U.K.-based Bird & Blend Tea Co., the indie tea mixologists boasting 100+ flavors of tea, has been certified as a B Corporation (B Corp), furthering the company’s commitment toward operating its business as a force for good, and not solely focused on the business P&L.
The B Corp certification process is tough, as it assesses all areas of the business. It actually took Bird & Blend 18 months to finalize its accreditation by B Lab, which evaluated the company’s social and environmental performance.
The company went through a rigorous review of the impact of its operations and business model for its workers, customers, communities and environment, and it had to meet a minimum verified score on the B Impact Assessment.
Today, Bird & Blend joins a network of 400 already-certified B Corps in the U.K.
(Photo: Courtesy of Bird & Blend Tea Co.)
‘A Real Achievement for Our Whole Team’
Mike Turner, co-founder of Bird & Blend Tea Co., said, “On the assessment, the business scored 90.1. The average score for an ordinary business is 51. Eighty is the threshold for passing – and so our score is a real achievement for our whole team. Collectively, we are very proud to now be a member of the B Corp community and the rigorous process we’ve undertaken to get here means that as a business we are better already.”
Turner said this is the first major certification that the brand has pursued, and they decided to go for it because they knew that B Lab would “shine a light across all aspects of the business and push for improvement, both during the certification process and on an ongoing basis.”
A core value of Bird & Blend has been sustainability and social responsibility from day one, with a commitment to no waste and environmental responsibility as top priority. As a business, the Bird & Blend team is committed to taking climate action seriously, to reduce the impact that the business has on the environment. As a result, they seek responsible consumption and production whenever it’s possible, and society impact is also at the top of company’s agenda.
Turner, along with Krisi Smith, co-founded the business 10 years ago, and they’ve been determined to be about more than just profits. “We were a bit disheartened by most certification schemes but decided two years ago that B Corp seemed to be a bit different,” said Turner. “It seemed like it could really help us to measure how we're performing outside of the P&L – and more importantly, how to keep improving that. And this is just the start – we scored 90.1 this time but are already working on improvements to boost this at the next audit in three years’ time.”
Overall, Bird & Blend Tea Co. is an independent, award-winning tea company on a mission to re-imagine the Great British brew.
(Photo: Courtesy of Bird & Blend Tea Co.)
How It All Began...
After years of working in the tea industry, Turner and Smith decided to use their passion for tea to create their own innovative, top-quality blends. The couple started the business in their bedroom, packing tea and attending markets to sell their exciting creations. Building the brand from scratch, the two now have a growing team and a thriving online store.
As well as online, Bird & Blend retails via 14 U.K.-wide stores, based in Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Manchester, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Worthing and London sites (Angel, Borough and Portobello). They also attend festivals and run tea mixology workshops.
The Bird & Blend shops feature colorful walls of tea, made up of more than 100 blends across nine tea types.
“We bring new flavors out each season," said Smith, who also goes by the title of chief mixologist, in addition to being one of the two co-founders. “In store customers can explore the tea wall like a pick ‘n’ mix sweet shop – tasting and smelling the teas – and we discuss the bends, brewing methods and recipe ideas. We also have a vast selection of in store drinks made to order, including our flavored matcha and seasonal drinks.”
(Photo: Courtesy of Bird & Blend Tea Co.)
Right now, some of the brand’s most popular products include its tea Advent calendar and Christmas teas, seasonal tea blends, such as Snowball Hot Cocoa, Irish Cream, Salted Caramel Lebkuchen, Mulled Cider and Gingerbread Chai. Additionally, their new gift range – Christmas Tea Selection Box and their Christmas Cubes – are flying off their physical and virtual shelves. They also have a brand new gift finder and Christmas catalog, which are proving very popular.
‘People and Planet, Not Just Profit’
What makes Bird & Blend unique? “The big one really is that we aren’t a food and drinks company that is centered around our product,” explained Smith. “Obviously, we are tea experts, and we have built a community around that, but our mission statement isn’t actually anything about tea. It is to build a successful company that bases its decisions on people and planet, not just profit.”
In terms of focusing on people and the planet and getting B Corp certified, Smith said she would advise other tea business to start the impact assessment and get a feel for where their organization is at and the scale of what they may need to put in place to gain the certification.
“We invested in a short-term contract with someone who had done the application previously,” shared Smith. “This actually turned into a full-time role, as they have found lots of great projects to continue to work on over the coming years. I appreciate that not all businesses may feel they are in a position to do this financially, but we made it work by cutting back elsewhere because this was an absolute priority for us.”
Smith said one of her key bits of advice for attaining B Corp certification is to “…do things that sit with your organization’s original goals and mission, rather than doing things just to get the points.” She noted this prevents the B Corp process from becoming a “box-ticking exercise” and “…provides a lasting authentic change in the business that customers, suppliers and employees can get on board with.”
To learn more about Bird & Blend Tea Co., visit BirdandBlendTea.com. To learn more about B Corp certification, visit Bcorporation.net/en-us/certification.
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