Tea bags business is one of the most lucrative businesses in the world. The business is an established one, having a rich history and incredible growth. My aim is to help you understand and provide some useful information on how you can set up your own tea bag business. Feel free to comment and ask any questions to which I will respond personally.
Prior to starting this article, I would like to inform you that I have previously written an article on how Tecpacking started its business with details on some of the challenges we faced along with how we have grown over the decades. You can read this article by clicking on the link given - https://www.teapacker.org/post/the-humble-beginnings-of-tecpacking-and-its-growth-strategy-over-the-decades
1. Set your objectives
Objectives define where you want to take your business to. It is a must to have your vision and mission in place to know what your ultimate long term goal is. Having a vision and mission will enable the entrepreneur and their employees to clearly understand what they want to do. It will also facilitate to have a clear path on the journey of their Company and the individuals lives. Once these are figured out and comprehended, you will need to set more short term objectives or goals such as how much sales is required, positioning of the product in the market, market share required at the end of a particular time period etc.
Once the long term and short term goals and objectives are agreed on, a solid road map and a plan will need to be in place to direct the Company on achieving these set objectives. There may be many deviations in achieving the set plans due to unforeseen circumstances. However, we have to ensure to adjust with those changes are, and come up with alternative plans to be on track. Having a plan will help you manoeuvre to achieve the goals you have set.
2. Harp on your strengths
Entrepreneurs will have to understand their strengths. Once these strengths are highlighted, the maximum possible should be reaped from them. Some of the key advantages entrepreneurs may have (but not limited to) would be:
Already worked in a tea company and have the knowledge and experience that can be directly utilized onto
Good understanding of the market
Strong enthusiasm to succeed in the tea bag business
The capability to attract good investors, partners and employees
Good experience with the equipment. Having this will save up a plethora of time and money which would otherwise need to be invested on understanding the product and for people to operate the machinery
3. Understand the market
The market should be looked at from 2 angles, I.e. who it is marketed to, and what tea type is marketed.
To whom the tea bag is marketed to is predominantly divided into two main areas, I.e. - B2C and B2B. Some of the B2B channels would be shops, bars, restaurants, hotels and supermarkets, while some of the B2C channels would be local shops, online stores and to consumers directly.
The main tea types available in the market are traditional tea, herbal tea and fruit tea. Herbal tea is gaining immense popularity as a result of COVID, due to its health benefits. Similarly fruit tea is another upcoming trend. For more details about the herbal tea market please refer to my previous article on https://www.teapacker.org/post/herbal-tea-market-pyramid-tea-bag-packing
Entrepreneurs should identify which area they want to cater to and focus on this. Or else, venturing into all the areas at once will off put the focus.
4. Identifying the target audience and positioning the product to them
Audiences in general can be segmented into many different areas, such as geography, psycho-graphic etc. However, to make it easy entrepreneurs need to identify if they will be going for a volume drive or a price drive. This in other words mean if the focus should be on the mass market or the premium market. If it is the mass market that is being focused on, then the price and distribution of tea will play a big role, while if it is the premium market that is being focused on, then the quality and the uniqueness of the product will be the key driver.
5. Packaging
Once the correct audience is identified and agreed upon, then the packaging should be arranged accordingly. The type of the tea bag and packaging of the tea bags should be arranged accordingly to go hand in hand with the target audience, perception of the brand and the brand itself. Some of the tea bag categories available are single chamber filter tea bags, double chamber tea bags with envelope, long tea bags, round tea bags etc. Some of the tea bag packaging options would be pouches, tins and cartons. To get a comprehensive understanding of the different types of tea bags please read my previous article on tea bags at https://www.teapacker.org/post/some-of-the-popular-types-of-tea-bags
Tea bag packaging equipment supplying is a separate huge area on its own, and few brands have cemented their brands in different areas. Example - Teepack (www.teepack.com) is well known for its machinery in the double chamber tea bags segment while Tecpacking (www.tecpacking.com) and Fuso (www.fuso-int.com) are well known suppliers of machinery for the pyramid tea bag packing machines. Similar to machines there are other players who are well known for providing tea bag materials to tea companies. If you wish to gather more details on choosing a suitable machine to start your tea bag business, please refer to a previous article I have written at https://www.teapacker.org/post/how-to-choose-a-suitable-machine-when-starting-your-business-in-the-pyramid-tea-bag-market
6. Building a strong brand name
Branding is key to success. It is essentially the personality behind your Company. Building a brand from scratch is an arduous task. However with a differentiated product positioning along with strong branding methodologies, your business will be capable of establishing a prominent presence in the market. Having a distinguished brand will enable you to capture the share of voice in a crowded market. Also, having a strong brand name will ensure the stability of your future as more of your target audience would have a top of the mind recollection of your brand which is invaluable. Technological advances have enabled brands to reach out to target audiences further and it is vital for entrepreneurs to build the brand strategy and also implement them using the correct sales and marketing strategies.
7. Sales and marketing
The role of sales and marketing has developed immensely over the past decades. While the traditional sales call and ATL/BTL marketing methodologies are still available and used widely, we cannot ignore the technologically driven modern age sales and marketing driven predominantly by the digital media. Search engines, social media, influencer marketing and other digital marketing activities have now taken the center stage in the marketing arena while online advertising, search engine optimization, lead driven digital campaigns, social media lead generation and other digital sales roles have taken the center stage in sales.
However, it should be noted that exhibitions are still a vital element in the sales and marketing for the Tea industry as these are the common platforms where buyers, sellers and other suppliers meet and build business relationships.
It is important for new entrepreneurs to adopt digital technologies to drive sales and marketing while attending key exhibitions which are vital for business development in the industry.
The above mentioned elements are crucial to set up your own tea bag business. Please feel free to ask me any questions you have, by commenting on this article and I will personally reach out to you to help you.
Thank you.