Sell tea online

How to make tea to sell

If you use a provider similar to Tea Sante, you’ll be required to pay an average of $10 per 3-ounce stand-up pouch and $5 for a 4-ounce tin. To ensure you earn a profit, you’ll need to charge at least $13.50 per 3-ounce pouch to your customers. To build a sustainable business, it’s recommended that you also sell tea accessories such as tea pots, infusers, and other related products with higher margins. You can also offer the accessories as an upsell to your tea or vice versa.

You can get started investing in your tea business for as little as $100. Tea wholesalers such as the Metropolitan Tea Company allow you to buy tea in bulk in quantities as low as 250g - starting at $9 per bag. You can also request samples from them if you’d like to try the tea out yourself beforehand. They have everything from straight teas (non-blended, one tea only) to robust blends featuring herbal tea infusions. You can private-label these ingredients yourself and even make your own unique blends.

Most tea wholesalers are a one-stop shop for ingredients, packaging, tins and accessories. You’ll be able to purchase blank packaging from them and print your own labels using an online service like Sticker Mule or print at home using some Avery labels.

Certified tea-expert Sheena Brady, owner and operator of Tease Tea, started her company 3 years ago on a shoestring budget using this approach. Tease Tea now works with tea gardens directly and boasts over 25 unique and top-selling blends that are both sold through their pop-up storefront in New York City and shipped to online customers around the globe. They’ve grown to be the exclusive tea supplier for a number of luxury hotels and restaurants all over the world.

How to start a tea business

If you’re looking to learn more about running a successful tea business, there are a number of resources available for you to explore. Here are a few ways to get started:

• Tea education. Becoming a tea expert will give your brand a unique story and build credibility with your audience. Use the early stages of your business to learn from other tea experts who can share their knowledge on starting a tea business from scratch.
• Look into tea certification. This will help give your brand a degree of authenticity and can show your customers that you’ve taken the time to truly become an expert in the product you sell. The Tea and Herbal Association of Canada offers certification in various areas of the world of tea.
• Get to know your customers and competitors. Once you’ve decided on the niche you’d like to focus on while selling tea, start exploring all competitors within it to get a feel for your customers. Understanding who you’re selling to will help you decide on your brand positioning, pricing models, and to become familiar with the industry you’ll be competing within.
• Start building your online store. Building a website for your business is a lot easier today than ever. In order to start selling tea online, you’ll want to build your website on an ecommerce platform like Shopify that makes the experience easy with many free tools available. You’ll also want to have a brand name that reflects your products, along with a website domain and recognizable logo.

How to sell tea online

Once your tea business is up and running, it’s time to get the word out. One of the best resources for selling tea online is social media, where you can share the news about your tea business and create engaging content that resonates with your audience.

When it comes to marketing your products, follow these three steps to get started:

1. Make your social media accounts shoppable. An easy way to make your tea available is by setting up a Facebook Business Page and Shops on Instagram. This feature helps you sell products directly from your social media feeds, and is a great resource for directing viewers directly to your online store.
2. Find local influencers to work with and promote your tea. You can also work with micro-influencers on Instagram or Tiktok who will share their experience in exchange for free products, plus a discount code to share with their audience.
3. Share your tea brand locally. Shopping from a locally owned business has never been encouraged more than it is today. A great way to get the word out about your products is by sharing teas with your local community. This strategy will help you grow local brand awareness and engage new customers within your community. Take advantage of local markets and opportunities to get the word out about your products and to connect with new customers on social media.

How to wholesale tea

If you’re debating whether or not to expand your tea brand, exploring wholesale marketplaces like Handshake may be a good option for you. Here you can find suppliers who wholesale tea and/or tea accessories at a discounted rate that compliment the other products sold in your store. If you work with a wholesaler, you can test out selling various products in bundles, create higher-priced tea kits, and offer free shipping for orders over a certain amount to offset the cost of shipping through increasing the average order value. This resource will help you find more competitive rates and a solution that is appealing to your customers, all while still making your online store profitable.

How to dropship tea

If you're interested in the tea niche but prefer to start off with something low-risk, you can choose to sell tea accessories via dropshipping. Using a dropshipping app, you can search for and sell tea products from AliExpress that tea drinkers will love. As your tea accessory business grows, you may also choose to reinvest your profits into creating and selling your own tea online.