Pamreiwon Shokwungnao: From Her Parents’ Small Hotel to Building Two Food Brands in Manipur

Growing up in a family that ran a modest hotel, Pamreiwon Shokwungnao learned early that food could bring people together. Years later, she transformed that experience into two businesses of her own—Warm Delights, a pastry brand, and Garden of Eden, a herbal tea venture. Her journey is a story of local entrepreneurship, experimentation and building a business around the ingredients and opportunities available at home.

Where Her Entrepreneurial Journey Began

In Ukhrul, a hill town in Manipur, Pamreiwon Shokwungnao's introduction to business began in childhood.

Her parents ran a modest hotel in which tea and puri were among the everyday offerings. As a young girl, she helped by kneading dough, gaining an early understanding of the work involved in preparing food and serving customers.

Growing up in a lower-middle-income family with eight siblings, she saw the effort her parents put into making their business work. Those experiences would later influence her own ambitions.

Pamreiwon pursued higher education in food technology at Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences in Prayagraj. While people around her expected that she might pursue a conventional government job, she chose a different direction: entrepreneurship.

Her decision was not simply about starting a business. It was an opportunity to apply her interest in food processing to a market she understood.

Spotting an Opportunity in Ukhrul

In early 2018, while still in college, Pamreiwon began making and selling doughnuts and cream buns.

At the time, although cakes and pastries were popular locally, specialised shops offering these products were relatively limited in Ukhrul. She recognised that there was room for a local business capable of meeting that demand.

She also undertook training through Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Ukhrul to develop her baking skills.

One of her early investments was a small oven costing ₹16,000. As demand grew, she reinvested her savings in additional equipment, including another oven, hand mixers, a visi cooler and a small generator to provide backup power.

These were practical investments rather than signs of a business built on substantial outside funding. She expanded gradually, using what she earned to improve her ability to prepare and supply products.

Her pastry business, Warm Delights, grew to serve customers in Ukhrul town and nearby villages. Special occasions and gatherings brought bulk orders, while combinations of cakes and bouquets made with flowers from her backyard became popular for celebrations.

Turning a Love of Tea Into Garden of Eden

Baking was only one part of Pamreiwon's interest in food.

She had long enjoyed tea and was curious about the herbs, spices and other ingredients available in her region. Her interest developed further during the COVID-19 pandemic, when she volunteered with a local church.

During that period, she prepared herbal tea using locally available ingredients, including turmeric, herbs, pomegranate leaves, sticky rice and spices.

Encouraged by fellow volunteers, she began exploring the idea more seriously. After completing her master's degree, she researched herbal tea production and developed her own product range.

This work led to Garden of Eden, her herbal tea brand.

Rather than relying exclusively on ingredients sourced from distant suppliers, she purchases herbs, turmeric, flowers and spices from local farmers. She washes and dries the ingredients naturally in sunlight before preparing and sealing the tea for sale.

The business connects her academic background in food technology with local agricultural resources and a growing interest in distinctive food products.

Building a Brand From Local Ingredients

The opportunity behind Garden of Eden lies in transforming familiar ingredients into a product that customers can discover, purchase and enjoy.

Many herbs and spices are already part of everyday cooking and traditional household practices. Pamreiwon's business gives selected ingredients a different commercial form through herbal tea blends.

Her approach combines research, preparation and presentation. The ingredients must be processed carefully, the product packaged consistently and the brand communicated to potential customers.

Reported in 2025, her herbal tea was attracting customers in Manipur and other parts of India, including Nagaland, Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

The business shows how a small enterprise based in a northeastern hill town can reach customers far beyond its immediate market.

It also illustrates the importance of connecting local resources with a clear product concept. The ingredients provide the foundation, but quality, consistency, packaging and customer awareness are equally important to building a sustainable business.

Growing Through Word of Mouth and Social Media

For a small food business, attracting customers can be as challenging as developing the product itself.

Pamreiwon's brands gained visibility through word of mouth and social media. Customers who discovered her products could share them with friends and family, helping introduce the businesses to new audiences.

This approach can be particularly valuable for entrepreneurs operating outside major commercial centres, where advertising budgets and distribution networks may be limited.

However, demand also creates new responsibilities. Producing enough goods during busy periods, balancing family commitments and maintaining consistent quality all require time and planning.

Pamreiwon has spoken about the difficulties of limited financial resources, infrastructure and managing seasonal increases in demand.

Her experience reflects a common challenge for small businesses: the transition from making products on a manageable scale to meeting growing customer expectations.

Creating Opportunities for Other Women

Pamreiwon's enterprise is also a family and community effort.

Her mother and one of her sisters assist with the businesses, while two young married women have been employed to support operations.

Her decision to source ingredients from local farmers creates another connection with the surrounding economy.

These relationships demonstrate how a small food enterprise can involve more people than the founder alone. As demand develops, work can extend to ingredient supply, preparation, packaging and other business activities.

For women interested in entrepreneurship, her journey offers a practical example of building a venture around existing skills and resources while gradually developing the capabilities needed to grow.

It does not suggest that every small business will follow the same path. Rather, it shows how local demand, persistence and incremental investment can combine to create a viable commercial opportunity.

What Aspiring Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Her

Pamreiwon's journey offers several lessons for people considering a food or lifestyle business.

Start with a market you understand. She identified a gap in local pastry availability before developing her first brand.

Invest in stages. Her early equipment purchase was modest, and she expanded as the business grew.

Use your education practically. Her food technology background supported her interest in developing and processing new products.

Look closely at local resources. Garden of Eden draws on ingredients available through local farmers and the surrounding region.

Build awareness through relationships. Word of mouth and social media helped introduce her products to new customers.

Prepare for growth. Demand can create pressure on equipment, staffing, infrastructure and production planning. Building capacity is an important part of sustaining a business.

A Future Built Around Food

Pamreiwon Shokwungnao's story brings together two distinct businesses with a shared foundation: a belief in the potential of food to create opportunities.

Warm Delights grew from an understanding of local demand for pastries. Garden of Eden emerged from her interest in tea, food technology and locally available ingredients.

Together, the brands reflect a form of entrepreneurship that begins at home but is not limited by geography.

Her journey also highlights a wider opportunity for businesses in Northeast India. Regional ingredients, food traditions and local knowledge can inspire products that appeal to customers elsewhere, provided entrepreneurs combine those strengths with research, quality and careful business development.

For Pamreiwon, the journey from helping in her parents' hotel to building her own food brands demonstrates that a business idea does not always arrive fully formed.

Sometimes, it develops over years—through early experience, education, experimentation and the courage to pursue a different path.

About Pamreiwon Shokwungnao

Pamreiwon Shokwungnao is a food entrepreneur from Ukhrul, Manipur, and the founder of Warm Delights, a pastry business, and Garden of Eden, a herbal tea brand. She holds a master's degree in food technology and has developed her businesses using local ingredients, practical experimentation and gradual investment.

Editorial note: This article is based on published reporting, including an August 2025 profile in The New Indian Express. It is not presented as a direct interview with the founder.