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© by Sally Jones; all rights reserved

The World Tea Expo, held the end of March, in Las Vegas was great. I leaned so much at the educational seminars and saw everything that was new and innovative in the tea industry at the exhibits. I enjoyed watching the Japanese Tea Ceremony and the Chinese Tea Ceremony. There were over 4100 people in attendance and over 200 vendors of tea and tea related merchandise.

Over the next few months, I will be sharing what I learned at the seminars. I will also be adding a list of all the vendors who where at the Expo. This is going to take some time, so please check back frequently to see the list as I update it.

The major theme I heard throughout the time I spent at the World Tea Expo was the phenomenal growth the specialty tea industry has been and is going to go through. The specialty tea industry is poised to be one of the fastest growing industries and, therefore, wide open to entrepeuners to open a wide variety of tea businesses.

Tea rooms, tea bars, internet businesses, importers, tea and health related businesses, and niche businesses--such as making tea cozies, tea related stationery, clothing with tea logos, tea related art work to name a few.

There is a significant trend with the baby boomer population that is focused on wellness. They want to prevent illness and are spending their money on any products that can provide that wellness. Specialty tea is liquid gold when it comes to health and wellness. There are so many studies that have linked the healthy properties of tea and wellness.

Specialty tea businesses can provide the products that baby boomers are looking for. Baby boomers constitute millions of consumers. You can provide the tea and tea products these consumers are looking for.

Some statistics:

Green tea sales grew by 13% between 2004 to 2005.
Soda sales were dead flat during this time.
Natural products grew 18% (specialty tea is included).
Regular products grew 2.3%.
Organic foods and beverages increased 17% in 2005 over 2004.
Organic foods and beverages sales in 2005 were $12.8 billion in the U.S.
$75 billion was spent on ethnic foods in the U.S. in 2005.
Demographic changes are predicting by 2050, 50% of the population will be Spanish.
76 million baby boomers are entering middle age and looking to be healthier.
$6.5 billion was spent on tea and tea products in 2005.

Opportunities abound in the specialty tea industry. New tea products that have the ingredient tea are popping up all over. Books, tapes, and other educational tools are needed to meet the information gap that is building as people seek to find healthier life styles. Internet businesses are growing as more and more people are purchasing products on the internet. Ready to drink teas are becoming the hot new products.

You can probably think of other niche businesses that will fit into the tea industry. If you are going to start a tea business, now is the perfect time to do so.

Next year's World Tea Expo will be held June 9-11, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia. Hope to see you there.

On the signup sheet for your mailing list ask customers their birthday month to send out birthday postcards. You can offer 1 oz. of their favorite tea or other incentive if they come in with their birthday postcard.

April 7-8, 2006:
Specialty Tea Institute 9th Annual Tea Symposium, Charlotte, NC

April 27-30, 2006:
Tea & Coffee International Exhibition, Moscow, Russia info@infosite.ru

May 4-5, 2006
Fresh Cup Roadshow, Adam Mark, St. Louis, Missouri

May 7-9, 2006
8th Spring Fancy Food Show, McCormick Place, Chicago, Illinois

July 8-9, 2006:
Specialty Tea Instutite Tea Certification Program, New York City, NY

July 9-11, 2006
52nd Summer Fancy Food Show, Jacob K. Javits Center, New York

September 26-28, 2006:
Tea & Coffee World Cup, Shanghai, China

June 9-11, 2007
World Tea Expo, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Georgia

We would like to hear from you. If you have any tips that you found helped you build a successful tea business, please submit a tip and we will publish it in a future Tea Business Success News. We will also give you a permanent link to your site.

I have had several questions about tea party catering. One of the main ones being how to bake and prepare food for the tea party. You probably cannot use your own kitchen as you Health Department has not inspected it and has regulations about preparing food in private kitchens. It is not practical to bake scones and other goodies at your clients home due to time restraints.

Check with local restaurants to see if you can rent their kitchens on their off days or off times. You can bake and freeze your goodies and then warm them at your client's home. Check with small restaurants or bakeries or see if there is a "My Personal Chef" in your area that you could rent their kitchen.

Contact Sally