Are street festivals a good place for tea? more >

A sampling strategy is crucial to growing exposure to your tea shop. Learn about innovative ways to get your tea shop noticed. more >

Marketing your tea shop beyond foot traffic. In this article we will highlight how to win new customers by weaving your shop into the many facets of the surrounding community. more >

As we approach the one-year anniversary of Adagio’s first tea retail store and break ground on our third location, we’re going through an internal discussion of how to apply our branding strategy to the physical retail stores. As the internal discussion has swirled around details such as proper attire for staff, and how many video screens you can incorporate before the store feels too high-tech for tea, I keep taking big steps back to gain perspective. I ended up back at the beginning. Why do people drink tea? more >

Quackery is nothing new, and the media is full of outlandish claims surrounding tea. At Adagio we've laid out a defined, concise and effective strategy for capitalizing on the craze, educating the customer, and building long term credibility and customer loyalty. more >

The proper role of health claims in the sale and marketing of tea has been one of the core debates of the last decade. In the last couple years the FDA has cracked down hard, banning nearly all claims of any type whether in retail packaging or even on company websites. Most recently the FDA sent a warning letter to Rishi Teas about claims made on their website that were, until recent years, considered perfectly safe and appropriate. more >

Mid-January: the holiday buying season is a distant memory and the heart of winter in the the Midwest is upon us. The challenge now is to capture the attention of those hearty souls that brave the cold and are hurrying by our front door, bundled head to toe against the freezing winds and snow. This is tea drinking season, but it is NOT the season in which new consumers stroll down the avenue looking for new retailers to visit. more >

Consumer uncertainty is the enemy that is slowing the growth of the Specialty Tea Industry. Consumers are hesitant to pay a premium for a luxury or gourmet product when they are uncertain of its value. As a result, the vast majority of tea drinkers in the US retreat into the predictable mediocrity of mass-market tea bags on grocery store shelves. There has to be a better way. more >

Why is it that the keys to building customer loyalty are so obvious and yet so few companies do it well? I've read a thousand articles and books on the importance of branding, value, quality, personal service, etc. Any consumer can tell you what they want from a retailer, and most of them will also tell you that the majority of companies do a pretty poor job converting customers into passionate fans. I'm not going to repeat all of the obvious keys to running a good business, but I do want to share what I believe is the Fountain of Customer Loyalty in the tea business: identity. more >

Giving customers the opportunity to create their own custom blends goes a long way towards accomplishing each of Adagio’s primary retail strategies; making tea accessible to the average consumer, and creating a sensory-rich and entertaining shopping experience. The challenge is to design a smooth process that minimizes waste and labor and maximizes the customer’s experience and satisfaction with the end product. more >

The health benefits of tea have been a primary focus of industry marketing for roughly a decade now. Even with all the hype, there are surprisingly few tea consumers with much of an understanding for the health benefits of tea or how best to get them. Here are a few basic terms and answers to the most common questions that tea consumers ask: more >

In recent years we've seen an explosion of claims and certifications in the tea industry. At the end of the day, the consumer will (and should) drive the evolution of any controls that protect the quality, environmental sustainability and economic sustainability of the foods they consume. That said, it is important for those of us in the tea industry, and those of us who care about the tea industry, to understand and communicate the pros and cons of any particular certification or quality control approach. more >

In recent years we've seen an explosion of claims and certifications in the tea industry. It is important for those in the industry, and those who care about the industry, to understand and communicate the pros and cons of any particular certification or quality control approach. A few days ago I shared my thoughts on the pros and cons of marketing Organic teas. Today I'm turning my attention to Fair Trade. more >

An internal debate has been underway for the past month or so on the proper role of Tea-to-Go in the Adagio retail concept. Should we treat it as a profit center, a small side-business, or a marketing strategy to drive loose tea sales? more >