The year 2020, just before COVID hit India. Five seasoned proffessionals from the booming telecom sector in India namely Rajdeep Bora, Nashat Hussain, Boilal Gangte, Mohit Narru, and Dipankar Ghosal were sitting in an informal meeting following up on their frequent discussion in branching out on their own. At the same time, Rajdeep and Nishat were following the spice industry for quite a while by engaging with people from the Spice Board. Boilal, hailing from Manipur, had been working on a special project for wild tea in his state along with his family. In fact, these wild teas have been consumed in his native community for generations and are highly revered among the elders. However, it was never commercialised for reasons unknown. In no time, it was unanimously agreed that this tea could be introduced in the market. That meeting of 2020 led to the formation of a start-up christened Dong Valley Creations Private Limited.
All of them put down their papers and started their entrepreneurial journey. They built 5000 Sq Feet state-of-the-art manufacturing & packaging facility at Garchuk in Guwhati, for production, blending, storing and packaging. They streamlined the production and supply chain of wild teas, which were collected from multiple villages across 450 Sq KM in Manipur.
Whereas in China, wild tea is also known as an elixir of immortality. Robert Bruce had tasted this form of beverage in the house of one Bisa Gam in a Singphow village, and then declared the potential of growing tea (Camellia sinensis var. assamica) in Assam. According to research, wild tea has more antioxidants and nutrients than tea grown in the estates. Dong Valley has taken all these facts and added herbs like bhut jolokia (ghost pepper), Lakdong Turmeric, Karbi Ginger, Tulsi, etc., to go with various flavours into its composition to make the final product. They then created a brand called “Beyondarie” by playing with the words ‘beyond the ordinary’.
“We have involved eight villages of Manipur in the process. This has allowed us to offer earning opportunities to a lot of people in these eight villages. It gives us a lot of satisfaction. We also “, says Nashat.
“We built a strong network of 100s of indigenous & small farmers from Karbi Anglong, Upper Assam, Jowai, Arunachal and Nagaland from where they procure various spices & herbs. We have employed people of the locality in our factory in Gorchuk in Guwahati. We can proudly say that more than 500 families are earning their livelihood through our start-up,” claims Rajdeep.
“Tea Bag filling, packaging, and most other jobs are used by engaging manpower. In August, we had a World Bank team that visited our unit. They were visibly satisfied at our working style and hygiene.”
Appu Saikia, the quality manager of Dong Valley, is an alumnus of Assam University having studied Microbiology, who looks after the raw materials procured. “Our company has a vision. It is geared towards development of the North East of India,” he states to his employers.
One of the important customers of the company is US-based Dr and businesswoman Poorvi Chordia. Based out of Atlanta in Georgia, the doctor sells Beyondarie through an online platform in her country. In an email chat with Asom Barta, she says that she started by buying a packet, and increased her purchases. “When a significant number of people had tasted this tea, I knew that I could start selling it online. “Each month, I procure anywhere between 40-50 kg of tea in various flavours from Dong Valley,” she says, adding that it has clicked with the consumers in the US.
Another regular consumer of Dong Valley Tea is Guwahati-based Mrinal Sarma. “I tasted a sample of this tea. Its taste and medicinal value have attracted me. I have linked a few importers to Dong Valley Creations,” he says.
Trinity Siao, a Meghalaya-based businesswoman has been supplying Lakdong Turmeric to Dong Valley Corporation since 2020. She told this correspondent that her supplies to the company have increased by over 50%. “Four families from Meghalaya supply Turmeric, Ginger, Cinnamon, and Bay Leaf to this company,” she informs.
Available online for B2B and B2C, Dong Valley has managed to enter a competitive tea market segment with its unique product. However, the entrepreneurs know it will take some doing to spread their wings in the national and international market. But they say they are determined to do it.
