Just a No Fuss, Perfectly Balanced Cup of Tea - Embrew Tea
Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Ashley Haywood, founder, and CEO of Embrew Tea, located in Fairview, NC, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
My customers want high-end tea but don't always want to mess with a bulky infuser or sticky honey. Instead, I've given them lightly sweetened, artisan tea bags so they can enjoy more tea with less hassle.
Each tea bag has loose-leaf grade tea and natural sweeteners inside, so it simplifies the tea experience for those looking for premium flavor but cringes at the thought of a grocery store tea bag or messing with loose leaves infusers or sticky honey. This is a big upgrade.
You may think the idea of a sweetened tea bag has been done before, but it just hasn't. Not like this. I've blended ingredients like Bourbon Smoked Sugar with white tea, Lavender and Chamomile with lemon and cayenne, and discovered a tea that tastes like a butter cookie.
Tell us about yourself
I prefer simplicity whenever I can have it. I'm a mother, a wife, a 9-5 go-getter, a health nut, and I like to travel. Simplicity is important to me so that I can juggle all of these things. For years I was looking for single-serve sweetened tea bags because it just made sense for my on-the-go daily activities. Finally, one day, I sat down at the kitchen table and cut open grocery store tea bags and added sugar to them. The concept was born, but what happened next became not only important to me but to the world.
After extensive recipe exploration and ingredient sourcing, I've perfected the sweetness and flavor of each brew. There's no question of how much honey is too much honey (we know what it's like to get heavy-handed with that honey bear) or having to wait for-freaking-ever for the crystalized honey to fall down enough to squeeze out. When I realized I had created time itself – literal minutes, I had to share it with tea people everywhere.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I've been featured on the news a few times and won seed money at St. Pete Pitch Night to help Embrew get trademarked.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Not quitting. Or rather, quitting the right things. Being an entrepreneur is hard and doing the next right thing to move the business forward is an accomplishment every single day.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Make sure you are going to enjoy the process of building and not just look for the end result.
- Find ways to keep yourself motivated and have them ready for the times that you fall flat and need inspiration. Don't wait until that happens—make sure you have a plan to get your wheels moving again.
- Talk to as many people about your business and seek to hold on to an infinite / abundance mindset throughout all of what you do, even when things seem to be at a stand-still or working backward.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
I'm an expert at making tea as easy and delicious as humanly possible. To grab my guide for 5 Ways To Make Tea Time Easier And Better, visit Embrew.com and sign up for our emails.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://embrew.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/embrewtea
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/embrewtea/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyhaywood/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.