Sales & Marketing Sessions

Competing with the "Big Guys"

Friday, June 1, 9:45 - 10:45 a.m.

In the ever changing industry we are a part of, how does a small business owner with a passion for a product compete with the big guys who are on a race to open as many stores as possible? You may not have the capital to compete with the sheer volume of stores they are opening...but you have something they don't. Learn what that is. 
Speaker: Shabnam Weber, Owner, The Tea Emporium Inc. 

Finding Gold in Green Markets

Friday, June 1, 9:45 - 10:45 a.m.

There is great opportunity in the small and intimate. A variety of smaller venues abound in today’s market providing an opportunity to expand brand and reach more customers. Green markets aka. farmer’s markets, community events, ethnic festivals and the like are going on everyday and require a minimum of investment and risk.
Speaker: Dan Robertson, Owner, The Tea House / World Tea Tours

Branding, Messaging and Marketing a Tea Business

Friday, June 1, 9:45 - 10:45 a.m.

This session will show attendees how to use consistent messaging to build a strong tea business brand, to effectively market their brand, and to grow their brand in a manner aligned with the company’s mission. 
Speaker: Peter Martino, CEO, Capital Teas, LLC 

Magic Merchandising

Friday, June 1, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Discover the best way to merchandise tea and tea related products and learn how to introduce new products that compliment the environment. Effectively use space and create more sales. Learn how to merchandise in category areas using color schemes and like items. Introduce cost effective window marketing for a polished and professional look. 
Speaker: Holly Hunt, Owner, Fleur de Teas

Steampunk and Alt Culture in Your Tea House

Friday, June 1, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Alt-culture can be a vehicle for bringing profit to your brand/tea house while attracting new groups of customers. One alt-culture movement, Steampunk, appreciates tea, Victorian aesthetics and social events, large and small. Learn what Steampunk is and how it can bring popularity, customers and media attention to your business. 
Speaker: Steven Downer, Owner, Sipping Streams Tea Company

Deconstructing Famous Grocery Store Blends

Skill Building Workshop  

Friday, June 1, 8:30  - 11:30 a.m. or Saturday, June 2, 8:30 - 11:30 a.m.

The tea section at grocery stores remains where mainstream America buys their tea. In this hands-on blending workshop, you will use some of the famous traditional blends as inspiration and foundation in creating your own best-selling loose leaf teas. 
Speaker: Victor Jara, Purchasing & Regulatory Affairs, Sungarden Tea

What is Brisk?

Skill Building Workshop

Friday, June 1, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Better yet, what is Astringency? During this active hands-on session you will cup teas and accurately match sensations with professional tasting terms. You will build vocabulary and deepen your understanding of professional terminology. Moreover, you will develop your ability to objectively assess and describe the taste profile of a cup of tea, without superimposing personal biases. 
Speaker: Aaron Vick, The G.S. Haly Company with Suzette Hammond, Rishi Tea and Mo Sardella, The G.S. Haly Company 

Understanding the Retail Shopper for Tea Products 

Executive & Technical Content 

Saturday, June 2, 8:00 - 9:30 a.m. 

Drawing on proprietary survey data from Packaged Facts, this presentation features tea shopper insights ranging from purchasing rates by product type, variety and flavor choices for bagged/loose vs. RTD tea, planned vs. impulse purchasing, price/promotion based purchasing, and product choice motivators. The session also draws on sales tracking, new product introduction, and demographic data to provide a cross-channel view of specialty tea trends.
Speaker:David Sprinkle, Research Director, Packaged Facts

From Earl Grey to Da Hong Pao: Improving Your Customer's Palate

Saturday, June 2, 8:00 - 9:30 a.m.

As culinary knowledge and sophistication rise, how do we take our customers from mainstream teas to better quality teas? How do we map a path to those very teas that have been the subject of focused tastings at the World Tea Expo all these years? 
Speaker: Lydia Kung, Buyer, Eastrise Trading Corp.  

Networking Works: Build Relationships to Build Your Business

Saturday, June 2, 8:00 - 9:30 a.m.

Networking is a critical tool for building business, yet many business owners and professionals don't represent themselves or their businesses effectively. This workshop covers:* Preparation * Elevator speeches (the good, the bad, the ugly!) * Standing out in the crowd * Working the room * Dealing with anxiety * Following up (Includes practice) 
Speaker: Lisa Braithwaite, Public Speaking Coach and Trainer, CoachLisaB.com 

A New, Exciting Dawn for Japanese Tea!

Saturday, June 2, 9:45 - 10:45 a.m.

Following a turbulent 2011 harvest year filled with much confusion and misinformation regarding radiation contamination, Japan is poised to resume its growing presence in the tea industry. 2012 Japanese harvests brings a new dawn, and you will need to be prepared! It is an era to be excited, opportunities are brewing! 
Speaker: Chip Creitz, Program Developer/Coordinator, Tastings Coordinator, Moderator, TeaChat.com 

Daoist and Buddhist (Zen) Tea Culture

Saturday, June 2, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

In China, Daoists and Buddhists built temples on sacred mountains that were ideal environments for tea cultivation. Today, they still produce tea and promote tea culture, including a new Buddhist ritual, the "Wu-Wo" (not-self) ceremony, which ritually expresses group equality, and encourages participants to to forget differences in wealth and appearance. 
Speaker: Jean DeBernardi, Professor, Anthropolgy Department,  University of Alberta 

How to Put Together a Comparative Tea and Wine Tasting

Focused Tasting

Saturday, June 2, 11:00 - 12:30 p.m.

Wine and tea professionals share many similar techniques when tasting their beverage of choice. By examining the similarities between these two beverages, a team of Master Sommeliers and Certified Tea Specialists has designed a wine and tea tasting that uses commonly available products. Several pairings will illustrate the concepts presented. 
Speaker: Kyle Stewart, Owner, The Cultured Cup with James Tidwell, Beverage Manager and Master Sommelier, Four Seasons Resort and Club, and Suzette Hammond, Rishi Tea

Strategies for Marketing to Millennials Panel Discussion with Market Leaders

Sunday, June 3, 8:00 - 9:30 a.m.

Dynamic discussion between leading young industry innovators that are successfully introducing tea to the 18 to 30 year old millenials. 
Moderator: Tyler Gage, President, Runa LLC 

Make Money with In-Store Events

Skill Building Workshop

Sunday, June 3, 8:30 - 11:30 a.m.

This energizing, interactive class is filled with hands on exercises, live demonstrations, and displays you can touch and understand. Leave this session ready to schedule your next event sure to generate new clients, customer loyalty, and plenty of revenue! Spend three hours learning to plan, market, and execute a successful event acquiring the skills and language to sell tea, present material and demonstrate quality and value, establishing you as an expert.
Speaker: Beth Johnston, Founder & CEO, Teas Etc.