Preview – World Tea Virtual Summit: Strategies for Success, March 15-16, 2021


Last October’s World Tea Virtual Summit gathered more than 2,000 registered participants (with many more viewing the program on-demand). Now, the next iteration of the summit is set to take place March 15-16, 2021, focused on the theme of “Strategies for Success.”

The digital event will address key issues to support tea businesses, and registration is now open. To sign-up to attend the free event, or to view the conference program, visit WorldTeaExpo.com/VirtualSummit.

Some of the topics include: turning your passion for tea into a tea business, social media strategies, working with the media, staff training and development, and more. The event will also premiere the Tea Tycoons program.

Tea Tycoons
The new Tea Tycoons program is geared toward celebrating and honoring emerging small businesses that are producing innovative products for the global tea industry. Attendees will hear from each of the participating companies, and judges will evaluate each of the businesses.

Three winners will be declared in the following categories: Innovation (for a dynamic new idea, method or device that demonstrates clear value for tea industry); Green/Sustainability (a business that focuses on meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs); Unique Customer Engagement (a company that creates a fresh approach to client/customer relationships, to foster brand loyalty and awareness).

Tea Tycoon judges include:

- Angelica Palladino, General Manager, Four Seasons Hotel, Seattle, Wash.

- Babette Donaldson, Founder, International Tea Sippers Society and Owner/Publisher of T Ching

- Eve Hill Angus, Restaurant Critic and Writer

- James Tidwell, Founder, TEXSOM

Summit Highlights
In addition to being an opportunity to connect with the tea industry and make new contacts, the World Tea Virtual Summit will deliver valuable insights to develop or grow your tea business.

Topics include:

State of the Industry – The opening session will be presented by Shabnam Weber, president of The Tea and Herbal Association of Canada. She’ll offer an update on the tea industry in North America, review trends, and evaluate how the past 10 months have impacted us all.

“Social Media Geared for the Tea Industry – Good Taste, Good Tea and Good Social Media” – Alfonso Wright and Jamila McGill of Brooklyn Tea will discuss optimizing digital ads, social media content and strategy, and utilizing data analysis to target your audience.

Jamila McGill and Alfonso Wright of Brooklyn Tea are among the presenters at the March 2021 World Tea Virtual Summit. (Photo: Courtesy of Brooklyn Tea)

“How to Turn Your Tea Passion into a Business…” – In this presentation, Emilie Jackson of Emilie's French Teas and Centered Spirit: A Cultural and Holistic Center will talk about how she came into tea and how she turned her passion for health and wellness, culture and tea traditions into a successful business. Jackson has a passion for cultures and traditions from around the world, especially tea rituals.

“Tea Publicity in 2021: 6 Journalists & Bloggers, 5 Key Questions, Tons of Insight!” – In this special session, numerous editors, publishers and writers will share insights about each of their media outlets, and they’ll offer tips on the best way to approach their outlet to generate possible coverage for your business.

Participants include:

- Lorna Reeves, editor of TeaTime Magazine

- Vanessa Facenda, editor of Tea & Coffee Trade Journal

- Babette Donaldson, owner and publisher of T Ching

- Gail Gastelu, owner and publisher of The Tea House Times

- Nicole Wilson, writer and blogger, Tea for Me, Please

- Martin Boháčik, founder and editor in chief, Eighty Degrees Magazine.

The media session is curated and presented by Aaron Kiel, editor of World Tea News and principal of ak PR Group.

“Let’s Rethink How We Train New Employees” – Babette Donaldson, founder of the Tea Sippers Society and owner/publisher of T Ching, believes the most consistent and pervasive need that retailers have brought to the World Tea community for the last 15+ years is affordable training for new employees. This session will look at how all staff – including part-time staff – need to be able to speak competently and confidently with customers about the brand and products. They need to know more than the difference between green and black tea; they need to know how to make a sale. The session will consider how this can be done without costing thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours.

“Herbs in the Time of Covid” – For thousands of years, herbal medicines have been used to ward off illness. Not surprising then, that modern research on herbs has found immune support to be one of the strongest areas of botanical activity. In this session, attendees will discover the best immune stimulants, antivirals and some top symptom-relief herbs. Rob McCaleb, founder and president of the Herb Research Foundation, will present. McCaleb is a researcher, writer, educator and a leading proponent of natural health care with botanical and nutritional products. He was previously the research director at Celestial Seasonings for 13 years, building their analytical lab and quality programs, including the first ever professional flavor profiling and control program for herbal products. He helped develop many of their herbal tea products, built their botanical research library, and conducted global quality troubleshooting of the herbal supply chain.

For complimentary registration to the World Tea Virtual Summit, or to learn more, visit WorldTeaExpo.com/VirtualSummit.

The event is sponsored by KureTea.

To inquire about the World Tea Virtual Summit or to become a 2021 sponsor, contact the World Tea team at [email protected].

And be sure to follow the March 2021 event on Twitter (@worldteamedia) and Facebook and Instagram (@worldteaexpo), or via #WorldTea2021.