At Alectro, we’re constantly on the lookout for sustainable and impact-driven alternatives to everyday items. This is an opportunity to share the brands that we love and that are making the world a greener place to live.
Bird & Blend Tea Co. is an eco-conscious, independent, people-focused, award-winning Tea Mixology Company on a mission to spread happiness & reimagine tea!
We caught up with Krisi Smith, Co-Founder & Creative Director at Bird & Blend Tea Co., to discuss their journey and the future.
Why does Bird & Blend Tea Co. exist?
"Myself and my co-founder Mike set up the company 10 years ago and from day 1, we had sustainability high up on our priority list and putting people & planet above profit was incorporated into our company values.
As we’ve grown over the years, our commitment to our sustainability goals continues to remain at the forefront of our decision-making. Trying to be an eco-friendly tea company is a big part of why Bird & Blend exists and we pledge to be more environmentally friendly each year.
For example, our packaging is 100% compostable and plastic free, we are carbon neutral and we are now B Corp accredited."
What are the key things that you do best?
"We are eco-conscious tea blend experts and with over 100 blends, special seasonal teas & matcha on our famous Tea Wall it's easy to see why our customers have described us as Tea Magicians!
Tea is our TEAm’s passion and we want our customers to experience the magical world of tea, whether it's coming into one of our 14 stores, visiting our international e-commerce website, engaging with our videos across our social media, or chatting with one of our customer service experts.
One of the reasons our customers love our teas (in addition to great tasting flavours, super friendly and knowledgeable staff and amazing customer service of course) is our absolute commitment to our environmental efforts. We share what we’re doing on our website, over all of our socials, in stores face to face, and with industry experts too.
So far, we have raised £61,350+ for charity through our ChariTEA programme. We work with a different charity each quarter to donate money from profits on a blend that they have chosen.
More than just donating money, we get to know the charities to help promote them and raise awareness for their causes, organise events and fundraising activities along with volunteering opportunities for our teams to get involved.
We have also planted 81,896 trees via our teas for trees programme!
Each quarter, a new ChariTEA is chosen - currently, this is Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal, the dedicated charity for Bristol Children’s Hospital.
What are the trends in your market space?
"Some of the trends in the food & drink market include ready-to-drink and food-to-go solutions that taste great, are healthy, have a premium feel but are affordable.
With the cost of living crisis consumers are spending on those 'little treats' instead of the larger more expensive purchases and our products provide a great answer to this.
I can see experiential shop fits & spaces that have been developed by forward thinking brands are going to become more prevalant. Samsung KX is a great example, as are the changes Lush and Body Shop have brought to their shop floors and the Ribble flagship is next level too when it comes to interactive spaces.
There are some interesting and exciting things happening in the digital showroom and TikTok live arenas too – with physical spaces doubling up as digital experiences for those watching at home."
What's next for Bird & Blend and what should people get excited for?
"I'm really happy to see a rise in interest & loyalty in our stores and I'm excited to see how this continues - this is also reflected across like-minded retailers too. We plan to open 4 more retail stores this year, we are currently recruiting for a number of senior roles as we build out our senior leadership team even more and we're hiring regional retail managers as well, which is something we've not done before.
We’ve got some really exciting new products and brand experience plans in the pipeline too, so keep your eyes peeled!
Thanks to Krisi at Bird & Blend Tea Co. for taking the time to talk to us.
If you're interested in finding out more, make sure to keep an eye on their socials @birdandblendtea and visit their website for updates or more information!
If your company is embarking on its sustainability journey, reach out to us to discover how Alectro's Virtual Sustainability Officer® can swiftly assist you in measuring and managing your carbon footprint.
Let us know who you'd like to see us cover next in our Brands we Love series by emailing hello@alectro.io
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