Berries, blooms: Manipur startups venture beyond caffeinated drinks

Business Standard

20-07-2025

Aiming to present tea lovers an alternative to caffeine-based beverages, a number of young Manipur entrepreneurs are experimenting with indigenously grown plants to produce flavoured herbal drinks.
Sumac berries, gooseberries and banana peels are among the ingredients that go into the making of these unconventional beverages.
For Elizabeth Yambem, the founder of 'Dwellers Teas', the longingness for home and the desire to reconnect with childhood memories prompted her to launch her own brand of beverages.
"We produce more than 10 varieties of herbal tea and employ 20 women at our Uripok manufacturing unit in Imphal West district. Our products are sold outside the state, too," Yambem told PTI.
She said her company procures locally grown indigenous plants cultivated by farmers from various villages and hill districts, including Phayeng in Imphal West, and Ukhrul.
"I wanted to relive the childhood memories of Sumac berries, gooseberries, the vibrant Red Roselle, and the bittersweet Nong-mang-kha (a traditional medicinal plant) lovingly brewed by our elders in a way that could suit the changing times," she said.
"We started researching for locally grown ingredients, many of which had medicinal properties, in 2016 and launched the company in 2017 in Guwahati. We relocated to Imphal in 2018," Yambem said.
Yambem is not alone in the growing number of young entrepreneurs experimenting with unique ingredients to come up with herbal beverages in the northeastern state.
Selina Mutum, the founder of 'Nongmadol Beverage', focuses on producing drinks with banana and pineapple peels to which spices are added for extra flavour.
"In my locality, I had seen some manufacturing units producing banana chips but wasting the peels. I wanted to promote a sustainable way to use those unused peels as well as bring a new flavour-based beverage that is purely herbal," Mutum told PTI.
"We formally launched the product in January, 2024 at our unit in Heingang in Imphal East district. We have a team of six dedicated women," she said.
She, however, said operations are occasionally impacted as packaging materials from outside the state do not arrive on time, due to the crisis caused by the ethnic conflict in Manipur.
Yambem and Mutum's companies produce around 500-700 boxes of herbal beverages per month.
While the herbal drinks of 'Dwellers Teas' start from ₹50 a packet, the prices of 'Nongmadol Beverage' range from ₹50 to ₹200 per packet.
Manipur University student Thounaojam Selika, who has a liking for such beverages, said, "Herbal drinks are becoming more and more popular among the youths in the state, as those don't contain caffeine and have various health benefits. It is also very popular on the varsity campus.
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