Through the looking glass of tea in the general market during the past two years :
• Demand for luxury tea , herbals , and tisanes outside of hospitality has increased by more than 60 % and 2022 is pointing to continued doubledigit growth ( COVID and isolation gave people time to experiment , resulting in nearly ravenous consumption of luxury tea ).
• Pedestrian tea brands have languished .
• Supply chains have wreaked havoc on the tea brands due to their JIT ( Just In Time ) purchasing policies . Tea has become more a matter of importing tonnage to keep packing equipment humming than a concern for a quality standard .
• Astute luxury packers , due to the nature of their high-end quality offerings , covered their needs months before the logistic problems occurred .
• Lipton has sold their tea holdings to a hedge fund . Quality will take a further hit .
• Supply chains are now further exacerbated by the invasion of Ukraine .
So How Do You Take Charge ?
Take interest in tea , the same as you would with your wine selection . Most everyone thinks tea is tea . Nothing could be further from the truth . Not only is tea complex , but it is also one of the highest margin items in F & B . With the exception of a few enlightened luxury chains , responsibility is downloaded to purchasing at the property level . The result is a cacophony of different teas of varying quality – most not reflecting the standard of the hotel brand .
Generally , existing brands are retail-centric . Tea that is not luxury or 5 Star centric will create disappointment . The conclusion is , that you need to explore your options more thoroughly . This will not only improve return guest visits but will also improve your F & B revenue stream .
Find out if your nominated tea brand is sold in Costco or other large retailers . If this is the case – move on . You can rest assured that these retailers will be putting pressure on the brands to lower prices or hold the line during the upcoming inflation cycle . The only way for the packer to retain a margin is the packer needs to use cheaper and lower quality tea .
Find a domestic packer whose focus is luxury tea and then create an exclusive tea brand that reflects the prestige of your properties , notwithstanding that your teas should be in the top 5 % of global quality . The corporate F & B team understands the nuances of the hotels and along with a tea master flavorist they can transform visions into exclusive blends only obtained at the specific hotel brand .
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