Updated: This article was originally published in 2022 and updated on Jan. 18, 2023.
What is the tea lifestyle? How might it be a key to effective marketing strategies?
There is a tendency to consider the idea of a tea lifestyle in generalities, as if people who drink tea share many common traits. But tea drinkers are vastly different. What stitches us together is not even the teas we drink but the reasons we choose tea as a daily practice. We drink tea because it fills a personal need. It makes our lives richer and more meaningful. That is the tea lifestyle.
Of course, “Find a need and fill it” is the most basic tenet of success in any business strategy, and understanding the nuanced needs of your customers in daily life helps you understand how to serve their tea needs and tea lifestyle.
Why do your customers need your tea? Why do they need your expertise? And how has this changed over the past few years? I'd like to suggest a few tea lifestyle threads to consider weaving into your marketing strategy in 2023, to achieve success.
1. Tea Helps Manage Stress
Stress is a major contributing factor to almost all health issues. Tea addresses this in many ways. From the L-Theanine that it infuses through the blood-brain barrier to the way it can be used for simple meditation practice, a cup or three a day can soothe tension. Suggesting creative de-stressing ideas with tea is likely to resonate with most of your community.
2. Herbalism for Health and Wellbeing
The sense of helplessness and frustration in this time of COVID-19 motivates many to look to ancient healing lore. Many do this as a way to feel that there are ways to take control of one’s own wellbeing. In the past, some in the tea industry have focused on the “tea and health” message to include only Camellia sinensis. But customers are looking for something more inclusive in their cups. Resources for herbalism are abundant and bridge many cultural divides.
3. Tea Shows Respect
In some cultures, the way tea is served conveys how much the meeting is valued. Serving a low-quality tea in a careless way is an insult. Tea traditions are one way of showing respect. Western cultures may not have a codified tea system, however, taking special care with tea service – something more than a tea bag in a mug – elevates the experience.Camellia sinensis has long been a major player in the foodie-gourmet world. There are ways we can expand on that so that the essentials are not limited to tea snobbery.
4. Gourmet Tasting Is a Sensory Experience
Tea ceremonies are largely about heightening the senses. But increasing sensory components of tea can begin simply and grow as the tea lifestyle grows. Marketing to the appeal of the senses can be very powerful.
5. Awareness of Food Sources - Social/Globalism That’s Non-Governmental
Cultural divisions on the political front can filter down to feel concerns about other people around the world. Tea can remind us that.
The importance of families and gatherings has increased for many during the last couple of years. Think about how you can suggest using tea with your customers in a more family-friendly way.
6. Holiday Celebrations & Children
Tea parties can easily be multigenerational. All ages and generations seem to enjoy tea. Children are our next generation of customers. There is much more that we can do to make tea part of daily life for children. Taking the issue of caffeine into account, tea drinking as a practice (herbal) with a young child is likely to lead to a lifetime tea practice as an adult.
On the whole, as the publisher of T Ching, I enjoy an overview of what tea drinkers are looking for day-to-day – the search terms, the recipes, the health questions, the teas. It's easy to see a common journey from big grocery store brands to more artisan teas. They are drawn to tea by the way it fills personal needs. The tea lifestyle in real life.
Babette Donaldson – a tea author, educator and organizer – is the owner and publisher of T Ching and the founder of the International Tea Sippers Society. Donaldson was recently among the numerous educational presenters and participants at the 2022 World Tea Conference + Expo. Visit TChing.com and TeaSippersSociety.com.
Plan to Attend or Participate in the
World Tea Conference + Expo, March 27-29, 2023
To learn about other key developments, trends, issues, hot topics and products within the global tea community, plan to attend the World Tea Conference + Expo, March 27-29, 2023 in Las Vegas, co-located with Bar & Restaurant Expo. Visit WorldTeaExpo.com.
To book your sponsorship or exhibit space at the World Tea Conference + Expo, or to enquire about advertising and sponsorship opportunities at World Tea News, contact:
Ellainy Karaboitis-Christopoulos
Business Development Manager, Questex
Phone: +1-212-895-8493
Email: [email protected]
Also, be sure to stay connected with the World Tea Conference + Expo on social media for details and insights about the event. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.