Deroi Tea has generated a revenue of around eight lakhs in its first year of operation, with green tea as its most sought-after variety, the founders shared with Business North East in an exclusive interview.

Guwahati: In the heart of Assam, a groundbreaking startup is redefining the art of tea production. Deroi Tea, a homegrown startup from Moran, a busy tea town in Assam, is on a mission to revolutionize the tea industry with its unique and eco-friendly approach to carbon-free tea manufacturing.

Founded by Surjya Prakash Borthakur and Sudarshan Deka, two engineers from Assam, Deroi Innovations embarked on developing the proprietary Carbon-Free Tea Processing Technology in 2018 after three years of extensive market research. The duo aimed to combine the health benefits of tea and the rich tradition of homemade sun-dried tea through their venture.

"Our manufacturing process eliminates the use of combustible fuel, replacing it with electricity for steaming, rolling, and drying tea leaves to a thin margin of 3-5% by weight after they have been steamed and rolled under controlled temperature, which is less than 50 °C, using our proprietary Patent-Pending Drying Technology that uses electricity for a zero-carbon emission drying process," the founders shared with Business North East.

According to co-founder Borthakur, the technology not only ensures "cleaner and healthier" tea but also addresses environmental concerns associated with traditional dependence on carbon-based fuels.

Deroi Tea currently produces two variants of green tea and black tea, both exclusively made from whole-leaf tea. The variants are mildly flavored which provides a refreshing aroma upon opening the packet. Carbon-free tea comes with a price starting at Rs. 300 for a 100-gram packet, with handmade oolong tea priced at Rs. 450 per 100-gram.

According to the founders, the quality of the fresh leaves plays the most important role in determining the quality of the tea products. "We make our tea from the leaves of a single garden and a specific clone of the tea bush," they revealed.

With the growing popularity of green tea as a health beverage, they identified the need for improvements in manufacturing processes to enhance the health benefits of green tea.

Despite challenges in prototyping and ideation-stage technology, Deroi Tea successfully entered the manufacturing sector with a resolve to positively impact local workers by eliminating the handling of coal and gas in unpleasant conditions. The brand made its mark at the India International Trade Fair (IITF) at Pragati Maidan in November 2023, representing the Assam Pavilion. The green tea produced by Deroi instantly became a unique selling proposition for the brand. The company has also collaborated with other Assam-based startups, contributing to the growing trend of sustainability in the tea industry.

The market has responded positively to Deroi Tea's eco-friendly approach, with around 50,000 monthly orders through Amazon alone, the founders informed Business North East. Their products are available on Amazon, Flipkart, ONDC, and on a website that promotes eco-friendly products, they said.

The startup is currently focusing on B2B marketing to target a larger audience, with further plans to expand its product range, introduce an e-commerce website, and offer more varieties of tea.

"We have noticed a growing demand for sustainable and eco-friendly products, not just in tea products but in various other sectors involving food and beverages," the founders added. According to them, sustainable practices should become the norm in the tea industry. "The entire process can be made carbon-neutral through auditing carbon offsets offered by tea plantations," they said.

According to the entrepreneurs, there is a lot of research and development going on in the tea sector right now, both globally and in Assam. New sustainable packaging materials, plastic-free tea bags, and other innovations are quietly making their way into the tea business, and customers are embracing them. Apart from this, significant efforts have been made to improve the health of the soil in the tea gardens and to use organic agricultural methods. 

"We often receive bulk orders in the middle of the year. In its first year of business, the company sold around eight lakh units," co-founder Deka mentioned to Business North East.

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