New Tea Start up - tell us what you think
hey Anlina, looks like I have stumbled on more then just a tea critic. First of all i want to thank you, that has been the most comprehensive feedback we have received so far.
The shipping has been sorted, it should be around 5 dollars actually to ship to Canada.
You’re definitely right about the tins, sending tins in the mail really increases the cost unnecessarily. You see, our main distribution is based on the farmer’s market, so the packaging has been geared to that market. We will change the packaging for online sales soon. (btw we now offer the sampler pack for the tasters out there, as requested)
The slogans are meant to be really loose and not target a specific market. We left it open ended and generalist on purpose.
Our slogan is not indicative of our mission, [ it is meant to be whimsical (hopefully it is) ] which is probably a mistake. If it were our mission statement/differentiation : it would be that we accept bitcoin. That is made more clear on our twitter feed. We are in the process of optimizing a way for people to use changetip (a service that allows you to allocate bitcoin securely through a twitter post) and have people order that way. That will be made very clear in the form of a “slogan” and a marketing campaign on twitter. But that is a different marketing campaign altogether.
The two proposed slogans above relate more to the etsy shop and just trying to be cute and friendly. (again it might be a mistake), people might rather want to know the differentiator right off the bat.
Thanks for sorting the shipping. I so deeply appreciate companies that keep shipping to Canada reasonable. I love shopping online, but shipping costs are often a big barrier for me (though I know shipping is also a huge expense for companies.)
Selling tins at a farmers market makes perfect sense. It’s a packaging choice that seems well suited to that market. I think offering a tin and an bag option online would be great, if that’s viable for you.
I used to work in marketing, so I think a lot about this kind of stuff. :) I think the bitcoin thing is awesome and really different. I’m not a user of it myself, but it definitely speaks to a specific market that, to my knowledge, isn’t really being targeted by any tea company.
When I say a specific market, I don’t mean to suggest that you limit yourself, but just think of who you are and who you want to resonate with, and craft a really solid, cohesive image to go with that.
Like, knowing that you accept bitcoin gives me a different impression of your company than I had before I knew that. It makes me think modern, tech-savvy and maybe a bit experimental and adventurous.
Your slogans make me think whimsical, artsy, cottage-industry, made by hand with love. Your logo says Finnish, which evokes imagery of saunas, traditional Finnish foods, and a very down to earth-ness.
Other tea brands play up the traditional, stiff, upscale tea room feel. Others the flowery, bright, garden party. Or woodsy, back to nature. Or quirky, modern twist on tradition.
Basically, really know who you are and communicate that unflinchingly. That doesn’t mean that you’ll be excluding everyone but a certain demographic – it just means that people will know who you are, remember you and have a certain feeling when they think of your company. (Just look at how solid a brand Apple has, but they also have an incredibly diverse customer base.) And you don’t need to run into choosing a slogan either :)
I hope that’s helpful and not over the line. I just know that marketing is hard, and doubly so when it’s your own company (I find it so hard to do branding for something I’m personally invested in.) :)
I see what you mean, and no comment is over the line for us, we love talking strategy. I think what makes most sense for us at this point is, as you said, brand ourselves more + give one cohesive image across all platforms we sell on.
thanks for being inspiring :)
sidenote: The Finnish angle gives me a feel of minimalistic, balance, true north.
:)
Yes, I agree, I also associate those qualities with Finns. (I used to live in Thunder Bay, which has a huge Finnish population and lots of Finnish cultural influence.)
I look forward to seeing how your brand develops, and trying your teas once I’m allowed to buy more tea.
As a Michigander and Metro Detroiter, I wonder if you will still be selling locally, and if so where?
Hey Cheri and fellow detroiter,
We’ve been doing the grand rapids market (WED) and the davidson market (SAT) pretty consistently, but we’ve ran out of inventory as of late and are still waiting on some key components. we’re desperately trying to get into the eastern market (soon), and the ann arbor market. We will also start selling at the oakland county market around the 3rd week of this month. We should be switching to the eastern market for Saturdays around the beginnings of November.
Login or sign up to leave a comment.