We’re all on a learning curve as we emerge from the cocoon that enveloped us all during the multi-year pandemic. We embraced Internet shopping (and selling!) and curbside pickups and delivery options, not to mention beefing up communications via websites and old technology like phone calls and postcards sent snail mail. Some worked, others not so much, so what should we keep or discard going forward into a new year?

Here’s our list of Fabulous Ways to Sell Tea in 2023. It’s a combination of ideas to refresh the classics and adopt the new. You’re sure to find at least one great idea to pursue.

YOUNG IS THE NEW DEMOGRAPHIC:

Loads of folks still think it’s just gray-haired ladies, and Anglophiles at that, who drink tea in the U.S., but that has totally changed. Four stats stand out:

•Nearly 80% of U.S. households have tea in their kitchens.

•More than half (52%) of Americans drink tea daily.

•85% of U.S. tea drinkers prefer it iced.

•More than 35% of tea drinkers love flavored selections.

True, women remain the primary buyers, but they are buying for their kids’ tea-drinking pleasure as well as their own. The audience for tea-drinking is getting hipper, younger, and more international, according to the U.S. Tea Association. With the steady, and growing, popularity of boba teas, fruit-flavored teas, RTD, and easy Internet access to buying any tea one could desire, drinking tea is gaining popularity every year.

The most surprising stat? Young men between the ages of 14 to 28 love tea and Gen Z, those ages 10 to 25, drink the most amount of tea (37% say that tea is a regular part of their daily lives,) compared to Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers. Part of their fascination, besides the flavor of tea, is the ceremony of preparation, the tools of scales, timers, and brewing vessels for loose-leaf teas and, as always, the convenience of well-designed teabags.

It's a win-win market to pursue. We suggest you reach out to high schools, community colleges, and universities to sponsor events, advertise in their media, and embrace “influencers” to reach this vibrant market. Seek out other retailers catering to this demographic for cross-marketing opportunities like clothing stores, hair salons, makeup or nail care places. Ask a teen or 20-something where they like to hang out.

USE WHAT AND WHO YOU HAVE:

Tap the talent of your staff. Who speaks other languages? Ask their input in promoting to ethnic communities in your town. Who has graphic design or website design experience? Ask their advice, employ them to help you upgrade as necessary.

Digital is here to stay, so it pays to keep up technology to help spread the word about your shop. Embrace the QR code: make it your way to offer discounts on new teas or accessories. Post on your website. Update content regularly!

Work that web site. Make a date on the calendar to update promotions every two weeks. Add new products and teas and event information.

Upgrade your email marketing. It’s still retail’s best return on investment. Sure, it’s a learning curve with new platforms, but once you (or a staff member) learn it, store promotions will be easier and that ease will enable you to promote more often, and generate more income.

REFRESH THE CLASSIC TOOLS:

Shopping Bags promote your shop AFTER a sale and to more than just the original customer, so jazz up your shop’s bags with your logo and website address and/or phone number as a call to action. Budget tight? Buy kraft paper bags, use stencils or decals to decorate them.

Promo flyers should accompany each sale. Create a flyer in-house on the computer and print them. Switch ‘em up bi-weekly or, at the very least, monthly.

Tea tastings SELL TEA like no other effort you can make. Set regular times to host them. Inform your customers via signage at the cash register and in your shop windows; flyers and postcards, website, and train staff to mention them or hand out a flyer whenever they speak to a customer.

Cross-market with new folks in the neighborhood. Help newbies connect with your store, and your customers. Think: flower shops, bookstores, furniture stores. Wherever and how tea could be served, that’s a way to cross market with your teas, foods, and teaware.

Host Events in store or off campus. Use the space and time to educate, create, show customers the fun and fascinating side of tea. Bring in local chefs, cookbook authors, tea experts to share deeper knowledge.

Advertising, used judicially, still works. Try sponsoring local events, locally-hosted food podcasts or food shows on radio; run ads in local newspapers or on neighborhood watch websites and local school or community college newspapers digitally or in print.

Host a how-to-taste-tea on television. Check out local public television or pitch local morning A.M. shows to be a guest.

Create your own podcast or radio show to share your love of tea, interview tea folk, promote your shop.