With 100,000 cups of its teas drunk every hour, globally, Traditional Medicinals shares its herbal remedies and teas with two million people a day, providing itself the opportunity to inform, to be transparent, and to raise issue of importance, as well as bringing them each a little bit of nature in every cup.

Traditional Medicinals’ story begins more than 50 years ago, when Drake Sadler who co-founded the company with Rosemary Gladstar, met in the woods of Northern California where they were both living in the late 1960s. Gladstar collected plants and was teaching students and young people about the herbs and formulas that had been passed down through her family.

“Her great grandmother was a herbalist from Armenia [who taught her daughter], [who in turn, taught her daughter]. All this knowledge was passed down, as it always has been, in an oral tradition with women from generation to generation. They were the ‘medicine women’ in their communities and Rosemary was the medicine woman in her community,” explained Sadler, chair of Traditional Medicinals. Gladstar had a small shop and people would come to see her seeking remedies for their ailments.

Meanwhile, Sadler came from a background of social development. He worked for the US government on what was called the War on Poverty, setting up social programmes in poor communities. At this time, Gladstar wanted to further educate the community about herbal education, so she started packaging her herbal formulas and inserting inside information she had written to provide further explanation about the herbs they were using to treat the illnesses. This was the founding purpose of Traditional Medicinals – herbal education – and why the pair decided to launch it as a business.

The second founding principle came as Sadler and Gladstar began to visit the countries and communities from which they were sourcing plants. There they discovered that the herb and spice communities were quite impoverished. “This then triggered the evolution of the company’s second purpose,” said Sadler, “which was to build sustainable communities where these plants came from.”

Traditional Medicinals Throat Coat packaging circa 1980. Image: Traditional Medicinals

When Traditional Medicinals began, it offered nine products, each chosen to meet specific consumer needs and address ailments people had come in for, such as sore throats, problems sleeping, digestive troubles or morning sickness. “But that quickly expanded. I think within the first two or three years we had about 20 products,” commented Sadler. “People were like, why can’t I get this? What about that? So, Rosemary was formulating remedies that people needed. We weren’t trying to come up with the latest flavour or something, it was all about consumer needs.” Now Traditional Medicinals has more than 60 products (teas, lozenges, and capsules), which still change according to consumer needs and the ingredients they are interested in, such as dandelion, raspberry leaf or hibiscus.

These trends and demands also vary by region; Joe Stanziano, newly appointed CEO of Traditional Medicinals (see the announcement in People News) added, “according to industry data, the stress/relaxation segment has the highest regional share in California and has the lowest regional share in the mid-south; whereas the immunity segment has the highest regional share in the mid-south and lower in the northeast [of the US].”

Sustainable from the start

The majority of these products are distributed across the United States, but its market generally covers Central and North America. “The products are in a lot of countries I visit, but we don’t have a strong foreign strategy,” said Sadler. “There’s only so many places we can be and be there successfully […] There’s a limit: there’s a limit to these plants, there’s a limit to our capacity to produce […] We’re not trying to be the biggest, we’re just trying to be the best.” This notion is something integral to the workings of Traditional Medicinals.

Sadler spoke about how both he and Gladstar were interested in Buddhism during the origins of the company, one of the principles of which is ‘right livelihood,’ which he said they have always strived to embody within the company. “The notion of right livelihood is how business, or how people, should conduct themselves when they’re doing business. And the fundamental of right livelihood is to do no harm. So, conducting business in a way that helps people and does no harm, no harm to the environment, does no harm to each other, does no harm to the community.” This is something Sadler said distinguishes Traditional Medicinals from many other businesses.

This ethos also guides the company through purchasing and working with organic and fair-certified suppliers. Traditional Medicinals made a commitment to using quality and efficacious ingredients to deliver tangible health benefits. Its first certified organic products were in the late 70s, and then fair-certified ingredients began in the 90s. “The company has a real commitment to its stakeholders from these supply communities all the way through our trading partners […] We operate from a place of integrity,” said Sadler, and sustainability has always been a part of this, whether it is environmental or social.

When Sadler and Gladstar first started visiting their source communities, they would find children working in fields and not going to school, because their parents needed them to work and often there weren’t schools for them to go to. “So, then the next time that we would come back to those communities, we would bring books; we’d bring books written in the language of that country, school books. And we’d ask, ‘Can we hire a teacher and have children learning in the evenings? Would you give them room to study? We will hire the teacher and bring the books,’” recounted Sadler, explaining how the company’s opportunities for scale of impact have expanded since its founding. “Now we build schools. We have five schools in one remote area of Rajasthan [India], five schools just in this little remote area and there’s 2,000 kids going to school there every day.”

Traditional Medicinals now works in 43 countries through fair certification projects and partnerships. Its community projects in these regions impacts tens of thousands of farmers and collectors and their families, in areas such as health, hygiene, education, economic development, food and water security and women’s empowerment, the latter of which is especially crucial, said Sadler.

Historical Traditional Medicinals packaging. Image: Traditional Medicinals

Since the beginning of humankind, people have been experimenting with plants for food and medicine, for clothing and for shelter. Now in modern times, 50 percent of the world’s medicine contains plants, 80 percent of which are not farmed and must be collected in the wild, Sadler shared. It is in these remote areas that they grow and are collected by indigenous people, the vast proportion of which are women. This is why “we want to work on projects that empower them, raise their voices in the community, educate them better. And make sure that their daughters are going to school.”

While these practices have been embedded in the company since its founding, Sadler noted that there has been a strong increase in demand for sustainable activities from consumers, particularly young consumers who are wanting more information about the products they buy. “Young consumers really want education, they want to know what they’re consuming, they want to know about the ingredients, they want to know where those ingredients come from, they want to know who’s involved in the production of those ingredients, whether they’re farmed or collected, and how they’re manufactured and under what conditions,” he said. “They really demand transparency and this is wonderful. This is the way it should be. We should be knowledgeable about the products that we’re using and under what conditions they’re produced.”

Not business as usual

Integrity, right livelihood or transparency, however Sadler’s Traditional Medicinals’ ethos manifests itself, it is all under the umbrella of sustainability, and safeguarding resources and people’s livelihoods for the future, a pressure that is becoming increasingly urgent, something Sadler feels keenly. “There’s no more business as usual. We’re done with business as usual. I’m fed up with business as usual. I’m fed up with corporate America. I’m fed up with billionaires who are acquiring wealth,” he emphasised.

“That’s not the answer for the future. That’s not how we’re going to survive as a species. It is my belief that business has not only an opportunity, but an obligation to lead in the evolution of business as a platform for social change.”

Sadler said he is now focused on creating a structure of ownership within the company that ensures this purpose “is embedded in the company’s operating system, it’s part of its daily governance. So that it can’t be disrupted,” long after he is no longer there to steer it.

Newly appointed CEO, Stanziano, is taking up this mantle, and explained how he hopes the company will continue to evolve. “Traditional Medicinals has built a strong legacy as a leader in herbal wellness and as a Certified B Corporation, deeply rooted in sustainability and social responsibility. As we look to the future, my vision is for Traditional Medicinals to continue advancing its mission-driven approach, placing people and the planet at the forefront of every decision we make, even as we adapt to the evolving market landscape and changing consumer needs.”

Stanziano said that in the next 20 years, he sees Traditional Medicinals “solidifying our position as a global leader in herbal wellness by broadening our market presence and diversifying our product portfolio. We’ll achieve this through our strategic partnerships and collaborations with local communities and suppliers, ensuring that our sourcing and production practices remain sustainable and transparent.

Our commitment to environmental stewardship is unwavering, and in 2023, we took a significant step by aligning with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), setting ambitious goals to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 42 percent by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050,” he said, adding, “looking 50 years ahead, I envision Traditional Medicinals sharing more of its leadership position to inspire – empowering global communities and consumers to embrace the healing power of plants and live in harmony with nature. Our focus will be on innovation, continuous improvement, and expanding our impact, ensuring that we remain a trusted source of wellness for generations to come.”

Over the last 50 years, from its roots as Rosemary Gladstar’s homemade herbal remedies, passed down through generations, and shared with her community, to a far-reaching company, who’s impact stretches even further than it’s teas, Traditional Medicinals has managed to maintain its founding ethos and principles throughout.

This is something that Sadler articulates accordingly, “People think we’re a tea company. We’re actually not. We’re a tea company, but the tea company is actually the means to an end. It’s the work in those supply communities and educating people about herbal medicine, that’s really what we do and the products are the means to an end. They’re what financially support the purpose. It’s not the other way around.”

• Kathryn Brand is an associate editor with T&CTJ, while still writing for several of Bell’s other magazines. She joined Bell Publishing at the beginning of 2022 after graduating from the University of East Anglia with a degree in English Literature and Creative Writing. She may be reached at: kathryn@bellpublishing.com.

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Punk Bunny Coffee also announced a new partnership with Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) to join the Keurig K-Cup Pod System, making Punk Bunny Coffee available to more than 40 million US households with a Keurig brewer. As part of the band and KDP’s shared commitment to sustainability, Punk Bunny K-Cup pods will be the first to launch the full flavor portfolio – Father of All…Dark Roasts, Soundcheck, Last Ride In and Light Club – with easy-peel lids to prepare pods for recycling.

Mike Dirnt explained, “For years, our band has been immersed in making damn good organic coffees with a strong focus on sustainability. Now in our tenth year, we are launching our new brand, Punk Bunny Coffee, and are proud to announce that we have been working closely in partnership with Keurig and support their sustainability innovations. Get ready to get ‘Hopped up on Punk Bunny Coffee.’”

“Green Day brings the same legendary passion they bring to their music to their work creating distinctive Fair Trade Certified coffee built on community from source to cup,” said Ben Yoder, vice president of Coffee Partners, Keurig Dr Pepper. “With the launch of Punk Bunny Coffee in recyclable K-Cup pods, fans will have more ways to connect with their musical heroes through a great cup of coffee, brewed at the push of a button. Plus, Punk Bunny Coffee in your Keurig brewer is a far better option than ‘409 in your coffeemaker’.”

In 2023, the band decided to create a new coffee brand that would take things to the next level. Bringing Adam Devine, Rachael Ray and other friends as investors, they tapped consumer packaging goods experts Richard and Paul Smucker Wagstaff as investors, advisors and board members. In the fall of 2023, the guys landed on their iconic Bunny as the face of the brand and Punk Bunny Coffee was born. Oakland Coffee products were manufactured by a third-party Bay Area-based roaster, but Mike, Billie Joe, and Tre wanted to have more control over their roasts. After a search spearheaded by Embassy Park Advisors, Oakland Coffee merged with Caruso Foods, an Ohio-based premier specialty family-run coffee roaster.

Billie Joe Armstrong said, “I’m stoked to be an owner of a very cool specialty coffee roasting company here in the US. And grateful for our co-owners and the amazing people who help us blend badass coffee, just how we like it. It’s going to be a big year for Green Day. We’ll be playing shows across the globe and Punk Bunny coffee will be fueling the way, backstage and on our busses.”

Paul Smucker Wagstaff, former president of Smucker and 5th Generation Smucker family member said, “The combination of our CPG Food expertise, the Caruso platform and Green Day’s ability to promote products and make connections in the entertainment industry has the company positioned to grow meaningfully over the next several years. We expect to pursue joint ventures and acquisitions as we venture into new product categories. We believe by bringing incredible fair trade organic coffee and the connectivity of the music industry we can be the coffee for music lovers everywhere.”

Dominic Caruso, CEO of Caruso Foods, noted, “We worked closely with the band to develop blends of Fair Trade Certified Organic Arabica beans roasted to four distinct roast profiles. The four blends are available in 12-oz. ground valve bags with the darkest item also available whole bean. The band and the Caruso’s share a common set of core values focused on hard work, a love of family and great coffee. We fully expect this brand to become the rock star of the coffee section in retailers across the country and beyond.”

Green Day and Punk Bunny’s Fueled by Love Initiative will take a portion of profits from every bag or pod of Punk Bunny Coffee sold and distribute it equally to this year’s charity partners: One Tree Planted, Oceana, Keep Memory Alive, Eat. Learn. Play, and the Ron Finley Project. Earlier this year, Punk Bunny Coffee was introduced to attendees of The GRAMMY Awards® and the EA Superbowl event and was made available for pre-order to Green Day and Oakland Coffee fans.

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On 19 January 2023, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program issued the Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) final rule. This new regulation aims to improve oversight of the organic supply chain and reduce fraud by increasing traceability and transparency. The final rule went into full implementation on 19 March 2024. These changes will be felt by every tea business that produces, processes and handles organic teas. The rules will apply to USDA organic Camellia sinensis products and USDA organic botanicals used in tea blends and tisanes. Since the US imports the vast majority of its teas, organic tea businesses across the globe will now have to comply with these new regulations aimed at preventing fraud in the organic supply chain.

Past issues

For years, the National Organic Program (NOP) has made strides in addressing the challenges of programme implementation. A 2010 review of the organic programme by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that certifying agents were not conducting regular and consistent, periodic residue testing, and in some cases were not conducting required onsite assessments of certified operations.

The USDA OIG assessment report included recommended remedies, and issues were addressed. A subsequent 2017 report concluded that overseas organic equivalency standards were not sufficiently transparent, and that NOP import documentation was not consistently verified at ports of entry.

Furthermore, some certified organic products being imported may have been fumigated with treatments that were not compliant with organic standards. This fumigation may have been necessary from a Customs and Border Protection perspective but would have rendered these products as no longer compliant with NOP organic standards. The need for fumigation occurs less frequently with Camellia sinensis products but may be necessary with certain botanical ingredients used in tea blends and herbal tea blends. As such, these past issues impacted the US organic tea industry to varying degrees.

The potential for fraud has been another significant and ongoing concern. Not only do fraudulent organic products de-value the perception of the organic brand, but high enough volumes can affect the pricing of organic products. When fraudulent organic products can be produced and sold at cheaper prices than authentic organic products, this raises the risk that legitimate organic producers get pushed out of business.

Changes in the strengthening organic enforcement (SOE) rule

Some of the major changes included in the SOE regulations that will impact the tea industry include:

• Exemptions: Under the old regulations more entities along the supply chain could be considered exempt, especially if they were handling the finished, packaged product and not coming in contact with the actual raw materials (leaf in the case of tea). Under the new regulations, organisations that sell in bulk from the farms, load/unload, store/warehouse, transport, and repackage organic products will likely need to be organic certified. To be clear, not all warehouses holding organic tea will necessarily need to be certified organic. Not all ocean container ships transporting organic tea will need to be certified. The best way to understand what exemptions are allowed under the new SOE regulations is for tea companies to contact their organic certifying agent for clarification.
• Traceability, Fraud Prevention and Inspections: Operations must include a fraud prevention plan as part of their organic system plan. During annual inspections, inspectors will conduct ‘in-out’ and ‘trace-back’ audits. These audits aim to verify that correct volumes of organic materials are accounted for coming in and out of the operator’s facilities. Inspections must also verify the organic products and organic ingredients are compliant back to the previously certified operation in the supply chain. In addition, certifying agents/organisations must also identify ‘high risk’ operations and products. High-risk products may come under greater scrutiny as they are traced throughout the supply chain.
• NOP Import Certificates (NOPIC): The NOPIC may be one of the newer and more significant changes affecting how certifier organisations in the country export get involved in the documentation of organic tea from origin. Imported organic products must be declared to the US Customs and Border Protection’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system using data from a NOPIC that is to be generated by the exporter’s certifying agent/organisation.

Since the majority of the US’s organic tea is exported from a few major producing countries, the new NOPIC requirement could affect the timeliness and costs related to the import/export process. A representative of Ecocert USA, which provides selected organic, fair trade and social responsibility programs and certification services, was contacted to explore how the NOPIC may impact the flow of tea imports into the US.

Graph courtesy of Firsd Tea

Will a rise in demand for organic exports following the Spring tea harvest and the associated requests in NOPICs create delays or the need for more processing times for exports?

Ecocert spokesperson: Starting March 2024, exports to the USA shall be accompanied by a NOP Import Certificate (NOPIC). Before issuing a NOPIC, the certification agency will define specific verifications to confirm the compliance of the goods. Concerning Ecocert, the level of verifications may depend on the risk of the supply chain in question. The riskier the supply chain, the more robust the verifications before issuing the NOPIC. This administrative step to obtain the NOPIC, which was not required beforehand, will need to be anticipated by the exporter to avoid any delays.

As such, it would seem that the infrastructure and systems for processing NOPIC requests is considered robust and sufficient, but delays could be related to certifiers’ (of exporters) level of familiarity with the submission process and the varying degrees of compliance documentation that is required. Only the certifiers of exporters, not the certified organic tea exporting organisation itself, will be uploading documentation and requesting the NOPIC. Any organisation or product that has been deemed high-risk by the certifying organisations may require the certifier of export to submit more extensive documentation with the NOPIC request.

At what point in the process does the NOPIC need to be received by the exporter and/or importer? Before leaving the country of origin? On landing in the US? Other?

Ecocert spokesperson: There is no rule defined in the SOE about the reception date. The only date is about the NOPIC requesting date. Per 205.273(a) of the SOE regulations: The NOP finally indicated [in March] that the NOPIC should finally be issued ‘before departure’ which is different than what is written in the requirement. It is also mentioned that each import must ‘be associated with valid NOP Import Certificate data’ while being declared as organic to US Customs and Border Protection (on the ACE portal).

Certifying agents determine their own fees in terms of processing/verifying NOP import certificates. Is there a consensus across certifying agents in various countries as to standardizing the fees/rates?
Ecocert spokesperson: At the time of writing, there is no consensus on the fees related to the issuance of NOP Import Certificates (NOPIC) among certifying agents. Each certifying agent will communicate the fees to their clients once they are defined.

Value of SOE Regulations

As the SOE regulations go into effect, operations in the certified organic supply chain have been made aware of the changes needed to comply with the new rules. Overall, the new rules seek to improve compliance and security of the organic supply chain while imposing as little added administrative burden as possible. Operations involved in USDA organic certified tea can expect the need to process more documentation and (perhaps) an increase in surprise inspections.

It is worth noting that the SOE regulations are designed to increase traceability, but not necessarily transparency. In most cases, certified organic operations are required to document traceability back to the most recent certified upstream operation. Neither operators nor consumers can necessarily expect to have access to records that visibly trace a product through all the actors in the supply chain back to origin.

The tea industry will not be the only agricultural product affected by the roll out of these new regulations, but considering the US imports nearly all of its organic Camellia sinensis and a significant number of organic botanicals used in teas and herbal tea blends, the effects may be more widespread. Each year, about two percent of Camellia sinensis import volumes are organic, but that share rises to eight or nine percent of the total value of tea imports.

Since these imports arrive from various countries with the potential for multiple certifying agents active in those countries, some countries and tea suppliers may vary in terms of adapting to these changes. US organic tea operations that are concerned about these changes are advised to reach out to their certifying agent organization and the certified organisations in their supply chain to better understand any potential impacts to their businesses.

• Jason Walker is marketing director of Firsd Tea North America. Prior to his work with Firsd Tea, Walker served in a variety of roles in tea and beverage business capacities. His experience includes business services for small tea companies, a top-ranked online destination for tea consumer education and co-founding a coffee business. His insights draw upon his diverse range of experience in sales, operations and management in the tea world. He may be reached at: jason.walker@firsdtea.com.

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From its beginning in 1984, Clipper Tea has prided itself as being a different kind of tea company seeking to provide consumers with delicious products that are ethically sourced. The tea humbly began in the kitchen of founders, Mike and Lorraine Bream, where they sought out quality Assam, which they then delivered to local retailers. Today, the Dorset, England-based company’s focus remains rooted in sustainability, sourcing Fairtrade certified tea to create over 150 products and deliver them to more than 50 countries.

The last forty years have seen significant changes in the tea industry, evolving from regionally focused drinking habits to consumers with broader palates and the curiosity to explore a variety of products. The past three years have resulted in a massive shift in volume and demand for the tea and herbal industry, with an unprecedented rise in demand in 2020/early 2021 and a decline, particularly in the black tea sector, partially due to inflation and a shift in consumer preferences.

“It’s been bumpy from an inflationary perspective, Clipper Tea specifically has seen volume growth across every single market, including in the UK, Europe and North American markets,” said Daniel Parr, research and development team leader, hot drinks, Clipper Tea.

As a global company, Clipper Tea has noted slight variances in consumption from region to region. In Europe, there continues to be an increased demand in the infusions market. While the United Kingdom market remains dominated by black tea, the younger demographics have a more extensive repertoire, shifting between black, infusions, and green tea. During the warmer months, Hayley Murgett, global head of marketing, Clipper Tea, said that there has been a slight decline in hot beverage preparations across Europe. This decline is beginning to be replaced with colder alternatives, including cold brew tea and infusions, which are particularly strong in Germany and are starting to grow in France, Italy, and Spain. In the Netherlands and the UK, Clipper Tea has ventured into ready-to-drink (RTD) with its iced fusions, a range of fruity and herbal beverages served in a can.

Tea farmers in Rwanda. Image: Clipper Tea

“Although there is a bit of a downward trend with black tea consumption, the exciting thing is there is now a growing demand for more organic and sustainable black tea, with sales growing in this sector year on year,” shared Murgett. This consistent growth has given the company the confidence that they are on the right path, responding to the core values that today’s consumers seek by delivering Fairtrade certified, organic tea.

“North America is one of our emerging markets; it’s still baby steps at the moment, and in terms of the tea industry in North America, we are still a relatively small player,” said Murgett.

Clipper conducted extensive research to help determine how to best connect with North American consumers. Their research revealed several similarities, including the need for a good-tasting cup of tea. “The communication on the package needs to be simple, clear, and obvious,” explained Parr, noting that the flavours of the tea in North America need to be really pronounced. “If you call out lemon or ginger on the package, those flavours need to be distinctive. In Europe, there is more tolerance for subtle flavours, but in North America, making both the packaging and flavours bold was quite an important aspect.”

The other difference that Clipper Tea noted was that the US consumer followed the preparation guidelines, so the company ensured that they focused on the details of how to create the perfect serve clearly on the package. Their decaffeinated tea is currently one of the top-selling products in this market, but they also see consistent demand for organic products. “Organic resonated really well in North America, so we made sure that the fact that our product was organic was prominent on the package,” said Murgett.

A long-term supporter of Fairtrade

Taste remains the primary driver for Clipper Tea consumers across the globe, with consistent growth in demand for ethical and sustainably sourced products. “This is extremely exciting for us as a brand, because we were born on being natural, fair and delicious, and have committed to ethical and sustainable sourcing for quite some time,” said Murgett. In fact, Clipper Tea was one of the first companies to partner with Fairtrade International.

“Fairtrade started in 1994, and Clipper Tea made its first Fairtrade purchase that same year; we were sort of Fairtrade pioneers and one of our founders, Mike Bream, was consulted and helped write the first set of Fairtrade standards,” said Parr. Today, Clipper Tea prides itself in being one of the largest buyers of Fairtrade tea. Partnering with the Fairtrade Foundation to source their tea has been one way that Clipper Tea ensures they deliver on this promise. “One of the great things that Fairtrade does, other than securing the Fairtrade premium for pricing, is using this premium for farmers to reinvest in community projects,” he added.

Some common themes of the Fairtrade International projects on the farms include solar projects, increasing biodiversity with plant diversification, investing in greener forms of energy (shifting away from firewood), and education. “A lot of times when people think about the Fairtrade premium projects, they think that they are just covering the social aspects, and yes, they do that, because if people aren’t well supported on their basic needs, how can you expect them to focus on improving biodiversity and sustainability?” Parr said. The initiatives launched on each farm are in direct response to the unique needs of each plantation. This collaborative approach, allowing workers to determine where to invest the Fairtrade premium, has helped ensure that the projects are aligned with the needs of the producers, enabling them to produce a higher-quality product.

“I was lucky enough to get out to Rwanda and visit a tea plantation this year with Dan [Parr], and what struck me is that we’re never going to change biodiversity fundamentally if you can’t support the people working on the plantations,” said Murgett. “For us, the biodiversity piece kind of goes hand in hand with the people because you can’t achieve one without the other.”

Image: Clipper Tea

Clipper Tea’s parent company, Ecotone, whose slogan is “food for biodiversity,” has formed several ethical partnerships, including ones with the Fairtrade Foundation, The Soil Association, The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and the UK Plastics Pact. A B Corp-certified company, Ecotone recently won both the Sustainable Food and Sustainability Leadership awards. “Being a mission-led company is brilliant, and at Ecotone, we have scored the world’s highest B Corp status,” said Murgett. “It is lovely to work for a company that ultimately has that mission at its heart and is passionate about it. Organic is the heartbeat of our portfolio at Clipper Tea, with almost every SKU being organic.”

In late 2022 and early 2023, Clipper Tea became a part of Ecotone’s sustainable strategic raw material biodiversity assessment. A project where Ecotone will send agricultural experts to all the tea [farms where Clipper sources tea] to assess where the company currently is from a biodiversity perspective. These experts will be looking at the soil quality, types of trees, species of wildlife, and other aspects that naturally lend themselves to creating a biodiverse farm.

The goal is to use the results from this assessment to develop a road map to improve the company’s overall biodiversity. “We are on the start of that journey in terms of mapping out exactly where each plantation is and how to improve it,” said Murgett.

Engaging consumers

Clipper Tea began as a brand that was grounded on delivering delicious-tasting tea that was produced sustainably. The challenge has been communicating this information to the end consumers so that they understand why they should be investing in quality tea. “One of the things we focused on is ultimately offering customers the best value for their money,” said Murgett. “It’s not about being the cheapest; for us, it’s about delivering the best tasting products that are also ethically and sustainably sourced, paying a farmer a fair wage but also making sure it’s still affordable for the customer.” Pricing is about finding that balance so that the consumers are still receiving great value while also ensuring that the price received can sustain ethical and biodiverse agricultural practices while, at the same time, providing economic stability to the producer.

To address this issue, Clipper launched a new campaign in the United Kingdom with plans to roll it out globally throughout 2024. These light-hearted ads are infused with the company’s core messages, primarily Fairtrade and taste, and typically feature cartoon images; the latest star is a dancing bird infused with positive energy after sipping a cup of Clipper Tea. The slogan, “There’s tea, then there’s good tea,” highlights the company’s commitment to biodiversity and ethical and sustainable sourcing practices that lend itself to great taste and a sustainable product. The campaign will tap into various platforms, including television, posters, and social media.

“We need to drive the value back into tea – not just as a brand, but as an industry – and ensure that people know the craft, quality and care that goes into making brilliant, great tasting and sustainably sourced tea,” Murgett explained. “That is the trend I want to see reversed in the industry.”

• Anne-Marie Hardie is a freelance writer, professor and speaker based in Barrie, Ontario. She may be reached at: annemariehardie1@gmail.com.

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New research from the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) reveals the latest consumption and production trends in the sector, explores why so many tea farmers are struggling to make a living, and examines whether VSSs make a difference to smallholder farmers’ livelihoods. 

There are 13 million people working in the global tea industry, two thirds of whom are smallholder farmers in developing countries. IISD research finds – and those in the tea industry know – that farmers are challenged with producing an affordable, quality, and more sustainable product in a highly competitive market and under increasingly harsh and unpredictable weather conditions. 

“Smallholder farmers bear the biggest brunt of low auction prices and volatility in the tea sector,” said Steffany Bermúdez, policy advisor, IISD, in a statement. “They receive meagre prices for their green leaves – prices that represent a minimal share of the price tea fetches after it has been blended and packaged – and the added unpredictability of auction prices exposes them to even greater financial uncertainty.” 

The international tea trade is unique in that three quarters of the world’s tea is traded through public auctions. Overall, tea auction prices have been declining for the past four decades, with more severe drops in recent years due to overproduction, pandemic-related disruptions, and the Russia–Ukraine conflict, among other factors. 

Similar to coffee, tea farmers also bear all the risks of extreme weather changes as well as variations in the cost and availability of necessary items like fertilisers. Furthermore, in some tea-producing countries, smallholder farmers make no profit at all, as their total production costs often exceed their earnings. Farmers can do little to change this scenario as they have no influence over tea auction prices and have limited market knowledge, therefore they continue to pay brokers steep prices to sell their tea. 

IISD’s new report examines whether voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) such as Rainforest Alliance, Organic, and Fairtrade International make a difference to smallholder farmers’ livelihoods. 

Voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) have been working to address sustainability challenges in the tea sector for 30 years, per the IISD. Many focus on building climate resilience while some seek to improve the prices and incomes of smallholder farmers. 

VSS-compliant tea now represents at least a quarter of total global production. However, evidence of VSSs’ impact on farmers’ incomes is limited and tends to be very context specific. “It is not clear if minimum prices, premiums, and other differentials really make a difference to tea farmers’ livelihoods—or even make up for the costs of certification,” states the IISD report. 

Farmers in some major producing countries can receive up to 23% higher prices than conventional producers when selling VSS-compliant tea. However, the IISD finds that further evidence of VSSs’ impact on farmers’ incomes is limited. “Results are context and location specific, and it is not clear if the prices they fetch even make up for the costs of certification. They certainly don’t if VSS-compliant tea is sold as conventional, which estimates suggest happens 90% of the time,” the report reveals. 

“Global demand for VSS-compliant tea climbed after the pandemic and is expected to keep on growing — with room to grow even faster,” said Vivek Voora, senior associate, IISD, said in a statement. “Challenges need to be overcome, particularly in producing countries, to make VSS-compliant tea more readily available — and more affordable.” 

In the report, IISD experts also argue that there is an urgent need to develop new approaches to recognising the social and environmental costs of conventional tea production so that farmers can be adequately rewarded for using more sustainable practices. “This is particularly challenging given that tea auctions are heavily influenced by multinational companies downstream in the value chain that hold all the power and most of the profit in the sector yet are rarely concerned with the social and environmental impacts of conventional tea production.” As a minimum, IISD experts believe the multinationals should be paying prices that cover farmers’ production costs and basic household needs. 

The report conveys the urgent need to develop new approaches to recognising the social and environmental costs of conventional tea production so that farmers can be adequately rewarded for using more sustainable practices. It further provides recommendations for how governments, private sector actors, and standard-setting bodies can better support smallholder farmers and make tea production fairer and more sustainable. These recommendations range from modernising tea auctions to place greater value on VSS-compliant tea to encouraging all standard-setting bodies to establish minimum prices and premiums — as well as strengthening those that already do. 

To read or download the IISD report, click here. To learn more about members of the global tea industry’s views on sustainability within the sector, read T&CTJ’s and Firsd Tea’s 2023 Tea Sustainability Survey. 

• Vanessa L Facenda, editor, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.
  Keep in touch via email: vanessa@bellpublishing.com Twitter: @TCTradeJournal or LinkedIn: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal

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1.       Consumer demand for natural and organic has accelerated

Consumers are drinking more natural and organic beverages, Finlays research shows, compared to two years ago. It seems that these mainstream trends continue to grow in appeal and have not reached saturation point, with one in ten 25–35-year-olds further increasing their already high consumption of natural and organic beverages.

“Consumers are seeking ‘clean label products’ such as those containing organic ingredients (18%), and free of artificial flavours or sweeteners (15%)”, Sian Edwards, group insights manager at Finlays, explains. “Beverage brand owners can tap into this trend by choosing ingredients that consumers perceive as naturally beneficial for their health, such as green tea, which contains naturally occurring antioxidants and catechins.”

2.     Boost for natural caffeine

This demand for natural beverages is driving major shifts in where consumers are looking for an energy boost. A third (33%) of Europeans are drinking more traditional sources of caffeine, such as tea and coffee, demonstrating the opportunity for these ingredients within the ‘clean energy’ movement. “It’s really interesting to see, from our research, that consumers are as likely to drink tea for an energy boost, as they are to drink energy drinks,” Edwards notes.

“Supply shortages of synthetic caffeine from China, the world’s largest exporter, has driven demand for natural sources of caffeine from tea and coffee,” explains Edwards. “The ‘health halo’ around coffee and the rising interest in its health properties are paving the way for beverage brands to innovate. For example, utilising cold brew coffee, a natural source of caffeine, and quality tea extracts, rich in naturally-derived antioxidants, to provide additional benefits.”

3.     ‘Hydration-Plus’ becomes major trend

Half of European consumers (48.4%) are drinking more water than they did pre-pandemic. But consumers are seeking more than just hydration, with one in five consumers (20.2%) looking for drinks with more than one benefit, increasing to nearly a quarter (24.1%) of consumers aged 35-55.

However, brand owners have to balance this with the need for good-tasting products – 16.8% of consumers are looking for healthy drinks without compromising on flavour. “Great taste is a major factor in encouraging that repeat-purchase”, Edwards explains.

4.     Functional beverages continue to gain momentum

Six in ten European consumers are more conscious of their physical health than pre-pandemic. “This is a major acceleration of the already well-established health and wellbeing trend,” Edwards explains, “and interestingly, this is even higher for older generations, demonstrating the broad appeal of products that tap into the health and wellbeing space.”

Consumers are looking for a wide range of functional benefits from their beverages, including energy-boosting (34%), relaxation (22%) and mood-boosting (22.6%). “This shows the huge scope for innovation in the beverage industry, relating to both physical and mental wellbeing,” Edwards adds. “Tea and coffee are well-established with consumers as natural ingredients that can be positioned as energising or relaxing.”

5.     Consumers willing to pay more for sustainability

Another major trend accelerated by the pandemic, over one in ten (13.3%) consumers have changed their drinking habits because they are more aware of the environmental impact of beverages, compared to before the pandemic. Consumers are looking for sustainably-sourced beverages with a minimal impact on the planet.

This trend is also a major value driver, as more than 75% of European consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable products.

Edwards concludes, “the staying-power of mega trends such as health and sustainability has been tested over the last few years, but consumers have only been more engaged in these trends since the pandemic. We’ve also seen some major shifts, as consumers look for a wider range of functional benefits delivered by natural ingredients such as tea and coffee. In an increasingly competitive marketplace, offering natural, sustainable products that tap into health trends, without compromising on taste, is essential to attract modern consumers who want it all.

To find out how Finlays can support the potential of natural beverages visit finlays.net.

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Grace Farms new collection includes: 

• Breathe: Turmeric Ginger + Cinnamon and Black Pepper — this caffeine-free blend features organic cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, black pepper, liquorice, and bay leaf. 
• Settle: Peppermint Cacao + Fennel and Ginger — this blend, which contains trace amounts of caffeine, includes organic peppermint, cacao shells, fennel, ginger, and cumin. 
• Rest: Chamomile Vanilla + Ashwagandha and Reishi — this caffeine-free blend features organic chamomile, lemon balm, lemongrass, rose petals, lavender, ashwagandha root, valerian root, reishi mushrooms, and dried cherries. 
• Revive: Yerba Mate + Green Tea and Guayusa — containing caffeine, this blend includes organic yerba mate, green tea, ashwagandha root, guayusa, spearmint, gotu kola, and  liquorice. 

Each package contains 16 sachets (2.5g) and is non-GMO, oraganic and biodegradable and has a MSRP of USD $14. Grace Farms new wellness teas are available nationwide at: sharegracefarms.com and on Amazon.com.

Based in New Canaan, Connecticut, Grace Farms gives back 100% of its profits to ending forced labour worldwide. The non-profit organisation is the first-of-its-kind, 80-acre cultural and humanitarian centre located in Connecticut and is open to visitors. For more information, visit: sharegracefarms.com. 

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Like Saint James Tea’s existing beverages, Blood Orange & Hibiscus Organic Black Tea is a healthy beverage option that boasts minimal environmental impact. Saint James Tea uses Tetra Paks created with low carbon materials and made of 70% paper from responsibly managed forests. The packaging also eliminates exposure to air and light, which gives the preservative-free tea a shelf life of up to 24 months, while keeping the product fresh for as long as possible.

The Blood Orange & Hibiscus Organic Black Tea joins Saint James Tea’s four existing green tea flavours, Original Green Tea, Passion Fruit & Peach, Blueberry & Raspberry, and Pineapple & Mango.

Saint James Tea is available for purchase online and at select retailers.

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Firsd Tea recently released a first-of-its-kind Sustainability Perspectives Report in 2022 to capture the tea and coffee industry’s views on how well the tea sector performs in areas of sustainable practices. In conjunction with Tea & Coffee Trade Journal and a third-party research firm, the study was developed with guidance from industry peers and an academic research and think-tank. Respondents of the survey included a diverse spectrum of wholesalers, importers, exporters, retailers, and others based in North America, Europe, and Asia. While many studies have examined consumers’ perceptions of sustainability, this study targeted professionals in tea, coffee, and related industries to understand their concerns and views on the tea industry’s sustainability performance.

The findings of the research can generally be grouped into perspectives about three areas: environment, people, and certifications. Part three of this series focuses on sustainability and certifications.

As a quick recap from the previous coverage, the survey of tea and coffee professionals revealed:

1. Industry professionals show strong concerns about the environmental impact on their businesses — 80 per cent are worried about climate change’s effects on their operations.
2. Respondents are generally split as to the tea industry’s performance in some human welfare areas, like gender equity and poverty reduction.

The survey also revealed some surprising attitudes about sustainability and certifications. Sustainability was not a high-priority consideration for industry respondents in terms of their decisions to carry specific teas in their product offerings. Respondents ranked flavour (96 per cent), leaf grade (90 per cent), origin/terroir (88 per cent) and price (83 per cent) above sustainability (79 per cent). In addition, a significant majority of Industry respondents (85 per cent) view organic certification as the most valued certification standard among consumers. Certifications more closely associated with sustainability fared lower in perceived value, with Fair Trade at 68 per cent, non-GMO at 58 per cent, and Rainforest Alliance/UTZ at 56 per cent. Taken together, these findings suggest that sustainability is seen as lower in importance among consumers, and that sustainability-focused certifications are even lower in priority.

Then there is the obvious disconnect between concerns about environment and human welfare and the prominence of organic certification. Do consumers mistakenly view organic certification as a sustainability credential? The organic programme was never designed to serve as a mark of sustainability; its standards and compliance measures do not include any forms of evaluation of environmental or human welfare impacts. From the producers’ perspective, compliance with organic certifications does overlap with certain compliance practices of other certifications, (e.g., non-GMO and regenerative agriculture), but these are also not certifications with a dominant emphasis on the people plus planet issues of sustainability.

Mixed results concerning certifications

On the surface, the findings suggest that industry respondents see consumers as more concerned about the impact of tea purchase decisions on their immediate and local well-being: be it price, absence of pollutants (e.g., organic), and overall food quality. However, Mintel Consulting’s recently published global 2022 Sustainability Barometer showed that consumers who are more invested in sustainable purchase decisions do rely on certifications as an important guide in making those choices.

Write-in feedback from respondents reflect split attitudes toward the role of certifications. Some respondents feel more certification, and more enforcement of certification practices is needed. Others feel that certification often places too much focus on administrative paper-pushing and not enough on-the-ground support. Some commenters believe certification alone is too costly for small farmers and not transparent enough in terms of actual practices recorded and activities in the value chain. The most often repeated comments regarding certification call for more action in terms of less economic burden for growers and legal/compulsory compliance across a unified, streamlined certification scheme for organisations.

Any discrepancies in sustainability across consumer perceptions, business practices, and certifications may soon face a re-alignment. Governments across the globe have passed or are drafting legal guidance that will require businesses to further comply with sustainability practices. For example, the European Union published its Draft Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive in February of 2022. If ratified in its current form, the directive would require companies to identify and seek to rectify negative impacts on the environment and human welfare that are found within the business’s value chain. In the United States, California passed the California Transparency In Supply Chains Act, with the explicit purpose of increasing awareness of human welfare issues within organisational supply chains. These are just a couple of examples of laws directed toward enforcement of corporate sustainability practices. As these laws develop, certification bodies will likely adjust their certification process to streamline the path to legal compliance or to exceed the legal standards so that their certification badge stands out as a mark of greater distinction.

When viewed as an integrated whole, the report findings indicate that sustainability certifications may be unbalanced in terms of their perceived value to tea consumers. This may be partially due to the certification’s role in environmental and human welfare aspects of sustainability, and as a factor of public sentiment towards sustainability initiatives. Additionally, industry members tend to see more of the transparency issues and economic costs associated with certification as obstacles to providing greater value in tea sustainability.

• Jason Walker is marketing director of Firsd Tea North America. Prior to his work with Firsd Tea, Walker served in a variety of roles in tea and beverage business capacities. His experience includes business services for small tea companies, a top-ranked online destination for tea consumer education and co-founding a coffee business. His insights draw upon his diverse range of experience in sales, operations and management in the tea world. He may be reached at: jason.walker@firsdtea.com.

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Carbon, and in turn, the carbon footprint, has been recognised as one of the leading causes of human-induced climate change. Over the past few decades, companies have shifted their infrastructures to reduce the negative impact, hoping to protect plants, waterways, and animals. However, when carbon is in the soil, it improves its ability to retain water and its overall fertility. So, the challenge is how do we get carbon out of the air and back into the earth? The solution is regenerative agriculture.

Bringing soil to the forefront

For decades, the climate change conversation centered around harm reduction with the goal of shifting agricultural practices to become carbon neutral. The challenge with this model is that it simply maintains the environment where it is today, which means that the current challenges plaguing the industry, including climate unpredictability, drought, and pest infestations, remain. Minimising harm is no longer enough to mitigate the risks of climate change; the environment needs to improve. Instead of adopting methods that will sustain, the focus needs to be repair and regeneration, beginning with adopting agricultural practices that will build healthy soil.

Regenerative farming begins with recognising soil’s role in the health of the planet and those living on it. “Conventional, which is the majority, this is where we have been, and sometimes it is where we are still stuck, but the method is destructive and unsustainable,” said Michael Ham, president, Well AP, Mt Kisco, New York. “Sustainable, which is achieving net zero, will maintain the status quo, but we need to reverse the damage that has been done and the only way to do that is through regenerative. This is where the focus needs to be in the next decade for us to really bring things back to where they should be. “Recognising the benefit, both for the earth and farm itself, Ham shared that their Korean tea farm Wild Orchard made the commitment to shift its practices from organic to regenerative. This past May, Wild Orchard obtained the Regenerative Organic Certification, becoming the first tea farm to receive this certification.

Curious deer traipsing through tea plants that are surrounded by other plants and wildflowers. Image: Wild Orchard

“Regenerative agriculture takes it one step further by focusing on the health of the soil,” said Ham. The model emphasises that soil requires living microbes to achieve its optimal health, which is obtained through various methods, including crop cover, minimising the amount of tillage, biodiversity, and intermittent grazing techniques, can grow nutrient-dense plants and reduce the amount of carbon in the environment.

In 2014, the Rodale Institute, Emmaus, Pennsylvania, released the white paper “Regenerative Organic Agriculture and Climate Change: A Down to Earth Solution to Global Warming,” urging the agricultural sector to consider the long-term impacts of its practices and to adopt regenerative methods. According to the Rodale Institute, most agricultural soil has lost between 30 to 75 per cent of its organic carbon. The loss has been linked to the atmosphere and conventional farming practices. Six years later, the Rodale Institute published “Regenerative Agriculture and the Soil Carbon Solution,” reiterating the harm in conventional practices, and urged the agricultural industry to adopt regenerative practices to build healthy soil, and in turn, reduce the levels of carbon in the atmosphere.

Dr Rattan Lal, director of carbon management and sequestration centre, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, and winner of the 2020 World Food Prize, has extensively studied soil health. He continues to emphasise the importance of protecting the soil, both for the health of the environment and to improve food security. He explained the interdependency between the health of soil and the health of the planet, stating that if the health of the soil goes down the health of everything else goes down with it.

Making the shift to regenerative practices

In November 2020, the World Coffee Research organisation invited both Dr Lal and Andrea Illy, chairman of illycaffè, Trieste, Italy, to discuss soil health, and more specifically regenerative agriculture and the need for the coffee industry to shift its farming practices to mitigate the risks of climate change. Over the last five years, several coffee and tea manufacturers have adapted their sustainability strategies to focus on regeneration and soil health. Starbucks launched a holistic sustainability project with a focus on regenerative agriculture in Nariño, Colombia, with 100 smallholder farmers. Nestlé committed to investing 1.3 billion dollars, over a five-year period, to aid farmers with the transition to regenerative practices.

illycaffè announced its goal of becoming a carbon-free company by 2033, including zero-emission coffee plantations in both Guatemala and Kokkere, Ethiopia, where the farmers are adopting the principles of regenerative agriculture. While Unilever released its five regenerative agriculture principles, which would serve as a model of standards that they would use to help educate suppliers and guide their farmers.

Tazo launched a regenerative organic tea line in August. Image: Tazo Tea

This past August, Tazo Tea (formerly owned by Unilever, now owned by ekaterra) launched a regenerative organic tea line made with ingredients grown with regenerative agriculture practices. The product launch included four Tazo original tea blends relaunched as regenerative organic blends. The commitment to becoming regenerative included not just the farms themselves but also a focus on developing resilient communities and replenishing the planet’s resources.

“Tazo has always been a brand that challenges the status quo, and this regenerative organic transition is no exception,” said Laraine Miller, president, ekaterra Americas, New York. “For too long, business as usual has been killing our planet. It is time for every company, including the entire tea industry, to overhaul their means of production to combat climate change and help people and planet thrive.”

The tea and coffee industries are taking action, adopting strategies that focus on regeneration, beginning with educating farmers on the importance of soil health and providing the resources that will support them with making this transition. However, the path to become regenerative, is still in its infancy. “Regenerative agriculture might be the new buzzword on the block, but the key aspect behind it to shift the focus of sustainable farming from ‘doing no harm’ towards delivering positive impact is urgent and garnering more corporate commitment,” said Piet van Asten, head sustainable production systems-coffee, Olam Food Ingredients (OFI), Singapore. “This momentum is proving powerful in driving efforts around decarbonisation and pesticide reduction.”

The message from both the tea and coffee communities is clear. Instead of sustaining, we need to reduce the amount of carbon in the environment, a term, called decarbonisation, and the adoption of regenerative practices provides a strategy to help achieve this goal.

For regenerative practices to be viable at the farm level, the strategies adopted need to be responsive to the particular needs of the farmer.

“From our experience, it’s important to present it to farmers as an extension of what they already do well, rather than as a requirement to change existing practices,” said Van Asten. “To encourage uptake, we need to go beyond the buzzwords by translating what ‘regenerative,’ ‘climate-smart’ or ‘agro-ecological’ practices mean on the ground in terms of better productivity and livelihoods.”

OFI strives to do this through education, including highlighting the benefits that some of these shifts, that may initially appear counterintuitive, like integrated weed management, can provide. For example, through education, the farmers begin to see soil erosion, recycle nutrients, and harbour natural predators to control insect pests. “Educating farmers and supporting them to meet demand by shifting to more eco-friendly production makes what might initially seem a daunting task, an economically viable route in the long-term,” said Van Asten.

From an economic standpoint, this model is being looked at for its potential in developing more resilient crops, and in turn, aiding with food security. However, converting to this model requires farmers to look at the entire process, from soil to the harvest, including both the short- and long-term outcome of each of the techniques that are used. Machine harvesting, for example, traditionally uses fossil fuel emitting these toxins into the environment, which in turn, enters the soil, and the plants. However, innovation in agrotech is looking at eco-friendly alternatives to respond to these challenges so that large scale farms have an option that will maintain their productivity without causing harm to the environment.

At Olam AtSource agronomist shows the benefits of a properly pruned coffee plant. Image: Vanessa L Facenda

Currently, the tea at the 1000-acre farm of Wild Orchard is hand-picked, however, the company is looking at investing in battery powered harvesting machines to pluck their second and third flushes of their crops. The hope is that by incorporating these types of tools into their operation will help accelerate the amount of regenerative tea that enters the supply chain.

The long-term benefits of regenerative agricultural practices continue to gain recognition throughout the tea and coffee industries. On a positive note, each shift that is made at the farm level, whether it is increasing biodiversity, integrated weed management, or maintaining cover crops, will help to feed the soil, and over time, reduce the amount of carbon that is emitted into the atmosphere. The launch of the regenerative organic alliance certification is a tool that will help increase consumer recognition of this agricultural model. However, now, it is up to the industry to share the positive actions that their companies are taking so that the products that are grown through the regenerative model receive both the recognition and the economic value that they deserve.

• Anne-Marie Hardie is a freelance writer, professor and speaker based in Barrie, Ontario. She may be reached at: annemariehardie1@gmail.com.

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The campaign will premiere on ITV and Channel 4 and run throughout the London region between 5 – 30 September via hyper-targeted TV and video on demand, airing to over 2.1 million viewers.

Created by Pablo, the 20 second advert tells the story of Clipper as a renowned sustainable tea pioneer, showcasing its blend of natural and fair teas, which have received over 68 Great Taste Awards in the last five years. The production blends illustration with kinetic text, calling on Britain’s tea drinkers to make tea the best way, with the finest organic and 100% natural ingredients, brewed in an unbleached, plastic-free tea bag. Watch the ad via YouTube here.

The launch will be supported by PR, social media, and paid media promotion across the four-week period.

Earlier this year, Clipper rolled out its ‘Make it Better’ marketing drive, challenging consumers not to settle when it comes to their favourite daily brew.

“At Clipper Teas, creating great tasting, responsibly made tea is at the heart of everything we do. Through our new TV advert, we’re bringing to life everything our brand stands for in a joyfully vibrant way,” Bryan Martins, Clipper Teas marketing & category director at parent company, Ecotone UK, said, adding, “the illustrated art direction puts our award-winning, quality blends and unrivalled flavour, centre stage. It’s the perfect crescendo to our Make it Better campaign this year.”

Clipper’s campaign media was planned and bought by Wavemaker Select, with social run by Finn, and PR & Influencer marketing handled by Highlight PR.

Clipper Teas is one of the fastest growing tea brands in the UK tea market, now growing at 20% in a previously declining category.

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Clipper Teas has launched its new Organic and Fairtrade Green Tea & Mint, in a large 80 bag pack, in time for Fairtrade Fortnight (21 February – 6 March).

It also comes following the launch of Clipper’s consumer campaign which encourages tea drinkers across the UK to ‘Make it Better’ and not settle – especially when it comes to tea.

For more information, visit clipper-teas.com.

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This new EU law, published in May 2018, states that flavourings for organic foods and beverages will need to now be at least Natural X Flavourings (95/5 formula structure), with those meeting the new standard permitted to be described as “suitable for organic”. At the same time, flavourings formulated from at least 95% of organic raw materials can be declared as “organic flavourings”. The new regulation may represent a substantial challenge for those food and beverage manufacturing companies that need to reformulate existing products, or those that would like to upgrade their current formulations.

“SimplyNature Organic was developed by leveraging Kerry’s ethical sourcing expertise through our global farmer network. Created using our superior extraction technology and world-class flavour design, this new range captures the excellent aroma and body of the authentic source, eg, citrus, tropicals, berries, coffee, cocoa, vanilla, etc., while also providing a better finish than traditional processing,” said Davide Foà, Kerry’s business development director, Taste, EU & Russia.

“Our latest portfolio of organic certified flavourings and extracts delivers benefits and impacts that are very close to conventional natural flavourings and extracts, with the important exception that they can be labelled as ‘Organic Certified’ — in full compliance with the incoming EU regulations. This enables organic product developers to use these flavourings and extracts without specific limitations, as part of the 95% of the organic product formulation delivering the organoleptic impact that consumers love, in a cost-effective manner.”

“Consumers view organic products as healthier and better for the environment,” explains Christina Matrozou, marketing manager, Taste, EU & Russia. “There are clear and increasing calls for clarification about what ingredients can go into these food and beverage products, and the EU has set upcoming standards designed to strengthen the ‘organic’ claim. Kerry’s SimplyNature Organic range will meet or exceed these ambitious new standards while providing outstanding flavour profiles that product developers and consumers are sure to embrace.”

This new portfolio of SimplyNature Organic certified flavourings, washes, distillates and extracts from Kerry initially covers the major iconic flavours and will evolve and expand over time in line with customer demand. Kerry prides itself on managing the quality — from farm to fork — of all its offerings, and this begins with ethical sourcing through the company’s secure and sustainable global procurement network. It continues in formulation, using Kerry’s long-established expertise in flavour development, and finishes as it works closely with customers in a range of applications, including non-alcoholic, alcoholic and nutritional beverages, dairy and dairy alternatives, ice cream, and any other end uses that require minimal thermic processing.

Two examples of Kerry’s sustainability efforts include the Tsara Kalitao and the Café Femenino sustainability programmes. Under the Tsara Kalitao programme, Kerry aims to support farmers and their families while improving the quality and traceability of the raw materials supplied to the company. Kerry strives to develop local communities in Madagascar in relation to three pillars: the farmer’s livelihood, the empowerment of women, and support for education. Under the Café Femenino programme, Kerry is its exclusive extraction partner in guaranteeing a fair-trade organic coffee extract supply while working to improve the lives of female coffee producers around the world.

The new SimplyNature Organic range complements the rest of the Kerry flavourings regarded as “suitable for organic” — such as SimplyNature Natural X Flavourings, SimplyNature Extracts, and TasteSenseNatural Flavourings with Modifying Properties Suitable for Organic — to deliver an extensive range of options to food and beverage product developers.

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According to the AMS, the USDA arm that oversees the National Organic Program (NOP), this proposed rule would amend several sections of the USDA organic regulations (7 CFR part 205) to strengthen oversight of the production, handling, certification, marketing, and sale of organic agricultural products as established by the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (OFPA).” If implemented, the AMS says this proposed rule “will improve organic integrity across the organic supply chain, and benefit stakeholders throughout the organic industry.” Furthermore, the proposed amendments will reportedly “close gaps in the current regulations to build consistent certification practices to deter and detect organic fraud, and improve transparency and product traceability…and will assure consumers that organic products meet a robust, consistent standard and reinforce the value of the organic label.”

The proposal comes as organic agricultural products sales continue to surge in the United States. Total sales of organic agricultural products in the US grew from $3.4 billion in 1997 to $55.1 billion in 2019. According to the AMS, the need for more consistent oversight to protect organic integrity is a product of the rapidly expanding organic market, increasingly complex organic supply chains, and price premiums for organic products. “This substantial market growth has allowed many additional types of business to participate in the organic supply chain, and organic agricultural products are now traded on a global scale,” writes the AMS in the proposal, noting that “today’s global organic marketplace is marked by a multifaceted supply chain with organic products increasingly sold and handled by entities not regulated by the USDA. The absence of direct enforcement authority over some entities in the organic supply chain, in combination with price premiums for organic products, presents the opportunity and incentive for organic fraud, which has been discovered in the organic sector by both the National Organic Program and organic stakeholders.” The amendments in the proposed rule are designed to mitigate the occurrence of organic fraud.

The AMS says the proposal is in response to stakeholders’ experiences in the organic system, as they have repeatedly called for the NOP to take steps to improve oversight of organic systems and enforcement of the USDA organic regulations. Commonly cited areas for improvement include certification of excluded handlers, organic import oversight, fraud prevention, organic trade arrangements, and organic inspector qualifications.

For more information on the proposal, click here or here. Additional information may be found here and here.

If approved, the changes would be the first significant revisions to USDA organic certification regulations since they were first adopted in 2000. [However, a new ruling that took effect in January 2019 requires all flavours to be certified-organic when commercially available. Organic-compliant flavours are no longer permitted under the 95 percent rule.]

An invitation to submit comments on the proposed rule changes began on 5 August 2020 and runs for 60 days (ending 5 October 2020). Those interested in submitting comments can do so by visiting: www.regulations.gov (document number, AMS-NOP-17-0065). T&CTJ will further inform readers as news becomes available.

• Vanessa L Facenda, editor, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.
  Keep in touch via email: vanessa@bellpublishing.com
  Twitter: @TCTradeJournal or LinkedIn: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.

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Cafés Novell, a family business based in Vilafranca del Penedés (Barcelona), has expanded its line of organic “NO WASTE” products with a new range of beans and ground coffees in 100% compostable packaging. In this way, the company continues to advance its commitment to sustainability and expands its offer of responsible products, following the launch in October 2019 of the first capsules of  “NO WASTE” coffee.

“Since we started our project more than 2 years ago with the first compostable capsule on the market in Spain, at Cafés Novell we have been advancing to achieve a round product: 100% compostable, 100% organic and certified, and with all this maintaining the best conditions and qualities of coffee. The new beans and ground coffees are the final step for the disposal of waste related to coffee consumption”, said Josep Novell, director of Cafés Novell SA.

Through the composting process, the film that packages Cafés Novell’s coffee disappears from the environment in 12-20 weeks, depending on the efficiency of the composting plants. Thus, these containers return to land as fertiliser in a short period of time, leaving zero environmental impact and constituting a future alternative to the waste generated by the capsules or packs of aluminium and plastic coffee.

The one-way valve on the front of the package is also made of compostable materials. This valve is a key element to preserve coffee optimally without having to resort to vacuum containers, as it allows the release of the CO2 that releases the roasted coffee, while preventing the ingress of oxygen or moisture that can damage the coffee. The new compostable range in beans and ground are also “NO WASTE” because of the effect they have for cultivation at source and for the consumer. Cafés Novell is the only brand on the market in Spain that offers a whole range of 100% organic, certified and sustainable coffees. The coffee has also been grown under the system of organic farming without herbicides or chemical pesticides.

“Cafés Novell has more than 60 years of experience in the Horeca canal and for more than 2 years we have worked to bring coffee from coffee shops to home. Hence, our commitment to work to ensure a coffee of the highest quality and controlling the whole process, from the plantation, to the roasting and the materials used for its packaging, is totally sustainable”, said Ramon Novell, director of Cafés Novell SA.

The new range of “NO WASTE” coffees is currently available in the UK in 3 different blends in both beans and ground variety, Ristretto, Intenso and Decaffeinato following the same great taste available in the “NO WASTE” capsules.

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A reported 80% of decaffeinated coffees on the market go through a decaffeination process that uses the same chemicals found in paint stripper. In contrast, Blue Goose’s Swiss Water decaffeination process uses a combination of spring water, temperature and time to create coffee without the caffeine kick or chemical trail.

Blue Goose’s co-founder, Lex Thornely, said: “We wanted to prove just how good capsule coffee, and in particular Decaf capsule coffee, should taste without compromising on our ethical approach to business. So we naturally selected speciality grade and Organic Swiss Water decaf coffee to go into our eco pods, for which we pay our growers a premium beyond the Fairtrade Minimum Price.”

As well as being vegan approved, the Blue Goose capsules are also compostable. Nespresso have publicly stated that only 28% of their capsules are recycled in the UK, while the rest go to landfill or incinerators. Blue Goose’s Nespresso pods will turn into compost or liquid fertiliser within 12 weeks if placed in council food waste, depending on local waste processing facilities.

“Single use coffee machines are all about convenience, but every capsule coffee brewed at home creates a damaging environmental legacy that, as yet, has largely gone under the radar of consumers and governments alike.” said Thornely.

“This was the inspiration for Nick and I to create a coffee capsule experience without the conscience, where our certified plastic-free and GM-free wood bark capsules are produced using renewable energy and waste wood bark from the European paper industry.

“In contrast to aluminium and plastic capsules, within 12 weeks they will also be processed into compost or liquid fertilizer when placed into food waste collection bins, depending on local council processing facilities. Our whole range is also packaged in sustainably sourced, recyclable FSC cardboard, printed using vegetable inks and secured using plastic-free glue.

“So not only does our Swiss Water Decaf coffee minimise the production and use of man-made industrial chemicals, but our whole eco capsule range represents a delicious, sustainable and ethical coffee experience that is good for our customers and our planet. It’s the ultimate coffee convenience without the conscience for anyone looking for a caffeine-free start to 2020.”

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“We’re excited to partner with Yaupon Brothers and bring new organic teas to each location,” said Iain Yeakle, Foxtail’s co-founder. “Partnering with another Florida company gives us the opportunity to serve exceptional products while supporting our local economy.”

Yaupon Holly is North America’s only caffeinated plant species. It is native to Florida and has been consumed as a tea-like beverage for thousands of years. Yaupon Brothers maintains a certified organic 13-acre forest farm in New Smyrna Beach.

Foxtail has always offered high-quality teas at its locations, but the partnership with Yaupon Brothers expands on the company’s dedication to growing with other local businesses.

In addition to teas, Foxtail roasts and serves responsibly sourced coffee from around the world and hand-crafted beverages.

For more information about Foxtail Coffee, visit www.foxtailcoffee.com. For more information about Yaupon Brothers, visit www.yauponbrothers.com.

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New products include four Chinese tea blends, Children’s Tea, Tulsi Turmeric Ginger, Citrus Cool Mint, two Earl Grey blends and three Cacao varieties.

The new range

The four new Chinese Teas capture the purity and earthiness of traditional Chinese tea gardens. Chun Mee Green, from the Jiangxi Province, is known for its eyebrow-like shape and acidic flavor. Imperial Yellow, from the Yunnan Province, balances the flavors of green and black tea resulting in a fresh, mellow, earthy flavor profile. Moonlight White, also from the Yunnan Province, is a white tea characterized by its curved, moon-like buds and carries a creamy, sweet flavor profile. Jade Oolong, from AnXi County in China’s southern Fujian province, is known for its delicate flavor with a floral finish.

Children’s Tea is an herbal, caffeine-free blend of rosy color and fruity essence. The tea is enhanced with organic dried honey crystals.

Citrus Cool Mint, employs floral and mint accents for a refreshing spring beverage. Tulsi Turmeric Ginger, is a natural mood-booster that helps reduce stress and anxiety, while the antioxidant-rich and natural anti-inflammatory turmeric spice helps support wellness.

“We’re in the season of rebirth, renewal and growth, and we want to provide a natural, refreshing way to bring balance into the everyday lifestyle,” said Davidson’s owner Kunall Patel.

This summer, Davidson’s also introduces Earl Grey Cream and Earl Grey Rose blends, lending a twist on a classic English beverage. Earl Grey Cream adds a hint of vanilla to the black and citrus-infused tea, resulting in a sweet and calming flavor; while Earl Grey Rose provides a fragrant and sophisticated flavor.

Davidson’s new Cacao Teas (released in October 2019) include rose, peppermint and vanilla varieties. Derived from the cacao bean, the new blends provide beneficial antioxidants without unhealthy additives.

Davidson’s Organics is a vertically integrated organic tea company that blends, packages and distributes all products internationally from its facility in Sparks, Nevada.

#LeaftoCup

Davidson’s is also looking to bring consumers on a #LeafToCup journey from family-owned tea farms in India, to its vertically integrated production headquarters in northern Nevada.

“We wanted to showcase how special the #LeafToCup process is, and bring our customers on a global tea journey,” said Patel. “It’s important to connect ancient tradition to western trends, highlighting the history, culture and passion behind every cup.”

Customers can view short, educational videos and photos of the #LeafToCup process by following @davidsonsteas on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Patel interviews international tea farmers from the world’s most prominent tea-growing regions, discusses the importance of organic and fair-trade practices and how the blending and production process works.

About Davidson’s Organics

Davidson’s organic teas are USDA Organic Certified, as well as Fair Trade Certified, and are therefore free of pesticides, dairy, GMOs and other non-permitted ingredients. Davidson’s has been committed to providing the freshest, purest teas for over forty years. Direct from family-owned tea gardens in India to their facility in Nevada, Davidson’s offers a wide variety of blends and traditional teas in tea bags, loose leaf and iced tea formats. Davidson’s is proud to share the benefit of drinking pure, organic teas from their own family tea gardens exclusively with the United States. Visit davidsonstea.com for more information about specialty teas, gifts and accessories.

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Laird Superfood Kombuchas are a blend of all-natural, organic ingredients including green and black teas, coconut vinegar, fruit, and spices. The kombucha is non-GMO and contains no artificial flavors or colors and is available in three flavors:

• Pineapple-Ginger with Turmeric & Black Pepper
• Berry-Ginger with Lemon & Honey
• Lemon-Honey

“As a company, we’re always looking for ways to combine superb taste with natural, real-food ingredients in our products,” said Paul Hodge, CEO and co-founder of Laird Superfood. “As a brand, we are excited to continue expanding our beverage line into the commercial space while also venturing into the booming kombucha market for the first time.”

Eric Hermeling, founder and owner of Belmont Coffee Services says of the new expansion: “We’ve been incredibly impressed with the Laird Superfood platform. Their new organic kombucha line delivers a natural fruit taste profile combined with an elegant effervescence that is absolutely delicious. We are confident Belmont’s corporate customers will embrace the Laird Superfood products as we have.”

About Laird Superfood

Laird Superfood, creates all-natural superfood products that are both delicious and functional. The company’s products are designed to naturally keep you fueled throughout your day.

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