Wednesday, January 8

An ingenious cleaning device is bringing glass cups– and hygiene– back to India’s tea stalls

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India’s chai tapri (tea kiosk) culture at bus stops, train stations, and apparently every other street corner has actually continued for years, even as the vessels for holding the tea altered fromkulhads (mud cups) to glass cups and, more just recently, to paper cups.

Considering that the covid-19 pandemic particularly, individuals have actually bewared about the health of recyclable glass cups that are cleaned by hand. The disposability of paper cups makes them look like a healthier alternative– however they’re not.

An individual consuming one cup of hot liquid from plastic-coated paper cups over 15 minutes is consuming 25,000 microplastics and increasing their danger of cancer, reproductive problems, and neurological conditions, according to a 2020 research study by Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. Plus, the plastic in the covering is “not even a little recyclable, reducible, recyclable– absolutely nothing,” regrets Dhaval Nail, who together with his sibling Jayesh Nai is promoting the return of glass cups– this time with the stamp of ensured health.

As the creators of a brand-new business called Mahantam, the siblings (Dhaval is 22 and Jayesh 24) have actually established an automated glass-washer for India’s tea stall owners.

Compact, effective glass washer for tea stalls. Image: Mahantam

Readily available in 2 sizes– 1 feet x1 feet and foot 2 feet x 2 feet– Mahantam’s Rs35,000 ($420) totally automated maker cleans 9 cups at a time in someplace in between twelve and twenty seconds, based upon the cycle picked. There’s likewise a semi-automatic option offered for Rs28,000 ($336).

The bros, who come from Dhanera, Gujarat, have actually thought of all sorts of possible expense and energy cost savings, from utilizing pressurized water to conserve water to constructing a device that operates at simply 12 volts. The exact same battery that tea suppliers utilize for a little bulb in their stalls can be utilized for the device.

From college to Shark Tank India to mass production

Dhaval began prototyping a washer in 2020 as part of a college job, at first obtaining Rs10,000 ($120) from his teacher and coach. A YouTuber buddy of his shared the production online, and the very first order can be found in. After that, Dhaval pitched his concepts to more teachers and collected 1 lakh rupees ($1,200) to develop enhanced variations.

Numerous months, models, and 3 orders later on, the duo appeared on Shark Tank in November 2022 and protected an all-shark offer of Rs30 lakh (almost $36,000) for 20% equity.

An all-shark handle Shark Tank India. Picture: Mahantam

To date, the business owners have actually provided makers to 40 tea stall owners throughout Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, and other Indian cities, to utilize and evaluate.

“We are offering [away] makers so we can get proof-of-concept devices that are best, and after that we can head towards mass production,” Dhaval stated.

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