This startup from Guwahati is bringing mead to Indian consumers with a distinctly local flavour

In the industrial town of Amingaon, Guwahati, near the Brahmaputra river, something ancient is brewing, albeit with a modern twist. 

At its production facility in Amingaon, Dream Hives Private Limited, a Guwahati-based startup, is making mead—a fermented honey-based alcoholic beverage. 

Considered the world’s oldest alcoholic drink, mead predates both wine and beer. Archaeological evidence of the beverage goes back to 7000 BC; remnants of mead were found in pottery jars in Northern China 9,000 years ago. There are also references to the beverage in ancient Indian, Greek, Egyptian, and Norse texts. 

In Norse mythology, mead was known as the ‘drink of the gods’, while, in India, the Rigveda refers to a fermented honey drink called ‘madhu’.

Mead is now enjoying a quiet renaissance in American craft breweries and European bars. Back home, Dream Hives hopes to bring this ancient elixir to Indian consumers—infused with the flavours and ingredients unique to the Northeast. 

Founded in 2021 by Kaustoov Gopal Goswami and Dhrubajyoti Deka, Dream Hives was born out of an unexpected surplus of honey. 

The duo were working with forest-dependent communities to launch a community beekeeping initiative in the buffer zones of Manas National Park in Assam. 

Initially, they packaged and sold raw, natural honey. But during the second COVID-19 lockdown in 2021, with ecommerce operations stalling and excess honey piling up, they began exploring value-added products. 

“We had a large honey stock and no way to sell it. That’s when we started researching alternative uses and came across mead, thanks to a food scientist,” Deka shares. 

“It opened our eyes to the untapped potential of honey—not just as a sweetener, but as a core ingredient for something unique.”

What began as a kitchen experiment fermenting honey evolved into a full-fledged passion project, eventually backed by product testing, licensing, and a dedicated community of early adopters. 

Today, the startup has completed its pilot phase, having tested its mead across 500 consumers in Assam. It is now prepping for a commercial launch of its mead in July–August this year, under the brand name ‘AS01’.

“ASO1 Has been extensively tested across sommeliers, home brewers, and everyday consumers at events, festivals, and expos. The feedback has helped fine-tune both the flavour balance and bottle design for the launch-ready batches,” says the founder. 

Also Read

Politics in the time of love; Meet the alcohol influencers

With this, Dream Hives is all set to become Northeast India’s first meadery, says Deka, who is no stranger to entrepreneurship. Before launching Dream Hives, he founded Brahmaputra Fables, a marketplace for handicrafts from the Northeast.

In 2018, during a startup event in Delhi, he met Goswami, who was working in the renewable energy sector, primarily in wildlife conservation zones. Their shared passion for community impact sparked the idea for collaboration.

The product lineup 

AS01’s meads are deeply rooted in Assamese terroir. Unlike global meads that focus on floral or herbal notes, AS01 infuses its honey wine with Assam tea and King Chilli, two iconic ingredients of the region—these give the mead a bold yet smooth profile, says Deka.

Also called Bhoot Kolokia, King Chilli is a type of chili pepper native to the northeastern region of India. 

Assam Tea Mead offers a smoky, tannic complexity that mimics wine and honeyed undertones, while King Chilli Mead carries a sweet start followed by a controlled, warm heat, ideal for adventurous palates, explains the founder. 

These flavours are not available in meads globally, making AS01 an authentic Northeast Indian expression of a centuries-old drink, he claims. 

Both the meads will be available in still and carbonated versions. 

Still mead, with 10-12% ABV (alcohol by volume), will be priced at around Rs 800 per 750 ml bottle, while the carbonated, canned version with 4% ABV will be priced at Rs 350 for 500 ml.

The company also plans to launch a non-alcoholic premix named ‘Nemo X’ made with dry lemon; it’s intended to be both a mixer and a standalone beverage.

There are only a handful of meaderies in the country, including Moonshine and Cerana. Dream Hives will stand out for its location and grassroots approach, says Deka. 

“We wanted to create something that celebrates Northeast India—its ingredients, its culture, and its people. We are infusing the meads with raw fruits and spices of Northeast India.”

The company sources honey from indigenous beekeepers in Assam’s Baksa and Rangia regions. It procures high-grown loose-leaf tea from small tea growers across the state, selected for its distinctive brisk and malty flavour profile. Bhoot jolokia is obtained from farms in Morigaon Assam, known for producing GI-certified chillies.

Market opportunities 

Dream Hives is positioning itself as a low-alcohol craft alternative to mass-market liquors. 

“There’s a growing demand for healthier, low-ABV drinks among the younger generation. Mead fits right into that space,” says Deka.

There is no added sugar; the natural sweetness comes from honey. The beverage is also gluten-free, lower in calories than cocktails, and contains no artificial flavours or preservatives, making it ideal for the mindful drinker, he adds. 

Dream Hives, which has an excise manufacturing licence, has set up a production facility in Guwahati Biotech Park, with a capacity of 2,000 litres per month. 

After the commercial launch of the meads, the company will initially focus on distribution in Guwahati, Jorhat, and Tezpur in Assam via bars, pubs, and wine shops. It also plans to expand to major cities such as Bengaluru, Delhi, Goa, and Mumbai in three years.

Dream Hives’s efforts were recently recognised on the national stage when it was named one of the winners of the Startup MahaRathi Challenge—India’s largest innovation challenge for startups—organised under the aegis of Startup Mahakumbh 2025. 

Held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, the event celebrated pioneering startups across sectors. Dream Hives was awarded in the agritech category. 

The award, which includes a cash prize of Rs 3 lakh, was presented in the presence of Union Minister Piyush Goyal, actor and entrepreneur Sonam Kapoor, and startup ecosystem leaders Sanjeev Bikhchandani and Aman Gupta.

Dream Hives, which is in the pre-revenue stage, is part of Assam Startup’s incubation programme and has benefitted from the programme’s mentoring, branding, and funding support. 

As it readies for a commercial launch, the startup is betting on traditional ingredients, sustainable sourcing, and consumer’s evolving preference for craft alcohol to fuel its journey.