Eli Yambem, originally from Imphal, was working in Singapore. She often thought about home and wanted to do something that would create opportunities for young people in Northeast India. That pushed her to start Dweller Teas. ‘After meeting my target savings and with a basic plan at hand, I left my job to get Dweller started.’
What is special about Dweller Teas? What makes it different from other tea products out there?
Dweller Teas is all about flavourful sips (and never tea dust in Dweller Tea Bags), sourcing with care and promoting local strengths.
Each Dweller Tea exists because we like to sip it ourselves and we want to share this simple joy with our loved ones. All our teas (including fruit and herbal infusions) are sourced locally within Northeast India, and we work with men and women at the grassroots level to promote delicious local produce for our Dweller Tea blends.
What challenges have you had to overcome with your start-up?
Due to resource constraint, Dweller started out by outsourcing the packaging and sourcing local produce in processed form from others, with an intention to focus on market linkage. However, this did not go as planned due to timing and quality issues.
That’s when we decided to get it done ourselves, in order for Dweller to be an authentic local brand and sincerely promote local strengths. We set up our own production unit, built relations with direct growers and now we are working with hopeful dwellers of the region to produce right quality products we feel good to share.
What are the different products you sell and what is the price range?
We currently offer eight varieties namely Classic Red Tea, Gentle Green Tea, Fresh Lemongrass Tea, Fruity Roselle Tea, Strong Assam Tea, Tenga Green Tea, Hei-mang Red Tea and Lemongrass Ginger. The price range is between Rs 170-500.
You can buy products from Dweller at www.dwellerteas.com/shop. They deliver to most locations within 3-5 days.
As told to Meeta Borah
