Newby Teas, a premium British brand that has been expanding globally since 2000, opened its first North American operation last week.
The East Lansing, Mich., office is managed by Geralt US, Inc., the exclusive distributor for the brand in North America. The office is part of a global network that includes 16 Newby locations across Europe, Russia, India, Japan, Singapore, and the Middle East. The brand is marketed to hotels, restaurants, heritage venues, and stores and is available online in multilanguage eBoutiques that feature an exquisite collection of teaware for gifting.
Raji Singh, the company’s North American brand ambassador, told the Lansing State Journal that the company will launch its U.S. eBoutique in October. “We want to revive tea culture,” said Singh, an Okemos, Mich., native who interned at the company’s headquarters in 2015. “People are more aware of tea. They are shifting their focus from coffee to tea,” she said. The company hosts tea appreciation workshops and maintains a collection of heritage tea items.
Singh and her team of four will be working to forge more partnerships across the country, she said. The company already has clients in New York but she said that she located the company’s North American operations in East Lansing instead of New York because of her familiarity with the area.
The company is a member of the Ethical Tea Partnership. Many of its teas are certified and some have been awarded top recognition at the North American Tea Competition. Teas are sourced in India, Nepal, Kenya, China, Japan, and Taiwan. Gift items include very expensive, handmade jeweled tea caddies and tea services as part of the Ultimate gift collection. “More than a tea supplier, we bring knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm to the table,” according to the company. The firm is committed to preserving tea heritage through its Chitra Collection of 1,000 rare teapots and tea service items. Newly commissioned decorative pieces line up with one-of-a-kind antiques, beginning an overdue renaissance of tea culture led by Newby founder N. Sethia, whose N. Sethia Foundation charitable trust owns the collection.
Video: https://youtu.be/JY_DPbCfRnw