The class I went to was "Riches in Niches" presented by Founder and CEO of Tea Drunk- Shunan Teng.

Tea Drunk is a New York based tea house specializing in Chinese tea and preserving Chinese tea traditions. She has spoken and Yale and Stoney Brook University. She even worked with the MET on a temporary teahouse in the museum. She has also been featured in a TEDed talk regarding the history of tea.

The take aways from her talk:

Having a specialized business can give you more opportunities. However, there are challenges when you start a business by yourself.

Challenges:

• Not having a team
• Resources
• No one to delegate responsibilities to

Think about your resources:

• Money- a limitation for all business owners
• Speciality- in my case, CBD blended tea sourced from small farms
• Geography- If you have a brick and mortar, you need high visibility with a foot traffic advantage.
• Network- people from work, the restaurant world, friends, and family

Just like wine, tea is the product of location. Location sells and is what contributes to the price of tea.

• Know your top terrior, those teas cost $5-$10 an ounce
• Orthodox teas and non-blended tea have their own niche market
• Organic does not be premium. It means the tea farm has a sizable scale to afford the certification label.
• Know where your tea is sourced
• Stay true to your brand. Don't have an identity crisis. Specialize don't generalize.
• Be innovative

Think about how you are marketing your tea. What is your role?

• Producer
• Tea Expert
• Industry Expert
• Packager
• Restauranteur
• Health Guru
• Cultural Ambassador

How are you making your business known

• B2B
• Internet
• Brick and Mortar