In my last post for T Ching in December, I wrote about our plans to move our retail store from a plaza to an old downtown tourist area. However, after spending more time looking 
at the layout of the space and the traffic flow on that street, we decided not to sign a lease. Instead, we opted to pursue other areas of the tea business we had been unable to before because of the intense time demands of retail.
Among them, we began working on connections in the foodservice industry. One of the most interesting came about at a chance meeting while I was doing a staff tea training seminar at a popular eatery that showcases locally grown produce and artisan food products. One of their vendors, who was there making a delivery, had heard about our teas and asked if we would be interested in adding some of them to his company’s home delivery service of local farm-fresh produce and other products. We were definitely interested. I’d been an admirer of a local chef’s promotion of the slow food/support local movement for some time.
On receiving their first order from us, they were happy to find out that we use a same-county co-packer who hires adults with disabilities. They are now asking us to work with them to help them expand their distribution using the same organization, in order to increase jobs in our area and provide more work for these wonderfully capable workers. This packaging and distribution method is not just workable for small companies. Mighty Leaf Tea recently began using such an organization in another area of California to do packaging for them, which has resulted in a number of new jobs being created for skilled adults with disabilities in that local economy.
One of the goals of our new customer, Harvest 2U, is to benefit the community through promoting locals by distributing local food or locally owned companies’ products and thus benefitting the community’s economy. We are now also promoting one another on Twitter and via other social media venues, as well as by word of mouth and referrals. This is the way things used to be in local communities, demonstrating that everything old becomes new again.
However, for the long-term success of the “support local” way of thinking, more people will have to purchases from local sources rather than from multinational corporations, even when those purchases give them what they perceive as status, convenience, and money savings. Of course, there has to be world trade, imports, and exports, especially in an industry where, until recently, the product was not grown locally or even nationally (other than Bigelow’s historical Charleston plantation). But within a fast-paced, high-tech, instantly and always connected world, there is still a need to encourage local community-oriented and community economy-building businesses. We are happy that more than one of our wholesale customers is involved in these efforts.
It was interesting to read about the group of U.S. tea growers on T Ching as well. If they are successful, it’s exciting to think what other businesses and jobs they will spawn, especially in their own areas. Naomi Rosen did a great job informing us what she learned from the group’s meeting at the World Tea Expo. She brought up the trend of buying local as well, and how that may help U.S. tea growers. I’m excited and looking forward to tasting the samples of their efforts! Choice is a good thing and, if I can find a local source that is comparable, all the better.
How nice to have your voice back on T Ching Diane. You bring up such an important point. Buying local and supporting local businesses is something that has grown considerably here in Oregon. Restaurants now advertise that their meats and produce are locally sourced and farmers markets are thriving around the state. I hadn’t realized that California was also pioneering these values. I would be curious to hear from east coast and mid westerners, to see if they’ve seen evidence of this important movement.
You are so right when you say that people will have to give up status purchases in favor of supporting their local businesses. And yes, some times it costs more to do so. In Portland and Hood River however, there is considerable pride and status from choosing local so that too is changing.
I also look forward to trying some home grown (U.S.) teas. I did so when in Hawaii and the tea held its own.
I look forward to hearing about your growing success with Harvest 2U. I love that they’ve added tea to their inventory. Isn’t it great when, quite unexpectedly, an opportunity presents itself.
Thanks, Michelle. Having lived in Portland twice in my life, I remember, even decades ago, how it was like a small town within a big city…love it! There used to be bumper stickers saying “Don’t Cali-fornicate our state’ at the time. :) Strangely, the big cities in California are more ‘artisan/local oriented than the suburb where I am, which is very chain-friendly…but things are changing. Like you said, it is becoming ‘status’ to go to fine , local shops more and more rather than the logo on the cup being important.
Your articles are for when it abulysteol, positively, needs to be understood overnight.
I hear that Portland has certainly changed a lot – weather included – over the last few decades but you got it right – it’s still like a small town within a city. And there is still prejudice against Californians. It appears that they’ve affected the housing market by offering the list prices for homes and condos. The prices here look amazing to those coming from the Bay area or other high priced communities. I remember when we moved here 10 years ago, people would advise- “When your friends and family question your sanity regarding your relocation to Oregon, and comment that it rains all the time, just tell them, yes, it does rain all the time”. There’s this desire to keep outsiders out and relish what we’ve all discovered – that Portland is an amazing place to live.
If you can believe it, there is a Buy Local movement here in Las Vegas. I know…hard to believe that we grow stuff here. But we do. And we make honey. We have a distillery that sources their ingredients from No. NV and makes their booze in Henderson. Next to them is a brand new home-grown brewery. We have farm to table restaurants popping up all over the valley. That said, I don’t know that tea will ever be a viable crop out here but we can certainly source from OR, WA and CA.
You know, it’s been a long-time coming but I think it will be the new ‘status’ thing. So I’m guessing that the big companies will do things like make ‘artisan-looking’ labels and ‘hide’ their name in magnifying glass-sized letters at the very bottom somewhere. I know of one bottled iced tea at least you’d never guess was a huge multinational company’s. It’s all good…..people who want to buy local/support local/artisan are usually the label readers anyway. :) Naomi…craft microbreweries are springing up all over here, we are Wine Country and beer wants some of the action. Some are putting tea in their beers..spicy chai, some fruity blends with Rooibos work well I hear. Michelle, we do the same thing here when people come out and ooh and aah in the winter about 70 degree days. “It’s expensive, taxes are high, the traffic is awful here….you don’t want to move here!” (It’s all true, but doggone the weather IS nice!) :)