After over seven years in business, more than 60% of the firm’s sales today come from the HoReCa sector and the remaining from retail.
In January, Pétale Tea released the Wellness Teas range after recognising demand based on clients’ feedback.
“Our café and restaurant clients were asking for options other than our signature Blooming Teas. It seems that a lot of consumers are looking for non-caffeinated tea, as well as things that are ‘good for hair and skin’.
“We saw a gap in this area and decided to create non-caffeinated floral tea blends that offer a natural and enjoyable way to support well-being, which can become a part of one’s self-care regiment,” Rosemary Kwa, founder of Pétale Tea, told FoodNavigator-Asia.
There are 10 blends in the series that aim to address common concerns, such as immunity, digestion, and relaxation.
“We did our research and found that stress management is the number one problem in Singapore. Because of stress issues, people cannot sleep. And in general, people want something that promotes better sleep. That’s the inspiration behind one of the blends called Less Stress Today.
“We also have options specially catering to women, including Glow Inside Out, which could potentially provide relief from menstrual discomfort, and Good Hair & Skin, a blend packed with natural ingredients to hydrate skin and hair for a radiant, healthy glow.”
The wellness range was exclusively available at Pétale Tea’s pop-up shop in Takashimaya Shopping Centre since January, before it was recently launched on its website.
According to Kwa, the brand has been actively partnering the department store for pop-ups, which have reaped positive results.
“As teas are often given as gifts, it has been good for us to be at Takashimaya, where a lot of people go to get gifts.”
Not just tea
Pétale Tea’s line-up includes a variety of Blooming Teas, which are hand-sewn floral tea balls that “bloom into a bouquet” when water is added to them.
“When we first started, there were already many tea brands in the market, from overseas franchise brands to big local names. Even for local independent brands, there were over 50 of them, and I believe the number exceeds 100 now.
“In the tea industry, it’s a lot about packaging. Most brands offer very common or similar flavours. In order to differentiate, we dedicated ourselves to becoming a tea specialist. Beyond curating our own blends and floral blooms, we also started workshops to teach people how to sew our Blooming Teas,” Kwa said.
The brand has created some “interesting flavours” that it claims cannot be bought from other suppliers, such as a Nasi Lemak (a local dish consisting of rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf) flavour.
“Since we serve HoReCa, we also have common teas that are more for everyday drinking because clients wouldn’t want to deal with so many different suppliers.”
Most of the blends are the brainchild of Kwa, who also manages the firm’s B2B business.
“I understand the pain points of my customers, so I always tell them to see us not just a tea supplier, but as a means to increase their sales. What makes us unique to our corporate clients is that we don’t only supply tea, but we are also a solutions provider.
“For example, we worked with Mercedes where we created a tea blend with ingredients that reflect its brand values, such as mango pandan for a local touch and sense of nostalgia, which helps build brand loyalty. In addition, Bulgarian black tea with rosebud represents elegance, and forget-me-not was added as the campaign’s focus was on customer renewal.”