FE: Purpose over profit

There’s nothing like a good story shared over a soothing cup of tea, and the family legend that inspired The Tea Spot is no exception. For The Tea Spot founder Maria Uspenski, tea is more than a beverage, it’s a way of life. From her European family roots to her personal cancer recovery journey to the teaware she created using her MIT engineering background, tea and Maria are inexorably intertwined—as is the unique blend of art and science she brings to the practice. When you shop The Tea Spot, you know you are getting the freshest tea available, with leaves from the latest harvest. As the only single source provider of tea with our own patented teaware (thanks, Maria!), our goal is to modernize the loose-leaf tea experience so you can enjoy the functional benefits at home or on the go for the perfect cup every time.
I would have to say there are three things which have been vital to our success: innovation, adaptability, and our people.
At The Tea Spot , we craft teas of excellent quality that empower people to improve their lives by making tea a part of every day. And guess what? We have several direct competitors who do the same thing. Our primary differentiator is that we’re always listening, always looking for what our customers might want now or next, and always developing new products to address these needs. We do this with our functional teas, and we design innovative Steepware® as well – modern teaware that makes daily tea easy and fun. There are plenty of companies choose a market niche and decide to do the same thing, only better. We prefer to participate in our industry as thought leaders and trend setters, as opposed to being a follower. Both approaches are perfectly valid. However, as a smaller company in the tea industry (think Lipton and Hain-Celestial), we prefer to fuel our growth by being first to market with products which are relevant to customers right now.
Hand-in-hand with innovation is the need to be adaptable. We’ve all heard about businesses needing to pivot over the past few years. At The Tea Spot, we’ve been sure to maintain the agility which would allow us to do so since our inception. When you’re an innovator, it’s important to be able to respond to an important shift or trend, so your message is always pertinent to your customers’ current needs. There are also times that we have a product in mid-development, and suddenly we need to completely revamp the strategy, positioning, or timeline in order to stay most relevant. These adaptations could range from color trends or “hot” functional ingredients (like Elderberries became were in 2020) to supply chain or cash flow issues.
Most importantly, you are only as good as your team. I can’t ever emphasize or show gratitude for this enough. The Tea Spot is incorporated as a PBC (Public Benefit Corporation). We were one of the first companies to receive a B-Corp certification in Colorado (2011). Purpose-driven businesses often approach hiring differently. It’s part of our company’s core purpose to have a transformative effect instead of only achieving profitable growth. We donate 10% of all profits to wellness initiatives around the world. Apart for looking for qualified employees who are possess the skills and expertise required to perform their job, we look for people who are passionate about making a difference as a part of our team. We strive every day to maintain a sense of community within the four walls of our business. Believing and belonging are critical to how we work with our employees. Mutual respect and support within our team are what drive us to achieve at levels which far exceed the sum of the parts.
And lastly, I’d have to add that our brand has been successful because we care fiercely about our mission to promote wellness. Our core values are strong and inform all our major branding and development decisions. We love our brand, and I think it shows.


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Akasha Lin
Akasha Garnier for #TheWishwall
Author, Brand Expert, Filmmaker
http://www.akashagarnier.com
#ShineThroughtheNoise
Image: The Tea Spot
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