Sara said

Companies that sell repackaged/rebranded flavored teas from other tea blenders

I have been wondering about this topic for awhile – how about a general thread for companies who repackage blends by other companies for private label selling? I know this is a semi-common practice in the tea world, though I admit it’s one that baffles me – if you’re going to start a company to sell flavored teas, wouldn’t you want to like, make flavored teas? Unless you’re a brick and mortar tea house, any motive (besides simple greed) escapes me.

So this thread is to help each other avoid overpaying for repackaged blends. I know as people who buy a lot of tea, we’re always looking for a good deal, and there’s generally excitement over unique product. Since most repackagers mark up their offerings, hopefully this thread can help people find the best deal on a blend they want to try, whether that’s by going straight to the source or just comparison shopping among resellers.

Off the top of my head, here are some companies I know of that rebrand and resell tea from other companies, along with a price comparison:

Par Avion Tea resells blends from Tea Guys. Kat did some research and found that their entire black tea selection is made up of TG blends, some renamed, some not. Their descriptions and pictures are also sourced from TG.
A price comparison on the Toffee Chocolate Hazelnut:
From Tea Guys: $7 for 3oz (http://www.teaguys.com/black-tea/20-toffee-chocolate-hazelnut.html)
From Par Avion: $8.99 for 1.76oz (http://www.paraviontea.com/black/toffee-chocolate-hazelnut)

Chibi Naturals on Etsy is why I first began to pay attention to resellers like this. The description on her page reads “All products (besides the baking supplies) are handcrafted and made in small batches with love by me!” I wanted to support an independent tea blender, but ended up supporting a lying repackager.
A price comparison on the Cucumber Mojito:
From Tea Guys: $7 for 3oz (http://www.teaguys.com/green-tea/38-cucumber-mojito.html)
From Chibi Naturals: $6 for about 1.5oz in a tin (https://www.etsy.com/listing/107827095/sale-cucumber-mojito-loose-leaf-tea)

Persimmon Tree sources some teas from Art of Tea and Tea Guys.
Starry Night/Periwinkle:
From AoT: $16 for 4oz (http://www.artoftea.com/tea/subscription/starry-night.html)
From Persimmon Tree: $9.99 for 2oz/$21.99 for 5oz (http://www.persimmontreetea.com/black-tea/periwinkle.html)
Green Caramel:
TG: $7 for 3oz (http://www.teaguys.com/green-tea/41-green-caramel.html)
PT: $7.99 for 2oz (http://www.persimmontreetea.com/green-tea/green-caramel-tea.html)

I know that’s barely scratching the surface! Please submit places you know of that also repackage teas, hopefully including the tea’s original source and a sample price comparison as above. Let’s help each other avoid overpaying for the blends we want to try!

18 Replies

Interesting, and good to know! We must find the source of it all, the farmers themselves. Anyone have family or close friends that just so happen to be tea farmers?

Login or sign up to post a message.

Anna said

Great thread!

Apparently, Fauchon and Hédiard both get their teas from Dammann Frères. Look here:

http://steepster.com/dinosara/posts/187512

Login or sign up to post a message.

You will find that many tea companies do this … one of the more popular sources is Metropolitan Tea.

Login or sign up to post a message.

Dustin said

I’m not too bothered by this. There are a couple of teas I have had that I have found at two companies that are an exact match. One sells them for higher prices but has sales often, so it evens out. I’m assuming that the reason we as end consumers aren’t buying from their sources is the volume required to purchase. I’m not willing to buy five pounds of even my favorite tea in order to get lower prices, nor could I go through it fast enough.

Sara said

I was definitely referring to companies that do both wholesale for private labeling AND sell direct to consumers (like Tea Guys). I’ve no quarrel with companies that buy from wholesale-only vendors.

Login or sign up to post a message.

Kat said

It is absolutely against Etsy policy to resell products made by someone else, as it’s a site for handmade goods, which is stated in their guidelines “Everything on Etsy must be Handmade, Vintage, or a Craft Supply.” I think I’ve almost bought from Chibi Naturals, ironically, since when I started drinking tea, I ordered some off Etsy and it never worked out that well. (Except for herbal blends, which Etsy sellers do fairly well.)

Annnnyway, I think that I am against this, if the company is not upfront about selling another company’s product and is jacking up the prices in any way for the same amount of tea.

I think it is okay for small tea houses, like that serve tea, as well as coffee shops to resell tea product. With brick and mortar stores, I’m also pretty much okay with it, as those stores are selling a product and also providing customer service.

With online venders, though, I find it a bit misleading, as I could easily purchase the tea from the original source at a lower price. With that said, if the original source only does wholesale, obviously, that’s also different, since I can’t order wholesale, and thus I need someone to do it for me and to source me the materials.

If I can buy the same tea in the same amount from a different vendor for a significantly different price, well, then, that seems disingenuous. Also, I’d like to note it’s the lack of new information about the teas that bothers me, too. If you aren’t selling me a different product, at least sell it to me in an informed way that provides me with a new way of thinking about it in a new conceptual framework.

Sara said

Agreed 100% with everything you’ve said. :)

Login or sign up to post a message.

OMGsrsly said

I’ve seen this a lot of places. Many local shops do this, and some are more transparent than others. YMMV. I just find it pays to shop around. Some local shops have amazing service, and I’ll happily spend more (sometimes less!) to go in and have the whole sniffing/tasting experience. :)

Sara said

Yeah, I totally understand it at local shops! There’s a tea shop I like in Oregon that repackages Art of Tea for quite a mark-up, but it’s still a cute place to visit and they also sell vegan sweets. When something significant is added to the experience I definitely don’t mind it!

Login or sign up to post a message.

Yeah, I agree with Dustin that this doesn’t bother me at all. Most of these places are essentially tea “sellers” and not tea “makers” they don’t grew the tea, they don’t blend the tea, they just market and sell it. That’s how most stores and businesses operate.

Tyler
www.onelittleblackdress.com

Login or sign up to post a message.

Anna said

I don’t care about the moral aspect so much (aside from things like the Etsy issue). What I do find really helpful in the original post is the comparison between different blends. For example, I’m not a fan of Dammann Frères at all – and I would definitely have tried Fauchon, had I not known they were, in many cases, exactly the same teas.

Ysaurella said

Anna, lot of teas especially Hediard’s are sourced in DF’s collection, it’s true for Fauchon as well but sometimes some teas are special e.g Mélange Fauchon is sold only at Fauchon and was made especially and in exclusivity for them (it is a very nice one !)

Anna said

Someone told me Ladurée also source their teas from DF, but I have no idea if that’s correct.

Do you have any direct comparisons between DF/Hédiard/Fauchon teas? (Aside from this one: http://steepster.com/dinosara/posts/187512)

Login or sign up to post a message.

arichard said

The Tea Merchant and The Whistling Kettle sell versions of an award winning (World Tea Expo) green oolong tea. The Tea Merchant calls it Silk Dragon and The Whistling Kettle calls it Vanilla Silk Oolong. I’ve ordered both and they are identical teas. Their descriptions both include the phrase “stimulating citrus finish”. Both sell the tea for the same price per ounce ($13.50 for 4 oz). But, Persimmon Tree sells a tea that also has the same ingredients and looks identical that sells for $13.99 for 2 oz. I don’t mind minor differences in price due to tins or something, but double?
I love this thread – I hope it keeps going! I did a lot of comparison shopping this fall and was pleased that my local tea seller, The Whistling Kettle, has the best prices. It’s also online.

Sara said

Glad you like the thread, I was hoping that it would be used for identifying repackagers so we could compare prices and stuff like that! Though more power to folks who don’t mind paying a big mark-up for the same product because it’s how most businesses operate. I’m on a budget though haha. :)

Because of Persimmon Tree doing other sourcing from Art of Tea, and having compared some of the language in both listings, I’d bet that their Mandarin Cream is AoT’s Mandarin Silk Oolong.

Art of Tea’s Mandarin Silk Oolong: $19 for 4oz (http://www.artoftea.com/tea/subscription/mandarin-silk-award-winning.html)
Persimmon Tree’s Mandarin Cream: $13.99 for 2oz/$26.99 for 5oz (http://www.persimmontreetea.com/oolong-tea/mandarin-cream-tea.html)

Looking at the listings on Tea Merchant and Whistling Kettle, it does look like the same tea though, and with a lovely mark-down! So I’m wondering now if ALL of these companies source the same tea from another party – Art of Tea claims to custom-blend and hand-craft their wares and they do function as a wholesaler, so I’d assumed they were the source. This is so interesting!

Login or sign up to post a message.

I think this is a serious problem in the tea business. I get approached all the time by start-ups wanting me to sell them our teas in bulk for them to re-package and put their logo on it. It’s called private labeling, and I HATE it. It just doesn’t seem right or fair to me. I think it’s deceptive to the customer: why wouldn’t they buy it from the original blender, if they can? Why should some business be able to come along, repackage it and rename it so customers think it is something else and sell it at a premium? Metropolitan is a wholesaler. They don’t sell directly to retail customers, so I get that, but there are a lot of others out there.

Okay, getting off my soapbox. This is just a real pet peeve of mine. I guess if it wasn’t I could be making more money, selling to other retailers, but I won’t.

Dr Jim said

One of my complaints with the tea business is that everyone is a wholesaler. If you want to buy a book, you don’t need to go to the McGraw Hill store, you can just go to Amazon or Barnes and Noble or your local bookstore. Same with wine: you don’t deal with the winery but your local liquor store.

Tea is so fragmented, that people wind up placing multiple orders per month and running up postage bills. OK, now I’ll get off my soapbox.

Kaylee said

On the other hand, individual teas would probably be more expensive if not purchased directly from the blender/producer.

Login or sign up to post a message.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.