Apr 21, 2023
Selling tea sustainably - with Jenny Tse - Sipping Streams
My guest today is Jenny Tse Sipping Streams Tea Company. Sipping Stream Tea Company is an international award-winning tea company and tea educator based in Alaska. Direct tea importer and master blenders. Creating community through their tea offerings: loose-leaf tea, custom blend specialty teas, matcha tea, fireweed honey, bubble tea kits, tea accessories and more!
Jenny started her business 17 years ago, so we chatted about how e:commerce and sourcing international suppliers worked before the explosion of social media and e:commerce sites such as Shopify. Jenny shares how she used her background as an academic and teacher to set up her business . And for all you tea lovers out there, Jenny also shares lots of fascinating information about tea including the benefits of drinking it, how tea farms are set up, and how she ensures that she sources her tea sustainably.
Listen in to hear Jenny share:
* An introduction to herself and her business (01:29)
* What inspired her to set up Sipping Streams (01:51)
* The benefits of drinking tea (03:48)
* How she moved from drinking tea, to setting up her own tea business, and the role her heritage played (05:00)
* How she sources her tea (10:08)
* Finding suppliers before the explosion of social media (12:28)
* Sourcing tea sustainably (15:43)
* The process of setting up a tea farm (22:56)
* How she initially started selling the tea, and how being a teacher helped (27:06)
* Her first physical store (30:12)
* When she decided to give up teaching, and run the business full time (33:09)
* Starting to sell online in 2009, and the differences with e:commerce now (35:34)
* His number one piece of sales advice for product creators (36:56)
USEFUL RESOURCES:
Sipping Streams Website
Sipping Streams Facebook
Sipping Streams Instagram
Sipping Streams Twitter
Sipping Streams Youtube
LET’S CONNECT
Join my free Facebook group for product makers and creators
Find me on Instagram
Work with me
Mentioned in this episode:
Book out soon!
Have you ever had a great idea for a product? Or does creating a product to sell appeal to you? Where do you begin? How do you come up with a product idea? Or, if you have an idea, how do you know if it’s even viable? In my brand new book Bring Your Product Idea to Life, I take you through the process of creating your product, step-by-step. From developing your product idea, to finding suppliers and launching your product, I guide you through every step of the journey. The book includes advice on how to price your product, where to sell it and how to find out if anyone will actually buy it. Designed to help you make real progress, Bring Your Product to Life is both practical and motivational. Every chapter includes clear action steps, so you know exactly what to do and when. This isn’t just a book for reading - this is a book for doing. The book will be released in June 2023 - and I’ll let you know when and how to buy it!