Mission-driven tea company Young Mountain Tea (YMT) has secured $1.1M from a wide range of sources to support its mission of working with Himalayan farmers to raise the quality of their tea, so they can earn more and raise the quality of their lives. 

In northern India, YMT has partnered with Himalayan tea farmers in the village of Champawat, 90% of whom are women, to launch their region’s first farmer-owned tea factory. To finance the project, the company secured grant support from USAID and Frontier Co-op, and also has a pending equity investment from Acumen, an institutional impact investor.

In the US, to grow the market for this factory’s teas, the company just launched its first line of organic, pyramid tea bags made entirely of compostable materials. For the launch, the company completed a convertible note round led by SWAN, a Texas-based angel investor network. In addition, the company secured debt and lines of credit from Oregon CDFIs and Vermont private foundations. 

“We knew we’d have to be creative to attract capital appropriate for each arm of our work, both mission and market.” says YMT Founder Raj Vable. “VC funding wouldn’t work for an impact-focused India tea factory owned by farmers, and grants wouldn’t work for growing our business. The financing strategy we developed was intended to work for all stakeholders in our work, across tea’s entire value chain. We’re glad to say it worked.”

The company’s tea bags and more information about the farmer-owned tea factory are now available at youngmountaintea.com.

About Young Mountain Tea: YMT’s work is driven by the vision of a sustainable future for Himalayan farmers and their families. The company offers 25+ organic teas sourced from emerging and existing tea makers across the Indian subcontinent. With the support of USAID and Frontier Co-op, the company is launching northern India’s first farmer-owned specialty tea factory, and 1% of all company sales go towards launching this venture.

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