In preparation for the World Tea Conference + Expo 2021, I tried to imagine blending specialty tea in the adult-beverage market. That old phrase, “…not your grandmother’s cup of tea,” came to mind.
It’s one thing to dabble with creating cocktails that include tea. Our ancestors started doing that several hundred years ago. And tea lovers delight that tea is now on the menu as an ingredient in elegant cocktails. But, as a niche market, co-locating with the bar and restaurant industry (the event was combined with Bar & Restaurant Expo – formerly the Nightclub & Bar Show) was going to take us to a new level in this direction.
In my article in the recent World Tea white paper, I said, “One of the biggest mistakes I believe we can make is to hold back and arrive unprepared at this year’s co-located World Tea Conference + Expo and Nightclub & Bar Show.”
Now, after this first experience, it will be easier for all of us to think creatively. I returned with a few suggestions to help us prepare for the World Tea Conference + Expo 2022 in March.
Start Planning Now!
Next year’s World Tea vendors and speakers should start working on their plans and scripts now, especially those who participated this year and who have a good understanding about the potential for unique collaborations and new customers across an exciting vertical market.
We’re on a nine-month countdown right now to the 2022 World Tea Conference + Expo! It always goes by faster than you think. If you are considering participating – either because of the 20-year anniversary celebration next year or because of the new market opportunities with the bar and restaurant industry, you will be much more successful if you begin to prepare immediately.
Conference Presenters Need to Anticipate Non-tea Attendee Questions
We’re meeting new people who know very little (or nothing at all) about tea – and they’re very curious and interested in learning more. In one of the sessions that I attended at the recent World Tea Conference + Expo, a non-tea person spoke up and asked the speaker to explain why specialty teas were better than his grocery store value brand. Since that experience, I’ve been considering how I would have responded. I would like to say that everyone can find the right fit in tea and then turn to examples of how a little knowledge of tea can help make better decisions at all price points.
There are some assumptions we may have been making that a tea conference and expo audience arrives with basic knowledge of tea. This will no longer be true, as World Tea mingles with a key buying audience of restaurant, bar and foodservice operators.
So how do we make our tea education even more engaging, and be open and welcoming to this important new audience
Vendors need to prepare pitches for what we have to offer this new audience.
Like the bar/restaurant attendee who asked about specialty tea in one of the conference classes, there will be guests on the show floor who don’t even know how to frame good questions about tea – but they’re eager to learn and understand how they can incorporate tea on the menu. We should all do better by doing some advance research and anticipating their needs and questions when we connect with them again in 2022.
Add tea vendors – consider adding more splash and gamesmanship to attract new customers from the bar/restaurant and foodservice industry.
We may not need to go full neon, but tea vendors at the World Tea Conference + Expo should be more fun and entertaining if you want to engage with this buying audience. Think beyond just shopping and education.
Tea vendors should also visit the other partners and exhibitors at the 2022 Bar & Restaurant Expo. Make your presence known! Let’s be good to our neighbors in this vertical market where tea can shine.
Tea Is in an Important Beverage in the Bar & Restaurant Space
We in the tea industry can be inspired by the Bar & Restaurant Expo and beverage marketing on this grand scale. Many associated product lines serve the needs of both industries, and they may not even know it yet. There were several products that serve both beverage industries – tea and bar/restaurant.
One example was a company that has developed a more upscale food delivery service. I stopped and asked if they had ever contacted tea rooms. No! They had never considered delivering afternoon tea or even a full-on tea party. But she instantly saw the fit. This isn’t a recommendation. Just an example of how unexpected opportunities begin with a simple question or conversation at the co-location of two conventions. It is, perhaps, in serendipitous moments like this, that the value of in-person trade shows is most obvious.
I hope to see you next year at the World Tea Conference + Expo, co-located with the Bar & Restaurant Expo (formerly the Nightclub & Bar Show). The events take place March 21-23, 2022, in Las Vegas at the Las Vegas Convention Center. See WorldTeaExpo.com.
Babette Donaldson – a tea author, educator and organizer – is the owner and publisher of T Ching and the founder of the International Tea Sippers Society. Visit TChing.com and TeaSippersSociety.com.