The Toronto Tea Festival concluded on January 28, marking a turning point in 2024 as the crowd surged from a low of 2,600 in February 2020 to 4,000 attendees – a 25% increase from previous highs. Joining us today to discuss the changing dynamics is Tao Wu, co-founder of Tao Tea Leaf and one of the festival’s key organizers… but first, let’s listen to the excitement ON THE FLOOR at the weekend event.
Listen to the interview
On the Floor at the Toronto Tea Festival | Tao Wu, festival co-founder
Lunar New Year to Boost Consumption and Tea Travel
The New Year that begins Saturday will bring renewed vigor to China’s tea economy as travel experts predict strong sales during the extra-long holiday. “A year after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in China, the eight-day Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday is expected to see a major surge in travel and consumption as people head home for family reunions or set off for a week of travel and tourism,” writes China Briefing.
Last year, Chinese border control agencies recorded 5.2 million inbound and outbound transits, a 4.7-fold increase approaching pre-pandemic totals. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism reported 135 million domestic trips. This is roughly in line with the figure seen during the holiday in 2019, according to the administration.
East Asian cultures celebrating the holiday include Koreans, Vietnamese, Tibetans, and Chinese. The Chinese New Year falls on Saturday, February 10, 2024, beginning the Year of the Dragon—the Wood Dragon.
The 2024 Spring Festival Holiday Travel Forecast Report, jointly compiled by Baidu Maps and the Highway Science Research Institute of the Ministry of Transport (MOT), forecasts that travel volume over the 2024 holiday will exceed last year by more than 40%, with the busiest day of travel being on the last day of the holiday (February 17) as everyone returns home (departures are more staggered).
According to the forecast, “One of the major trends noted in recent years is the mixing of tourism and (CNY) New Year celebrations, where families choose to get together in a new destination rather than in their hometown. Some of the most popular domestic destinations for this type of travel include Yunnan, Guangdong, Fujian, Beijing, and Harbin for winter getaways. For international travel, Southeast Asia remains the most popular destination. Search data from Baidu.com shows that families and children account for as much as 42% of the holiday tourism cohort.
Whereas short-haul travel became popular during the pandemic, longer-distance travel is now back in vogue. Data from online travel agency Trip.com indicates that travel within the same province or to peripheral provinces will account for just 25% of overall travel during the 2024 holiday, while inter-provincial long-distance travel will account for as much as 75%.
Tea vendors welcome the holiday as it draws large crowds to tea-producing regions and encourages gifting of tea and an increase in out-of-home consumption at restaurants.
Pakistan Tea Imports Spike
Pakistan’s Legal and Smuggled Tea Imports Rise
Pakistan has emerged from deep financial difficulties, thirsty for tea.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, tea imports surged 5.5% to $336 million during the first six months of the current fiscal year (July- December 2023). The increase is due in part to the reversal of trade deficits that crippled the country’s economy in 2022 and 2023. Import volume grew by 9.1% to 138,750 metric tons in the current fiscal year, compared to 128,000 metric tons during the same period in fiscal 2022.
Exports are up 5% to $15 billion overall, but imports decreased by 16% to $26 billion, down from $31 billion during the same period last year. The nation’s deficit from July to December (2023-24) declined to $11 billion, down by 34% during the fiscal year’s first half.
Scarcity and a spike in prices led to a high incidence of tea smuggling with the Afghan Transit Trade (ATT), estimated to have increased by 159% during fiscal years 2022-23. According to The Nation, Kenyan tea exports to Afghanistan totaled $75 million last year, up from $29 million in FY2021-22.
The newspaper reported, “Afghan authorities expressed shock over the 159% increase in the import of black tea. Afghans prefer green tea, according to an unnamed source who claimed Pakistani importers prefer to trade with Afghan traders instead of buying directly from Kenya. “The duty-free black tea is then smuggled back into Pakistan, which has caused loss to the national exchequer, the source argued.”
Nepal Foreign Currency Crisis
Nepal Recovers from Foreign Currency Crisis
Nepal achieved a record high of $13.3 billion in foreign currency reserves in December, reversing a two-year crisis.
According to Nepal Rastra Bank’s (NRB) report on the ‘Current Macroeconomic and Financial Situation of Nepal,’ reserves QUOTE “soared 13.6% in the past five months of the current fiscal year.” Remittance inflows were cited for adding $1.6 billion through December.
In 2022, Nepal was forced to limit imports of nonessential goods as its foreign currency reserves dipped. The cause was declining tourism and unusually low remittances from migrants who send home part of their earnings, one of the largest sources of foreign income for many developing countries.
Globally, remittances to low- and middle-income countries grew 5% in 2022 to $626 billion out of $767 billion worldwide. Nepal received $9.29 billion in remittances in 2022.
According to the NRB records, remittance inflows increased 28% to 613 billion rupees during the review period compared to a 23% increase in the previous year.
In US dollars, inflows increased 25% to $4.6 billion in the review period compared to 13% in the review period last year.
The tea industry, the largest foreign exchange earner after cardamom, is facing a crisis at a time when the National Tea and Coffee Development Board (NTCDB) has set a target of doubling foreign currency in the current fiscal year.
The newspaper My Republica writes that the Central Vice President of the All Nepal Trade Union, Bhupal Sapkota, blames the NTCDB for not effectively solving the problems of tea industrialists, businessmen, farmers, and workers. These include labor concerns, lack of irrigation systems, poor road infrastructure, and erratic distribution of electrical power and water supply.
Tea Board Executive Director Bishnu Prasad Bhattarai pledged to play an effective role in solving the existing problems in the tea sector and adequately address all the problems raised by the stakeholders. Nepal earned NLRs 3.80 billion rupees, about $28.6 million in US foreign exchange dollars from tea exports last fiscal year. India, China, Sri Lanka, Russia, and the Netherlands are the main export markets.
There are 20,237 hectares of tea plantations in Nepal, mainly in Koshi province, with 38 CTC processing facilities. There are, in addition, 30 orthodox tea factories. Total employment is 70,000.
Nepal has set an ambitious target to transition from a World Bank-designated lower-income country to a status as a middle-income country by 2030.
FEATURE
Tao Wu, Toronto Tea Festival Co-Founder
Enthusiastic Young Crowd Sets Record Attendance at Toronto Festival
By Dan Bolton
Tao Wu and his sister Mingzhou Gao (an accountant) co-founded Tao Tea Leaf 14 years ago, opening their first three tea shops on Yonge Street in downtown Toronto. Tao and “Lisa” were raised in the Wuyi Mountain in China’s northwestern Fujian province, where their parents run a tea garden, and their brother has a tea shop and exports tea. In 2013, Tao was one of the original organizers of the Toronto Tea Festival. In this interview, he shares his observations and insights on the recently concluded 10th edition.
Listen to the Interview
On the Floor at the Toronto Tea Festival | Tao Wu, co-founder
Share this Post Episode 153 | Lunar New Year Will Boost Consumption and Tea Travel | Nepal Recovers from Foreign Currency Crisis | Pakistan’s Legal and Smuggled Tea Imports Spike | PLUS The Toronto Tea Festival that concluded January 28 marks a turning point in 2024 as the crowd surged from a low of 2,600 in February 2020 to 4,000 attendees – a 25% increase from previous highs.
Traditional Medicinals is a Northern California-based botanical wellness brand rooted in modern herbalism that inspires active connection to plant wisdom in serving people and the planet. Formulations of more than 60 teas, lozenges, and capsules are strictly limited to science-based botanical ingredients without added flavors and in quantities that meet pharmacopeia standards for efficacy. The company’s single blends and single-herbal infusions are organic, sustainable, and ethically sourced. Traditional Medicinals was launched in 1974, and in recent years, the company has experienced exponential growth as consumer demand fills the sails, expanding distribution from niche natural food stores to mass market outlets. Joining us is Chief Marketing Officer Kristel Corson. She says, “Our teas have been around what seems like forever, but herbals are having their moment, and it is important to educate folks, not just on what has been, but on what medicinal herbalism is today, and it’s very different.”
Kristel joined Traditional Medicinals in 2022 “to focus on building the brand for its next phase of growth, rooted in purpose, and delivering amazing products that harness the power of plants and their many wellness properties.”
She spent more than 30 years helping beloved brands like Clif Bar, Jamba Juice, Clover Sonoma, and LeapFrog exceed business objectives through a combination of innovative new product launches, strong retail presence, and marketing programs that create positive, lasting consumer connections.
As chief revenue officer, Kristel helped transform the century-old Clover Stornetta brand from a values-based regional dairy to a nationally recognized conscious-consumer and mission-driven product innovator. Kristel earned a BS in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from San Francisco State University.
“We’ve got a full innovation team thinking up all the different ways to bring these amazing herbs to consumers, make them more accessible, and help them understand the benefits that they can bring.”
– Kristel Corson
Dan Bolton: I am delighted, Kristel, that you joined us today on the Tea Biz Podcast. Will you tell us just a little about yourself?
Kristel Corson: I’ve worked on consumer-packaged goods for over 30 years. About 20 years ago, I found my passion through working for brands driven by multiple bottom lines, more purpose-driven brands that have an impact, and a mission to do better in the world.
I started with Traditional Medicinals about 15 months ago, and they are the most purpose-driven, impact-driven brand out there, at least that I have come across.
It is primarily tea. However, our focus is plant medicine and bringing plant medicine out into the world in an accessible way to help with everyday wellness.
We’ve recently launched lozenges and are looking at different ways to bring this plant medicine, but our mainstay is teas. That’s what started the company about 50 years ago.
Dan: Good Housekeeping recently named Throat Coat a category winner in coffee and tea. The kitchen lab experts and more than 1000 consumer testers were tasked with finding the most innovative, high-performing products. They chose a tea that has been around since the 1970s. The citation by the judges encapsulates several modern trends: “Warm liquids can be soothing, and this blend from Traditional Medicinals is designed to support throat health. It smells sweet and like licorice. It’s also slightly woody. It’s organic, and the brand is B-Corp certified,” said Good Housekeeping’s team of experts.
Kristel: Consumers look to Good Housekeeping because they use consumer panels, they really do their research, and to have Throat Coat called out, as, you know, one of the best teas out there is amazing.
Throat Coat is a product that has been around almost since its inception. It wasn’t one of the original teas, but it came out soon after. The tea helps your throat while you’re sick or when you’re hoarse, but it’s a tea that’s just for overall throat health.
Throat Coat has been getting much recognition lately, but for many years, several artists out there, musicians in particular, seem to love Throat Coat.
In 2020, the company announced plans to build a distribution facility in Virginia. Construction was expected to start in late 2023, but the facility has not been built.
Dan: The uplift from niche natural grocery and health food stores to the mass market was underway before the pandemic but has since accelerated. What is propelling the brand forward?
Kristel: Well, Traditional Medicinals, as you noted, have always been rooted in plant medicine. We only use medicinal-grade herbs in our teas. We don’t use any flavorings or anything but the true herb.
This is one of the things we pride ourselves on in trying to introduce the true taste of herbs to consumers. We have a full staff of R&D [Research and Development] scientists and naturopath doctors who understand these herbs, their qualities, and their flavors.
We create our medicinal herbs, formulas, and blends like Throat Coat, whose key ingredient is the slippery elm, a tree bark from Appalachia that soothes throats. It’s a blend incorporated with many other herbs that provide medicinal benefits, like licorice, which also gives it a nice taste. And so we’re very proud that we can bring that efficacy to our teas with blends that consumers like as well.
Early 1970s range
Dan: In its FoodTrends for 2024report, Whole Foods Market named Traditional Medicinals as an example of a women’s health trend labeled “From Taboo to Top-of-Mind.”
“We’re seeing more brands making products to support periods, pregnancy, postpartum, menopause, and even sleep that address life stages and symptoms previously swept under the rug,” writes Whole Foods.
Traditional Medicinals co-founder Rosemary Gladstar was selling Mother’s Milk lactation tea 50 years ago. The line now includes Raspberry Leaf Tea for menstrual relief, Pregnancy Tea, and Morning Ease for morning sickness.
Advanced R&D capabilities
Kristel: Medicinal-grade herbs have been used for thousands of years to help women through the different stages of their lives. Herbs help with hormonal balance. You mentioned Mother’s Milk, which is one of our original teas. It helps women who are nursing to produce more milk. One of the most recent trends is an herb called raspberry leaf. That is our very popular tea to help women with their menstrual cycles.
One of the things we do at Traditional Medicinals is develop products that can become part of your everyday wellness cycle.
Going to the doctor and getting pharmaceutical drugs is necessary from time to time, but daily for overall wellness, herbs have a place in today’s world.
Dan: So, how’s business?
Kristel: Our business is going wonderfully. We continue to see double-digit growth, year on year. I think it is about being in the right time and place. Post-COVID, people have taken a hard look at their overall health and wellness and have made changes.
The younger generations are much more into plant-based products in general. Herbal tea is one of those. I think that herbal tea is something that consumers, for a relatively low cost, can bring into their daily lives and take better care of themselves.
What’s unique about Traditional Medicinals is how we source the product.
We’re organic, but many of our products are also Fairtrade certified. We try to bring to light how important it is for the producers and growers and the people who collect the herbs to be treated fairly. Within the retail space, consumers are asking for not only good quality products, but also products that are made fairly and ethically.
As we turn 50, we are seen as offering a product that connects with consumers’ needs. And when you connect with consumers, retailers want you. Our roots were in the natural products industry. We were in health food stores originally, with little mom and pops, and then Whole Foods took us on, leading to other retailers like Sprouts. In the last ten years, we’ve stepped into the mainstream with the likes of Kroger, Publix, Walmart, and Amazon.
It was old school to think that if you were a true natural product, you would stay in the natural channel. We believe we’re trying to bring plant medicine to the world, to all consumers, so that they can bring it into their daily lives.
On display
That connection and working with retailers to prove the case over the years that herbal teas deserve a spot on the shelf is something that we’re very focused on and very successful. Today, we’re the number one herbal wellness tea.
Dan: You’ve seen significant online sales growth. Will you describe the role online played in transitioning to mainstream? Sales spiked in 2020. How are online sales now?
Kristel: online sales definitely went through the roof during COVID. Selling online offers a different experience for the consumer versus brick and mortar.
When they find you online, you can often tell the story of your products. You can go deep with pictures, articles, and videos so the consumer can be much more educated. And so, by being educated, especially with something like a Traditional Medicinals tea that has so much behind it, you know, it’s a dietary supplement, which FDA regulates. We have several certifications, which are all third-party accredited. People can read about this, get steeped in that information, and make a much better choice.
Online retailers make it easy for you to subscribe. A lot of them offer discounts if you subscribe. And it becomes part of a consumer’s pantry.
Convenience is a huge part. You can go online at any time to buy a product, but for us, what we’ve been able to do is tell our story. We’ve provided consumers with in-depth information about how we make our teas, where we get our teas, our ethical sourcing, and everything that we believe in that supply chain side.
Consumers get to read reviews. And so you know, not only do you hear from the company and everything they bring forward, but many of our top products have amazing reviews that help consumers hit that “Buy Box” when they’re shopping online.
Educational website
Dan: Renewed interest in herbal infusions and condition-specific and functional teas are trends that will be long-lived. And how do you see the evolution of Traditional Medicinals?
Kristel: We talk a lot about new products within the four walls of Traditional Medicinals. We are rooted in plant medicine and bringing that to the forefront for consumers.
Tea will always be the core of the brand because of its ability to deliver plant medicine in a way that people can consume easily. It also gives you that sense of daily ritual to take care of yourself; tea provides an entire experience.
But as we look to the future, we also see that we can bring plant medicine to consumers in our organic lozenges under the Throat Coat brand, which is already amazing at retail. People recognize the Throat Coat as something that they’ve had in their pantry for years to help with their throat, but now in a more convenient way.
A lozenge is the perfect product, but there are so many more.
The future is this combination of continuing education, fair and ethical sourcing, and finding new ways to bring plant medicine to consumers.
And so, we’re excited. We’ve got a full innovation team thinking up all the different ways to bring these amazing herbs to consumers, make them more accessible, and help them understand the benefits that they can bring.
We categorize our teas in two different areas; we have the ones that we’re most known for: Throat Coat, Smooth Move, and Mother’s Milk; these are all teas that the herbalist formulates. They’re all blends. And they are put together to provide specific medicinal benefits.
But we also have a whole line of what we call single herbs. These we bring straight to the consumer. Peppermint is an example. We educate them on the fact that peppermint is amazing for digestion. We state that on the packaging and discuss the functional benefit each of our teas brings.
Consumers can study the shelves and figure out what they need most in their daily lives. When Traditional Medicinals brought forth these medicinal-rated herbs, they honored traditions passed down for thousands of years. In addition, we explain ethical sourcing and how we respect collectors and producers. We’ve been a leader in the Fairtrade movement.
The next level is our Fair for Life certification, which examines the entire supply chain and how we bring products to market. The emphasis is on “responsible supply chains” that incorporate long-term vision. Fair for Life was created in 2006 by the Swiss Bio-Foundation and taken over by Ecocert in 2014.
As we look to the next 50 years, in addition to educating consumers on plant medicine, we strive to be a role model for other companies doing business in the most ethical way possible. We’re very proud of that.
Photos are courtesy of Traditional Medicinals. Thanks to Kristel for sharing.
Share this post Episode 151 | Traditional Medicinals is a Northern California-based botanical wellness brand rooted in modern herbalism to inspire active connection to plant wisdom in service of people and the planet. Formulations of more than sixty teas, lozenges, and capsules are strictly limited to science-based botanical ingredients without added flavors and in quantities that meet pharmacopeia standards for efficacy. Chief Marketing Officer Kristel Corson says, “Our teas have been around what seems like forever, but herbals are having their moment, and it is important to educate folks, not just on what has been, but on what medicinal herbalism is today, and it’s very different.”
Ahead of the Intergovernmental Group on Tea’s meeting in Guwahati, Assam, the Tea Research Association hosted a 2-day Bicentenary Assam Tea International Conference as part of the bicentennial celebrations of the Assam tea industry. It took place on the 29th and 30th at the Radisson Blu, Guwahati, and saw close to 400 people from the industry, including guests from the global tea industry representing 25 countries, in attendance. While it was an event that brought people from the tea trade under one roof, there was also a series of discussions on current preoccupations in tea, including regenerative agriculture, marketing Indian tea, the small tea grower segment, and new technologies and innovations in tea. Keynote speakers were James Grayland of Wanlin Teahouse, Shanghai, and Nitin Saluja of Chaayos.
In Memoriam: Maddhurjya Gogoi, tea farmer
Tea Farmer Maddhurjya Gogoi,46, passed away suddenly on 31st January 2024 after suffering a cerebral stroke. Maddhurjya was a pioneer in the artisanal tea sector in Assam, running Assam Teehaus, a direct-to-market brand of craft tea. His teas have earned rave reviews across the world. Maddhurjya’s contribution to Assam tea is significant, as is his relentless pursuit of organic specialty tea making. Maddhurjya is survived by his mother and two young children.
Share this post India Tea News: Guwahati Hosts BATIC 2024 to Celebrate 200 Years of Assam Tea | Artisanal Assamese Tea Farmer Maddhurjya Gogoi Passes Away | Ep 153 |
The Toronto Tea Festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary this weekend. The Tea Guild of Canada and Tao Tea Leaf are co-founders and sponsors of the event. Organizers expect a big crowd to attend educational presentations, cultural demonstrations, and competitions, and there will be products on display from 50 tea vendors, large and small. Rita Fong helped organize the inaugural event. She is a director and manages social media and marketing of what is now the largest tea festival in Canada. She joins us on the Tea Biz Podcast to share insights on this event’s staying power and growing popularity.
Listen to the interview
Toronto Tea Festival Social Media and Marketing Director Rita Fong
#TeaPower Marketing Campaign Targets Young Tea Drinkers
By Roopak Goswami The Food and Agricultural Organisation’s Intergovernmental Group (FAO IGG) on Tea will launch a global health-focused promotional campaign targeting younger consumers looking for an alternative to sugary drinks.
“There has been a global increase in consumer awareness of a healthy lifestyle, and dietary habits are changing in response to known linkages between diet and health. However, many campaigns are focused on health benefits that address the concerns of older generations,” the UN agency on tea said in a background paper on Tea and Health, slated for discussion at the 25th session of FAO IGG.
Ajay Jalan, former president of the Tea Association of India, said, “In current times, health and wellness have become central factors in consumer choices, offering a unique opportunity for the tea industry to tap into new consumer markets, especially among Gen Z and millennials.” Tea Biz correspondent Roopak Goswami writes that the gathering provides a forum for intergovernmental consultation and exchange on trends in production, consumption, trade, and the price of tea, including a regular appraisal of the global market situation and short-term outlook.
“The world market for tea continues to be in oversupply, as yields per hectare have risen without a matching increase in global demand. Critically, the next generation of consumers has a wide range of beverages to choose from, and Tea must compete for a share of throat,” according to IGG. This is the first time IGG has met in Assam, a tea-growing region that contributes around 12% of the world’s tea. The three-day session begins on Jan. 31 and is preceded by Batic 2024, a celebration of Assam’s bi-centenary of commercial tea production.
“Tea Power is the perfect pitch for younger generations looking to increase their performance and energy levels while staying healthy. With carefully crafted messaging, we can create a powerful campaign that will inspire and encourage young people to make tea a part of their lifestyle.”
– UN Working Group on Health & Tea
Tongue in cheek release from US Embassy in UK
British Take Tea Advice with a Grain of Salt
By Dan Bolton
Professor of Chemistry Michelle Francl caused an uproar this week with the publication Wednesday of her book “Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea.”
The text advises tea drinkers to add a pinch of salt to over-brewed tea, a recommendation found in 8th-century manuscripts from China.
She reports that salt ions block the bitter receptors in your mouth, resulting in a tea that tastes less bitter.
The tongue-in-cheek response in media that quoted “agast” British culinary and beverage experts drew the attention of the U.S. Embassy in the U.K.
“American chemist inspires a moment of diplomatic levity with controversial brewing suggestions,” reads a headline in The Guardian. “US Pledges Support for UK After Egghead Suggests Putting Salt in Tea,” reads a headline in Politico.
A satirical release said her findings regarding “the elixir of camaraderie, a sacred bond that unites our nations,” could jeopardize relations, placing diplomacy in “hot water.”
The ambassador cannot “stand idly by as such an outrageous proposal threatens the very foundation of our Special Relationship,” reads the release. The Embassy declared that adding salt is not official U.S. policy and “never will be,” and jokingly chastised Francl, whose advice in the text is sound.
Francl, who teaches chemistry at Bryn Mawr, recommends loose-leaf tea. Those seeking convenience will find a large tea bag allows better infusion than a small one. Dunking reduces the release of tannins, she advises, lending scientific backing to the adage “brew, don’t stew.” Remove the lid from a takeaway cup to enjoy the aroma, she says, and add a squirt of lemon juice to disburse tea scum in the cup.
Francl called for scalding a stout mug before pouring from the pot as the warmth increases the amount of caffeine and antioxidants released. She suggests tea drinkers should not be “miffy” (milk in first). Milk should be warmed before it is added to the tea to prevent curdling. Fancl, who analyzed research papers, ancient texts, and several books on the topic, wrote the book to educate others on how to make a better-tasting tea. She observed with a scolding:
“I’ve had better cups of tea in gas stations in Ireland than very nice restaurants in the U.S., she told Forbes.
China Longjing Tea Harvest West Lake
China Reports Tea Exports Declined in 2023
The value of Chinese tea exports fell by 16.3% to $1.74 billion year over year (y/y) in 2023 compared to $2.1 billion in sales recorded in 2022, according to China Customs. The decline is the second consecutive annual drop in exports by value. Export volume also declined by 2% to 367.5 million kilos.
Export value in 2022 fell by 9.6% y/y compared to 2021. Green tea experienced the biggest drop in value, declining from $1.4 billion in 2022 to $1.2 billion in 2023. In 2022, China exported 26.5% of the global total by value, according to UN Comtrade.
Sri Lanka, the number two producer by value, saw export value increase to $1.31 billion on a lower volume of tea than in 2022, according to the Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB). Exports earned $1.26 billion in 2022, reversing declines in 2020 and 2021. Sri Lanka tea shipments accounted for 15.7% of global exports by value in 2022.
Kenya tea exports from January through November were valued at $1.05 billion and are likely to surpass the 2022 total of $1.4 billion, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
India ranked fourth in global tea exports in 2022 but has yet to report full-year statistics. Indian tea exports from January through October were down 1.7% to 182 million kilos. Export value for April through October was also down by 3.6% to $590 million (INRs 4,904 crore) compared to $612 million (INRs 5,086 cr) during the same period in 2022. Export volume for the full year is likely to be around 200 million kilos, according to the Indian Tea Exporters Association.
Live Mint reports that rating agency Crisil expects the Indian tea industry to witness an 8% decline in revenue this fiscal year.
FEATURE
Educational presentations, cultural demonstrations, and competitions, and there will be products on display.
Toronto Tea Festival Celebrates 10th Anniversary
By Dan Bolton
The Toronto Tea Festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary this weekend. The Tea Guild of Canada and Tao Tea Leaf are co-founders and sponsors of the event. Organizers expect a big crowd to attend educational presentations, cultural demonstrations, and competitions, and there will be products on display from 50 tea vendors, large and small. Rita Fong helped organize the inaugural event. She is a director and manages social media and marketing of what is now the largest tea festival in Canada. She joins us on the Tea Biz Podcast to share insights on this event’s staying power and growing popularity. Read more…
Listen to the Interview
Toronto Tea Festival Social Media and Marketing Director Rita Fong
Share this Post Episode 152 | UN #TeaPower Promotion Targets Younger Generations | Tea Advice to Take with a Grain of Salt | China Reports Tea Exports Declined in 2023 | PLUS Toronto Tea Festival Social Media Manager and Marketing Director Rita Fong shares insights on this event’s staying power and growing popularity.
In 2023, the tea industry said farewell to several notable figures. In this episode, we pay tribute to David C. Bigelow, Jr., an industry icon who died in June at 96. A member of the silent generation born in the roaring 20s, David was a World War II veteran and 1948 Yale University graduate who transformed the specialty tea segment. He steered a boutique tea blending business launched in his mother’s kitchen into a multi-million-dollar mass-market brand. Joining us today is David’s daughter Cindi, President and CEO of Connecticut-based and family-owned R.C. Bigelow, a $250 million B-Corp known for innovations that redefined tea service in restaurants and grew the company to become the US market leader in specialty tea.
Listen to the interview
Bigelow Tea President and CEO Cindi Bigelow reflects on her father’s innovations in specialty tea.David C. Bigelow, at Avon Old Farms School in Avon, CT
David Bigelow’s Tenacity Established Specialty Tea in US Grocery
By Dan Bolton
The 55 million members of the Silent Generation were hardworking and humble. Survivors of the Great Depression and the horrors of war – they were careful with their money, patriotic, and ambitious. The generation displayed characteristics of thrift, simplicity, patience, and a need for financial security and comfort. Cindi Bigelow is the third generation to lead Bigelow Tea, founded in 1945 by her grandmother, Ruth C. Bigelow. During her years as chief executive, sales have increased from $94 million in 2005 to more than $250 million. Bigelow Tea produces over 100 million-units of tea boxes annually and employs 450 people.
““My father was my mentor for my entire life, personally and professionally. He never wavered from the traits I admired the most. He was a humble, grateful, and kind man. He leaves a big hole for my family, our extended family at Bigelow Tea, and far beyond, but we will continue with the lessons he taught us all… think about others before self.”
– Cindi Bigelow
Dan Bolton: I speak for many who admired your father for his business success, the life he shared with your mother, Eunice, the family he reared, his philanthropy, and the quiet impact he exerted at a time of transformation. He was a man who led by example.
Cindi Bigelow: I just hope to share with the world, especially those in the tea sphere, the story of how my father and my family were so influential in bringing the specialty tea category to where it is today.
Dan: Let’s begin the interview there. Could you talk about his role in expanding distribution and pricing? He pioneered a way of looking at tea that forced it up higher on a shelf in grocery stores. There was always an expensive tea from England, but this isn’t an import; this is tea blended and packaged in the United States – and your dad was doing something quite extraordinary.
Cindi: Well, first, it goes back to him expanding his specialty tea category. My grandmother introduced specialty tea when she created Constant Comment in her kitchen. She also expanded it to include many different flavors. Now, all of those teas were sold in gift shops.
When my father took over, he modified the tea offerings in the specialty tea category as well as their flavor profile.
He was the one who transitioned into the grocery stores, where he had to build an entire shelf presence. With his broker team and distributors, they carved out space for the specialty tea category, which was priced at a premium level because it was not a commodity tea. There was a lot more that went into it.
But it was a very slow build.
His tenacity is why we’re now number one because when it started, no one even knew what specialty tea was, and no one wanted to spend that kind of money on it. They had to go through all kinds of creative ways to get it on the shelf and then keep it on the shelf — it was completely new in the industry.
David C. Bigelow, 33, with his mother, Ruth, and father, David Bigelow, Sr.
Constant Comment
Dan: In 1945, a 2.25 oz jar of Constant Comment sold for less than 75 cents, a “premium” price point. The price had more than doubled by 1960, at a very early stage of consumer awareness of the specialty tea category retail. R.C. Bigelow blends were “top shelf” packed in tins with premium Ceylon tea and ingredients. Sales, however, were a modest $1 million. By 2005, under David Bigelow’s leadership, sales increased to $94 million as the brand transformed into food service and a mass-market favorite that retained its appeal as a premium blend.
Cindi: Well, it wasn’t until the ’70s that my parents started to put the product into foil and then fold cartons. That started because my father’s forays into the food service arena with the individual product team went back. He had been at the University of Hawaii, and they had our product in loose bags in a basket.
They came back and said that just doesn’t seem like the right way to sell it. So, they found a company that could put it in foil. It was not ever done before. And we started producing foil-wrapped tea bags going into boxes that we could now sell in the food service.
That’s when he realized this would revolutionize the tea industry if we could get this on the retail shelf because you can bring the ring down so it’s a little bit within reach of everyone to enjoy a cup of tea, which is still our motto. We want everyone to be able to afford a cup of Bigelow tea, but it is still premium and is no longer in a canister.
So, he moved us into foil wrappers to be able to handle the food service arena brilliantly. At the time, we were first into the food service and away-from-home marketplace.
Then, with that, they recognized that these cartons and foil individual wraps could make a big difference on a grocery shelf, so they started in Arizona and tested it down there, and it was a huge hit. Sales went up three times. From there, it was rolled out throughout the country.
We went from pneumatic machines to IMA machines and Teepack Constanta. He completely revamped the organization in the 70s and early 80s.
Dan: Something else he did to encourage the selection of tea was to put those foil packs in tea chests on the counter or bring them to the table, where the waitress would say, “Please choose from our selection of fine teas.” There may have been a selection of 8 or 10 in the chest.
Cindi: He had a great team of people in R&D (research & development), one who also passed away a few years ago was brilliant in creating the tea display chest, which again completely revolutionized the way the restaurant business, the catering business, everything about it they were not afraid to really push into industries with products with packaging that had not been seen before.
One of the points of this article is to let people understand the impact that he and his team had. If he knew I was giving this interview and using his name and not listing everyone who did all the work, he would be very upset with me, Dan. It’s under his leadership and his drive that our company was able to transform the tea business.
Dan: Who did he pal around with? Was it the guys at the grocery chains like Kroger and A&P?
Cindi: Believe it or not, my parents established really close relationships with the distributors. He was huge down in Florida. I can’t think of the names of all the distributors and brokers. They were so close, so close. Also, they had really good friends in the tea industry.
My father was wonderful, but networking wasn’t part of his MO. And I always admired that about him. He let the brokers and distributors do the work. He believed in letting them take the lead and do what they excel at. He made sure they were educated, they knew who we were, and then let them go.
Dan: Will you help readers better understand the breakthrough years when Bigelow expanded from a niche gift shop and regional brand to reach markets in the big cities and eventually saturation across the country?
Cindi: Well, we weren’t dominant anywhere in the 60s. We were in California, which was a big market for us. It wasn’t a national brand. If you have no sales, you dilute it. Moving into the big cities, there are even fewer sales. So, there was no market where Bigelow was dominant.
We were in gift shops in the ‘60s and on university campuses. A lot of the college kids enjoyed Constant Comment. It was cool to drink, Constant Comment* ” But sales were so small. We finally achieved $20 million in sales in 1985. So, we were a very small company. In the ‘60s, sales were a million and a half maybe.
David and Eunice Bigelow in the tea-tasting lab at Bigelow Tea
Dan: There was a business breakout, though, during the ‘80s
Cindi: Part of that growth was the foldable cardboard packaging and carton boxes on the shelf from the late 70s to the early 80s. At that point, we took off because we were now very stackable. We could have a price that was more thoughtful of the consumer. Then, there were line extensions. My father really got into the herbals in the ’80s and expanded to green teas in the ’90s. There weren’t even any green teas out there. Bigelow tea is the one that would put green tea on the shelf. I still think it is such a great product to consume. It is so helpful. But to be honest, there are many green teas out there that are very hard for the average consumer to enjoy. We are very blessed that our green tea is number one. We have a 40% share, and that is because we believe that our taste profile is a very drinkable, enjoyable tea. The 90s was a real rocking time for us for sure.
Constant Comment in tins
Cindi: Truth be told, Mo Siegel started the herbal business with the launch of Celestial Seasonings. He pioneered the herbal category.
My father looked at it and wasn’t quite sure. He asked, “What is this? Is this where we want to be?” Because he was a tea guy. He was a camellia sinensis guy. And you know camellia sinensis people are camellia sinensis focused, and so he, you know, waited a few years and then with good counsel said, “You know what, I do think we want to get into the herbal arena.”
Today, the herbal category is the largest in specialty tea, hovering around almost 60%. So, we are the number two player. We’re number one in the tea arena, within one specialty tea the number one tea, but in the herbal subset, we are number two, but we are gaining and getting a lot of attention for the good herbs we are launching in that arena. They are experimental.
My father’s foray into the foil wrap, which protects the vulnerable oils, whether it’s the Camelia sinensis or the volatile oils of a chamomile or a mint, that’s what gives you the health profile. That’s what gives you the taste profile. So, putting that into the foil allowed us to put those kinds of mints in there to protect them from losing it and getting exposed to light air moisture. And so, when we did move into the herbal category, we were able to, you know, move in in a big way, and it’s a big part of our business now.
“He didn’t have to pass away for me to appreciate him. He knew I appreciated him every single day, and that’s one thing that I’ll be able to carry with me forward even though he’s gone. He knew how much I loved him.”
– Cindi Bigelow
Dan: So, let’s discuss his character, integrity, and worldview. David is admirable, in part because of context, as these guys were beaten down by the depression and fought a war. Your dad was a Japanese military interpreter. The survivors came home, earned degrees, started businesses, built companies, and prospered. The death and destruction, fears and dreams, and experiences changed their point of view and made them better human beings. In the family business, you describe your dad as a mentor, someone you admire. That’s a good starting point.
Cindi: Well, I think, watching him in action, watching him listen to people, watching him ask questions, watching what an amazing conversationalist, watching how much fairness meant to him, you know, making sure everybody has a voice, watching his reaction if he was getting what he considered to be an untruth or sort of a slippery slope answer.
You know, all of those are really what formed who I am today: having a father who wasn’t greedy, having a father who didn’t focus on making money, having a father who never talked about money, having a father who would be generous with you, but just was overall all careful with the dollar.
I don’t say that in a way that he was afraid to spend it, but he just didn’t need to buy many things. We had one nice car. I remember when we got a Lincoln Continental in the 70s. He was very proud of himself and the Lincoln Continental, just in his own way.
He was always there whenever I needed somebody or something. So that’s how I’ve tried to be with my own family: when that phone rings, I pick that phone up. They want me to drive up. They want me to go somewhere. They want me to fly somewhere. I do whatever it takes. Your family is first, and I learned that from him.
I run this company where it isn’t about making money. I mean, you have to make money. You must be able to buy the things you need. Money, to me, means paying the employees a bonus.
I learned that from him.
Dan: So, let’s talk about his philanthropy for a minute. He cared about his neighbors, community, and schools. He established a local foundation to support local causes. Your company donates more than $800,000 a year.
Cindi: Well, he loved to share the story of when he started the Bigelow Tea Community Challenge 36 years ago. He was motivated by me; he said, “You know, I’m watching my daughter give so much money back to the community.” He rallied this community around this event, donating more than $2 million to charities in Connecticut (See below).
He said, “I want to do it in a bigger way.” And not in a competitive way. So he started to put funds in place that he was able to distribute to the community, with the largest being the Bridgeport Public School system. So yeah, for a good 20 years, he has been very, very philanthropic, and you know, it’s very sweet to talk about what triggered him. You know, he was not a man to have an ego, right? So he said, “I like what she’s doing. I want to do that, too. So, it became a big part of my parent’s life. And it’s something that they’re very proud of, and it is a great legacy.
The Foundation will continue focusing on education in the Connecticut Bridgeport area. He really did love that he would always be so impressed he would go whether it was the high schools we would be putting on performances. Dad and Mom would be funding the costumes, lighting, and music, and he would be so proud when he came back about what he saw and always so impressed with the students. He would go to the STEM programs, the robotics, the girls that code, and my mother as well. They were so touched by what they saw in the community, and they got to see firsthand, and he got to see firsthand, before he passed for many years, the good work of his Foundation.
Eunice, Cindi, and David C. Bigelow
Dan: He made a difference in his 96 years in tea and leaves a legacy in your work.
Cindi: Oh my God, everything I do rests on the shoulder. He’s the first one to tell you that everything we do is on somebody else’s shoulders. And you need to honor that.
I think your original question was, ‘What was it like being his daughter?’ You know, he did do it all. He wasn’t a different guy in the office than at home. He did have a little bit of a temper when he thought you weren’t telling the truth. But he was a very kind individual that was very engaged. I always knew he had my back. He was always there for me.
The company felt the same way. I never felt shortchanged, not for a minute, not for a minute. The company certainly felt loved by both my mother and my father. And so it truly was a family. I mean, I didn’t know any better.
I was very little, wearing an outfit and handing out Christmas presents, as was my sister to everyone at the Christmas party, and my mother said to me, ‘You have to stop kissing everyone. You’re just going to get sick.’ I didn’t know anything except for the family business.
He loved tea so passionately that I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do it like he did. He was passionate about the product, right? I consider myself more of a businesswoman who loves tea, and I think I’m pretty good with tea, but he was a tea person who ran a business — different story. So yeah, I was very lucky. I was very lucky.
I was very fortunate to have good schooling leading up to my running the company, but he was a great teacher. Perhaps my greatest teacher.
*Yes, it is true that musical composer and singer Leonard Cohen, in his famous love song Suzanne, was inspired by the brand. Cohen told NPR in 2016 that the line, “and she feeds you tea and oranges that come all the way from China,” was, in fact, inspired by Constant Comment. “She fed me a tea called Constant Comment, which has small pieces of orange rind in it, which gave birth to the image,” he said.
Related: David C. Bigelow’s Obituary published in the Palm Beach Post
David’s Favorite Tea
“He loved our Ceylon Premium Tea, which was really put together for the airline industry,” recalls Cindi Bigelow. We sold a beautiful Ceylon product in that category, and he loved that tea. It was his absolute favorite. And, you know, you’d compete with other companies to sell to the airline industry, and you couldn’t quite describe to them that the price they were getting for that outstanding Ceylon tea was like nothing else you would ever imagine—people who know this tea love to sell it for you. So, that was his favorite. He had that every single morning. True story: During COVID-19, we had difficulty getting that tea and had some difficulty shipping from Ceylon. What we could get was different from our gold standard, and he absolutely knew that, and he stopped drinking it just like that. “I’m not drinking it until we get the good stuff back,” he said.
Seventy-nine sponsors contributed to the 2023 campaign, including several prominent tea industry suppliers. Beneficiaries include YMCA of Fairfield, Mercy Learning Center, Cardinal Shehan Center, Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County, Center for Family Justice, Connecticut Food Bank, Operation Hope, Burroughs Community Center, Grasmere by Park, Caroline House, Bridgeport Rescue Mission, Janus Center for Youth in Crisis, Norma Pfriem Breast Center, Bridge House, CT Challenge, Taylor YMCA, Camp Hi Rock, Horizon’s at GFA, McGivney Community Center, Pivot Ministries.
Photos are courtesy of Bigelow Tea—special thanks to Cindi for sharing family photos.
Share this post Episode 148 | In 2023, the tea industry bid farewell to several notable figures. In this episode, we pay tribute to David C. Bigelow, Jr., an industry icon who died in June 2023 at 96. David transformed the specialty tea segment in the US, steering a boutique tea blending business launched in his mother’s kitchen into a multi-million-dollar mass-market brand. Joining us today is David’s daughter Cindi, President and CEO of Connecticut-based and family-owned R.C. Bigelow, a $250 million B-Corp known for innovations that redefined tea service in restaurants and grew the company to become the US market leader in specialty tea.
