Episode 192

The Republic of Tea’s Minister of Enlightenment and Commerce, Kristina Tucker, discusses how the California-based brand cleverly transformed an unconscious beverage habit into a mindful lifestyle choice. Citizens (customers) of the Republic share a sense of mindfulness and practice self-care rituals, brewing a range of more than 350 teas and herbal infusions. Conceived by Banana Republic founders Mel and Patricia Ziegler in 1992 and nurtured by CEO Will Rosenzweig, the company sources exceptional teas from multiple origins. It markets traditional, functional, and beautifying infusions with a holistic narrative that tea is a gateway to healthier, more intentional living. The Republic of Tea is a pioneer in specialty tea and was founded on the idea that a tea brand could inspire a lifestyle of intentional living, embodying tranquility, creativity, and personal well-being.

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Inspiring a Lifestyle of Intentional Living

By Dan Bolton

Dan: The Republic of Tea first articulated its commitment to ethical sourcing, fair labor practices, reducing waste, rejuvenating land, and sustainable cultivation over thirty years ago. Advocating a daily tea ritual to drink tea Sip by Sip Rather Than Gulp by Gulp resonated with consumers, who were pleased to find more from a tea brand than attractive tins and eco-friendly messaging. Will you describe how that advocacy evolved?

Kristina: We’re so fortunate at the Republic of Tea that the brand’s concept is in a book called The Republic of Tea, which Mel Patricia Ziegler and Bill Rosenzweig wrote in the early 90s. All the ideas are captured in this book, so we can always refer back to it for inspiration and go back to where it began and then infused all of us.

Dan: Author Simon Sinek, in START WITH WHY, discusses the importance of companies establishing they exist. Sinek argues that people are drawn not to what an organization does but to why it does it. This approach builds deeper loyalty and trust. During a lengthy correspondence, The Republic of Tea’s founders applied this approach, describing the process in a 355-page book of letters to a young entrepreneur. The book details ‘What we want The Republic of Tea to be, ‘ the values they aspire to, and the steps necessary to realize their vision. Will you talk a little about convincing millions of consumers to emigrate to the Republic?

Kristina: Well, of course, it all starts with great taste. You know, all these different varieties, all this innovation is all about delivering on that promise, that it’s going to taste amazing, and then we work from there. Part of that taste experience is the philosophy and lifestyle that we emphasize. It begins there, and then it expands.

We created The Republic of Tea so that people can emigrate and become a citizen. And this whimsy, this idea that you’ve immigrated to a special place that the tea takes you to, and that helps you have this lifestyle of well-being, is really quite magical and fun. And yes, at times, it might be a little bit of a stretch for some, but when you embrace it, it becomes part of your whole experience. And that’s our promise to deliver that great taste experience as part of being a citizen.

Dan: In the last few years, we’ve seen the word botanicals or infusions attached to several former “tea” companies. As you developed your concept, you did not signal, “We are Camellia sinensis and nothing else.” Instead, you promoted a range of infusions, herbal blends, and green tea. The Republic of Tea, for example, was always big on green tea. Talk about why infusions are now a thing.

Kristina: We think of it this way. All these magical plants, Camellia sinensis to chamomile to hibiscus to ginseng – you name it- all of these plants, herbs, shrubs, and roots come together and unite in the blends we make at the Republic of Tea.

We have over 350 varieties of teas and herbs, including botanicals blended with Camellia sinensis and traditional black and green tea.

So it’s just being innovative and creative, not being afraid. We take a lot of risks. We import from over 80 countries now, so we play with all the different ingredients all the time.

When it comes to trends, we really listen to our citizens. They often tell us what they’re looking for in herbal infusions and botanicals. Some are looking for functions.

We started blending with more herbs right from the beginning, but then, in 2006, we expanded into our Be Well collection, so we started working more with function with our beautifying botanicals, which we launched a few years back. We played with blue butterfly pea flowers and different white hibiscus. Then we launched our super adapt collection, using ashwagandha, rhodiola, and some of these wonderful adaptogenic herbs.

We have a collection of our super herbs, our single herbs of origin that are all organic, premium, best in class, and different herbals, like Egyptian hibiscus or South African Green Rooibos. We are always looking again for the best flavor in the cup.

Dan: TV audiences monitor every detail on series like Downton Abbey and Bridgerton, and Tea enthusiasts like to chat about what Lady Mary or Violet Crawley are drinking or the beautiful silver service polished in the kitchen. 

It was a delight reading Carson’s Guide to Tea at Downton Abbey.

The Republic of Tea brought fantasy to life with a Downton Abbey line that includes eight teas, gift sets, a recipe journal, seven Bridgerton teas, and the Official Bridgerton Guide to Entertaining.

Kristina: Well, let me go back even further than that…

It started with Memoirs of a Geisha, our first collaboration in 2005. We know people like to enjoy tea when they’re reading or watching a series like Downton Abbey or Bridgerton, so that’s where the connection begins.

We had success with Memoirs of a Geisha, but these partnerships really blossomed with the movie Eat, Pray, Love in 2010. That was really fun. We used black tea inspired by the Hari Mandir Ashram in Pataudi, Haryana, where the Indian scenes were filmed, cinnamon from Indonesia, and blood orange from Italy. These origins and their distinctive flavors are integrated with the story, and the idea of creating blends matched to characters started to come together.

The blends are collaborative. So, we’re working with the respective Netflix, Disney, or BBC creatives. We all taste teas together and talk about the characters and what they would drink or what symbolizes that character, and it blossoms from there. They’re so much fun to work on, and these blends really connect with the citizens.

We still see great sales of the Downton Abbey collection and Bridgerton. I don’t think we’ll ever be able to let those go.

Dan: You regularly introduce seasonal favorites and limited-time offers as well.

Kristina: Yes, we are in tea-drinking season, and the fall flavors are just a thrill. We have our iconic hot apple cider, our top seller year in and year out for our fall teas. We also have a new Pumpkin Pie Chai that we launched this year. It’s made with interesting ingredients. We’ve got cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin, and nutmeg, all standards, of course, but there’s also roasted dandelion root in here, which makes this blend so well-rounded. It has a sister, Apple Pie Chai.

Dan: Many young people now drink tea and infusions. A study by GlobalData highlighted that tea consumption trends among younger generations, particularly Millennials and Gen Z, are reshaping the market. Around 87% of Millennials report regular tea consumption, which has been integrated into daily life for many in Gen Z. Are you focused on a specific demographic? Which generations are more likely to become citizens (regular consumers)?

Kristina: We appeal to multiple demographics across all ages, but we continue to see the awareness of different taste profiles from a younger demographic. Millennials, Gen Z, are certainly looking for The Republic of Tea to bring that innovation, that one thing that they might be looking for, whether it’s an ingredient, the new functional herb, or just the creative combinations that we come up with.

Some of our blends have quite a few different ingredients. And that kind of creativity, that surprise, delight various demographics. I often hear people say, Oh, my mom drank The Republic of Tea, and that’s how I found it. So, I think we’re seeing part of it within families. We often hear how special our fall and holiday flavors are this time of the year because people have traditions like sipping our Comfort and Joy blend when wrapping Christmas presents. Others mention certain teas they drink as a family when watching movies. So we hear a lot of that, where we’re spanning multiple generations.

Dan: How about the beautifying botanicals category or the super herbs? Are these popular with women?

Kristina: Yes. We find that the vast majority of people who are drinking beautifying botanicals are women in the 30, 40, and 50-year range. Okay, but it’s certainly not exclusive to that group. In some of our research, we have found that we over-index relative to other tea brands with male tea drinkers.

Dan: Which teas are most popular with men?

Kristina: We see it with our black teas but also with our functional herbs.

Dan: Research indicates that young people begin showing a preference for tea during adolescence, although exact ages can vary based on cultural and regional influences. At what age do you notice consumers becoming fans of the brand?

Kristina: We have high school students who are avid citizens of The Republic of Tea, creating tea clubs at their schools. Also, college students get together and pick our tea for their club. We’ve always aspired to be something for every man, woman, and child, to find something in the assortment.

Dan: Three hundred fifty teas is a wide range. I’m going to guess 10% to 20% are traditional teas; almost everything else is blended.

Kristina: You’re right about that.

Dan: So blends dominate, which means changing preferences, trending flavors, and availability of ingredients make it likely many will come and go, often in a short period of time. Will you name two or three all-time best sellers that have become iconic and associated with the company’s history and tradition?

Those three have been in the marketplace for well over 32 years and are still great sellers.

So those are just a few of the best-known blends that we offer, but I can go on and on.

Dan: Go on! This is good. I wanted to help our overseas listeners visualize non-traditional products. You mentioned packaging, and the introduction of simple, tagless round tea bags remains the standard. Your tins are recyclable, tea bags are biodegradable and compostable, and you use recycled PET if needed.

Kristina: Innovation is a core value at The Republic of Tea in any way we can define it. We’re constantly reminding ourselves to be innovative in our approach when it comes to our tea blends and packaging. At the core is this unbleached paper tea bag. It started with full-leaf tea first and then migrated into the tea bag. The company wanted something without the unnecessary strings tag staples; try to avoid single use if possible, and then something that can be easily compostable or just biodegradable. That value is at the very core of The Republic of Tea. But we also want to be sure that our teas and herbs are kept fresh, so they are made with recyclable steel and are really great to reuse; plus, they’re beautiful, and they look so lovely on people’s kitchen countertops.

Dan: I also noticed a statement on upcycling waste, the appealing example of your Root to Petal blends that use roots and husks to create teas, and the idea of end-of-life and end-of-product-life planning for packaging.

See: Upcycled Food Association

Kristina: We are conscious of what happens after the tea is enjoyed. So we advocate that after you enjoy your cup of tea or herbs, you compost it, put it in your flower bed, and find a way to let it live on, if possible, but also make sure that you’re not contributing to something not having an end of life. Give it a chance to erode or biodegrade or compost in some way.

Dan: The brand is best known in the US and Canada. Do you foresee expansion into overseas markets?

Kristina: Right now, it is the United States, for the most part, but we are always entertaining exploration into different markets abroad. As you know, there are challenges when trying to export tea, especially exporting tea and herbs to certain countries. So, it can be challenging, but it’s always an option; whenever we can make it work, where it’s seamless, and there are good partnerships to help escort The Republic of Tea into new markets, we are always open to that. But there are business challenges that come with exporting internationally, especially with some of the ingredients that we blend with. Certainly, in the future, I can see that exporting will continue to grow, especially as more people are looking for discovery. They want something that they’ve never seen before. They want teas that will thrill them, delight them, that they’ll enjoy. And some of those countries you mentioned, Dan, do have sophisticated palettes. They want to explore more culinary options. They also enjoy this sort of packaging, so we travel to origin and bring tins to show there; it’s always just as appreciated as it is here in the US. So I’d say, to answer your question, in the long term, we are always looking for new ways to bring more citizens to The Republic of Tea worldwide.

Dan: Your continuity with the company is impressive. Messaging certainly changes over 20 years, becoming more perceptive, insightful, and effective, but core values are timeless. I’ve seen lifestyle brands wax and wane, with many companies spending promotional budgets to raise awareness for a good cause. But when the person championing that cause is replaced, it becomes clear that the company isn’t committed at a deeper level. Companies that do not embrace fearless innovation and a commitment to values in their DNA can drift back to social, environmental, and business practices that are not sustainable.

That will be the death of companies going forward.

Kristina: I agree. That is something distinct about The Republic of Tea. Its bones were built with those values and continue to be at our core; our ethos is built around that.

Regarding your question about the future and looking forward to it, it’s absolutely necessary that we all come together as an industry and work towards resolving all of the issues that different countries are battling at the origin.

As tea companies look to the future and how we can help the livelihood of all in the trade, that holistic, intrinsic need to do good for each other is what’s going to make our beautiful industry thrive.

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• Photos courtesy The Republic of Tea