Herbal Teas for Sale

Hey everyone,

I want to blend and sell herbal teas but have no idea how to go about this. I know this off topic for the forum, but seeing as I cross reference a lot of disparate parts of my life on here I thought I'd give it a shot.

I'd like to gauge any interest in what I'm thinking about and hopefully there will also be people on here who have some advice and constructive criticism.

I'm interested in herbal medicines and I make blends of teas for myself. I started off with something to sooth asthma symptoms, which I sometimes suffer with. The blend of herbs are all things which have both modern science and ancestral herbal medicine evidence. I have a blend that I really enjoy and for me does just what I was hoping for, which I've settled on through researching herbs for their properties and trial and error for the balance of flavors. I drink it most days now and sometimes take a cold brew on rides.

After this I made a blend of tea for when I stop a ride. I wanted it to support recovery and help me to wind down, so it has ingredients specifically for this. I made another blend which is for sleep (I know there are tons for sale already). And lately I made a blend to promote calmness and focus, which is nice during work.

Ideally I would like to be able to sell these online, share what I've learned about herbs with everyone and help people feel the benefits, and make some money so that I can continue to learn more, share more and make more money.

I need to get any 'kitchen' work done by someone else as I don't have a kitchen that could be used for this.

I'm very happy to share what's in the different blends and anything else but I wanted to keep this initial post brief.

Thanks for any help or advise
Dan

Is there leg room for 'extra potency' or with added ... not trying to be a dick I just imagine that the quantities involved to be effective would be high or to be the USP of something specific in the product line

I am really verging on saying workout the legal aspect of cannabinoids, but the market is difficult and has CBD already - & I've not interest in that or the real stuff but where are you going?

This sounds really interesting and will appeal to the non-coffee drinkers too. Especially if you formulate a "pep in your step" blend.

I'd say a degree of trained Herbalist affiliation or putting yourself through a course would help to lend legitimacy to the product too. It's how Pukka started out, pre being bought and sold by Unilever, that is.

Good luck and I'd be interested to sample.

Edit:Pukka aren't doing all that well (anecdotally) and also the herbal tea market is well saturated.

Sounds like an interesting venture, Dan. I know nothing about herbal teas or their market in the UK but wondered if you've garnered feedback on your blends from friends and family in the first instance?

I'd park the idea of production facilities until you have a following of sorts and a steady stream of orders coming in. At this stage, I'd probably focus on market research, impartial product feedback from friends and family, perhaps having a general chat with the Outdoor Provisions guys to ask how they went about establishing themselves as a small brand in the outdoor space, and setting up a website and social media presence if the research and feedback stacks up over time. All of that can be done for free, or with very little.

There are also registration requirements depending on whether you're planning to market the teas as herbal medicine in the UK, but that's not immediately relevant.

Pukka

to muddy the water (again)
in about 2015-16 pukka tea ran job adverts to which the sub text was 'we're actually a bit of a cunt company' so its success maybe from talented (but naive) employees given far less than their worth..

Might want to test it out at food festivals, I used to do these about ten years ago and there were a couple of stall holders (one doing tea, incidentally) that went on to have really big companies from it. It’s a good way to see how it’s received by the general money spending public rather than friends, family and general well wishers and without much outlay.

Check out Bird and blend formally Bluebirds back story. Probably who Dogtemple is taking about. Loads about the company journey online and the owner is now a business mentor for local startups although there may be a no tea company caveat to attend an actual seminar but plenty to read online

Thank you.
The 'Pep' blend is something that I've also worked on, but it's not something that I use regularly (I also love a coffee).

I have a couple of Herbalists locally that IO've spoken with about this but unfortunately it's not a business model that they have any experience with, although they have been very encouraging about the idea.

There will definitely be some samples going out in the future!

Thank you everyone for your input in this.

@Retro_Bastard
Thank you. I'm on their website now, actually looking at Christmas gifts, but I'll get to their back story next ;)

Yeah it is the same one, blue bird tea, it’s pretty mental I remember the girl that runs it doing a few of these little tea blends off a table and now she’s on tv and has loads of shops etc. she’s done very well for herself. At the time it looked like a hobby stall, which a lot of these things are, but she must have had something else going on in her head to take it that far.

At the moment choosing a brand name has me stumped and I'd appreciate some input if any of you feel inspired.

I'd like something that describes, at least in part what the product is. it's a blend of herbs to raise you up or uplift.
I recently liked Herbal Tonics ( but my brother said it sounds like a Gin and tonic brand)
HerbAll

cup of magic
fuller herb

I feel that twinings etc added such a high level of marketing bs to the products that they remain a last resort purchase or a keepsake of 'it'll keep them happy'.. its high level is condensed to one or two words with no belief/trust to what is being consumed .... Balancing that out to be a powerful clear single message without falling into the trap they have - is an interesting brief

Just say what it is: herbal tea - revolutionary

Gandeek Teas

Lols I quite like Gandeek

It's strong

Also toying with the following:

Blen’d
The Loose Leaves
LooseLeaf
Eat Shoots

I'd like it to not be too tea focused (but plant focused) as ideally I would also like to offer tinctures and glycerides in the future.

Live laugh leaf

😆

I would like to get to 'extra potency' at some point. This tends to be either as tinctures or glycerides.
Once I get to this stage I'd possibly need an alcohol license (for tinctures) and also they could then qualify as medicines so that's another hurdle to overcome.
If I could get this started simply with teas, investing the money into growing in these areas.