Bringing fresher cuppa to New Zealand

By ELLEN READ

The desire for a lifestyle change led Thomas Molitor and Norma Manty on a journey from corporate United States to organic Kerikeri.

The couple first visited New Zealand three years ago and liked what they saw. So when the time came to decide on a country outside the US to move to, New Zealand topped the list.

They knew that starting their own business and making a product were important to their new lifestyle.

Thomas is a former creative director in the San Francisco office of Saatchi & Saatchi, and Norma was a packaging designer in one of America's leading package design firms.

After a quick trip in January last year to scout locations and plenty of internet research, the couple moved to Kerikeri last June to set up the Kerikeri Tea Company - which offers a range of organic loose leaf tea. Why tea? The couple had identified a gap in the speciality tea market and could apply their marketing and advertising skills to advantage.

They knew they wanted to produce blended tea in a canister, but one area which was new to them was sourcing the product.

"Tea is about freshness and a lot of tea consumed in New Zealand has been exported from the tea countries to Europe through a tea broker, blended in Europe, and then re-exported to New Zealand, " Norma said. "Aside from the freshness issue, we just didn't think it made ecologic sense to log that many kilometres on tea."

The solution - the couple decided to import the product themselves.

"We thought: 'why don't we buy directly from the tea estates so when they put it on the boat it can go from tea garden to tea cup in a matter of weeks'," Thomas said.

Because their company sources its tea directly from organic tea estates around the world and has it shipped directly to Kerikeri for custom blending, the couple say Kerikeri Tea provides the freshest tea available in New Zealand.

It is also labelled as a blended in New Zealand product, which helps its niche appeal.

"We can leverage the positive associations New Zealand has - being nuclear and GE free - and that filters down to [the tea] suppliers who then like having New Zealand on their supply list," Thomas said.

The couple agree doing business in New Zealand is a pleasure. They like the fact that with so many smaller companies operating, they often find themselves as business owners talking directly to other business owners.

The Kerikeri Tea Company was launched in December and sells its teas in its own branded silver tin canisters to supermarkets, gourmet food stores, and speciality retailers. Its teas are also available for sale to cafes and restaurants.

Organic tea is one of the hottest segments in the speciality beverage category - New Zealand ranks eight in the world in per capita tea consumption yet most of the tea in New Zealand came from big companies selling tea bags, said Norma.

"New Zealanders are drinking better wine and better coffee. The time seems right for New Zealanders to drink better tea," she said.

Kerikeri Tea Company has three blends available: Bay of Islands Breakfast, an extra-strong blend of superior black teas from India and Sri Lanka; Mint Ceylon, premium black tea from Sri Lanka blended with refreshing spearmint leaves; and Green Darjeeling, the Champagne of green teas from the mountains of northern India.

The company is considering expanding the range and moving into the tea equipment area, sourcing and selling infusers, teapots and other products.

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