplined, focused, and ambitious. They recognized and respected each other's strengths and differences, which brought them closer together.

Q: Who were the members of the Sama team?

The Sama team included co-founders Kim and James, who were highly knowledgeable and supportive throughout the process. They also had a dedicated team that worked on various aspects of the business, such as design, tasting, and creating the blends.

Q: How did the team ensure the quality of the teas?

The team was committed to creating the best teas and held tea tasting parties to gather feedback. They went through multiple blends and tweaks until they were satisfied with the taste and experience. They wanted to ensure that the teas delivered on their promises.

Q: What was the process behind creating the different tea blends?

The teas were created based on the desired effects they wanted people to experience. They focused on how they wanted people to feel and selected ingredients, flavors, and adaptogens accordingly. Each tea had a specific purpose, such as awakening and energizing, or calming and relaxing.

Q: What adaptogens were used in the teas?

Each tea blend incorporated a specific adaptogen. For example, the awaken and energize tea included rishi mushroom, known for its benefits in mind focus. The calm and relax tea had thorsi, lavender, and chamomile. The jasmine peach tea featured shatavari, which supports and protects various aspects of health. The mint and blueberry tea contained ashwagandha for focus and attention.

Takeaways

Creating a successful business requires authenticity, passion, and the ability to pivot when needed. Working with a partner or a team requires setting clear boundaries and respecting each other's strengths and differences. It's crucial to prioritize the quality of the product or service you offer and to take time to gather feedback for continuous improvement. Finally, embracing the ups and downs of the journey and being open to change can lead to unexpected and rewarding outcomes.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Jay and Radhi introduce Sama, an organic hot tea business they developed together over 18 months. Their first shared professional project taught them about both business and their relationship. The brand grew from a personal habit: making time for tea together despite shoots, podcast recordings, content production, and other competing responsibilities.

• Sama represents togetherness, equality, community, oneness, and balance. Jay and Radhi want tea to encourage open conversations, vulnerable moments, and connection between people. They also see tea as a personal mindfulness practice that lets someone pause, become still, reconnect internally, and feel present without necessarily sharing the experience with another person.

• The teas are predominantly herbal, although caffeinated options are also included, and the blends contain adaptogens intended to support different forms of bodily stress. Product development involved multiple teams, evolving branding, several rounds of blending and taste-testing, and a willingness to pivot before launch while preserving the founders' personal connection to tea.