NEMI Teas - Selling chai to springboard refugees into the UK workforce.
NEMI Teas is a sustainable and inclusive tea company that solely employs refugees, providing them with employment and giving them the work experience, skills and confidence to enter the UK workforce. Their specialist teas are organic and fairtrade-certified, their teabags are plastic free and biodegradable, and their beautiful upcyclable packaging is made with renewable resources.
The NEMI Teas team have recently partnered with Groundwork, The Hotel School and Thomas Franks to open Trampoline, a social enterprise cafe in London, providing refugees with meaningful employment and a multicultural community.
NEMI Teas founder, Pranav Chopra, chats to us about the inspiration behind NEMI Teas, why empowering the lives of refugees is so important to him, and his advice for anyone trying to run a social business.
1. How did you come up with this business idea? And how did you start off?
NEMI Teas began at a refugee supper club. Sitting down with Anwar and Mohammed, two refugees from Sudan, I heard first-hand about what it was like to be a refugee in the UK. Despite their right to work, they were struggling to find jobs due to lack of local work experience and not having a local referee to vouch for their work ethics. Through further interviews with refugees and experts at other refugee charities in the UK, I began to understand the main issues refugees face after obtaining the right to live and work in the UK. These conversations highlighted three primary hurdles that refugees face in gaining access to equal opportunity: lack of local work experience; low confidence due to weak English language ability; and gaps in education.
In response, I set up a social enterprise that solely employs refugees, no questions asked. We offer training and work experience within the hospitality sector to help them enter the UK workforce and better integrate into broader society. NEMI Teas was born to tackle the inherent disadvantages refugees face when they reach the shores of the UK.
2. Does tea have any special meaning for you, or was it more of a spontaneous product idea?
I was born and raised in India and having grown up with Chai all around me, selling tea was a given!
3. For your packaging you use a material called NatureFlex™ and NeoSoilon®, tell us a bit more about this sustainable solution. Why do you think other companies and sectors haven’t started using it too?
Our pyramid tea bags are made from NeoSoilon® - a mesh material constructed from polylactic acid and derived from 100% non-GMO sugarcane. They degrade to nothing but CO2 and water. In terms of our retail packaging, both our teabags and loose-leaf tea are packed in a material called NatureFlex™. NatureFlex™ films are based on cellulose, which is one of the most naturally abundant organic material and comes from renewable wood pulp, typically sourced from hard wood species such as eucalyptus. Proven to be suitable for home composting, they are also marine degradable.
The main reason other companies within the tea and other sectors are not following suit is simply due to cost and the effect it has on the bottom line.
“However for us it’s a matter of doing the right thing, sticking to our ethos and being ok not making the big bucks.”
4. You have a blog on your website to share tips and stories with readers, where does the inspiration come from?
We know our readers and followers want to do good and save our planet, so we share lots of tips on how they can quickly live more sustainably. We also know a lot of people don't know a huge amount about refugees so we love sharing stories for people to understand the challenges refugees face, as well as the dedication and experience they bring to our business and their local communities.
6. What is the most rewarding aspect of being part of NEMI teas?
Being able to change the lives of refugees and their families and support them on their new journeys in the UK.
7. Is there a story behind the name of your company?
NEMI is my Grandfather's name so definitely in the good books of my mum for life! And interestingly enough in ancient Aztec (Mexican) language it means "way of life" which kind of ties in really well with our ethos!
8. What future plans do you have for NEMI Teas?
We have just launched our first café, Trampoline, in Angel, which is a training ground for refugees. We plan to open 14 more cafes over the next 5 years to empower 1,500 refugee lives by 2026.
9. What advice do you have for other founders setting up businesses to make a difference?
Running a social business you really need to get comfortable with the unknown - you will never know enough. You will always be forced to make a decision without fully understanding what is coming! You'll always be in conflict with yourself as you'll need to balance the commercial aspect with the social impact side of your business. As a founder, that is just something you will have to get comfortable with.
Subscribe to receive more stories like this, delivered directly to your inbox.
Or share this story on your favourite social channel: