Nepal Tea Collective empowers Nepali tea farmers through fair wages, education, and environmental stewardship, creating a global identity for Nepali tea while uplifting communities and fostering sustainability
There’s a saying that goes, “A simple cup of tea is far from a simple matter.” This rings especially true for Nepal Tea Collective, a dedicated team focused on forging direct relations between tea lovers and tea farmers. At the core of the Nepal Tea Collective lies a deep commitment to transforming the lives of tea farmers and their communities.
What began in the 1960s as a visionary goal by the founders’ father to lift the villages out of poverty through sustainable tea farming has now evolved into Nepal Tea Collective. To this day, the company continues this mission with unwavering dedication, striving to make a meaningful impact every step of the way.
Since their inception in 2016, they have focused on creating strong relationships between buyers and farmers. This partnership has ensured fair compensation, empowering farmers and enhancing their lives, resulting in a 48.07% increase in partner income.
To support and sustain these initiatives, Nepal Tea Collective operates through a dynamic business model designed to elevate Nepali tea on the global stage. Their business model is strategically divided into three major sections: Wholesale, DTC, and TaaS.
Their wholesale division partners with stores worldwide, showcasing Nepali tea alongside other esteemed global varieties, ensuring Nepali tea is recognized internationally.
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales leverage their Shopify-enabled website and Amazon, to offer seasonal farm-fresh teas directly to customers.
Additionally, their innovative Tea as a Service (TaaS) model invites consumers to Nepal, providing an immersive experience in tea cultivation and production. This tourism initiative allows visitors to appreciate the intricate labor and tradition behind each cup, which fosters a deeper connection to the tea and its origin.
Building on this foundation, Nepal Tea Collective is deeply committed to creating a sustainable future. Nestled along the Eastern Himalayan range, their tea communities thrive within a stunning yet vulnerable ecosystem increasingly imperiled by the advancing climate crisis. In response, the collective introduced a line of 100% non-GMO, plant-based, industrially compostable tea bags filled with their whole-leaf organic teas. Furthermore, as a testament to their environmental stewardship, for every package of tea purchased, Nepal Tea Collective has also pledged to plant a tea sapling. This initiative not only supports reforestation efforts but also helps sequester approximately 5 lbs. of CO2 per sapling, contributing to mitigating climate change impacts.
At the heart of the Nepal Tea Collective’s operation are the farmers and tea workers. The collective ensures that their tea buyers not only know exactly where their teas come from but also get to see the faces of the farmers and tea workers who make their teas.
They have also launched the ‘Tip the Farmer’ feature, where buyers can scan the QR code provided in the packaging which offers them an option to leave their farmers a tip. Furthermore, through their 1% revenue distribution program, they have successfully distributed $3,985 to 81 farmers and tea workers in the past year.
In 2023, the Collective changed its company structure to a PBC (public benefit corporation) and onboarded 180 investors through a crowdfunding model. They prioritize transparency, manually tracking every step of the tea journey and providing this information on every single package and tea bag label. The Collective is also aspiring to attain a B-Corp certification in 2024 to further ensure complete transparency.
Furthermore, Nepal Tea Collective has been thrilled to announce its USD 1,000,000 grant for this Feed the Future USAID Nepali tea partnership. This transformative initiative aims to bolster climate-smart production in Nepal by equipping farmers with sustainable farming skills and enhancing the ability to produce, transport, and store high-quality products for export.
In tandem, the Collective is working diligently to improve access to international markets for premium-grade Nepali teas, herbs, and spices. This collaboration not only promotes environmental sustainability but also empowers local farmers ensuring they can reach and thrive in the global marketplace.
Partnering with the Nepal Tea Foundation, they provide scholarships for first-generation students in Eastern Nepal, covering tuition for 27 students in 2023. Additionally, the Collective is committed to empowering women in the tea industry, who have historically been confined to labor-intensive roles.
This year, they are sponsoring Rojina Lamgade’s tea-making course which will make her the third youngest tea maker and the youngest tea maker in Nepal. By doing this Nepal Tea Collective hopes to break barriers and promote female leadership in the industry.
Nepal Tea Collective is more than just a tea company. It's a testament to the power of community, sustainability, and transparency. As they strive to brew for a better tomorrow, the Collective continues to create a global identity for Nepali tea, uplift a million farmers out of poverty, and foster a vibrant entrepreneurial learning platform in Nepal. Indeed, each cup of tea from the Nepal Tea Collective is far from simple; it's a cup brimming with positive impact.