Member Article

Bird & Blend Tea Co. raise £1 million

Bird & Blend Tea Co. the UK’s leading independent tea mixologists raise £1 million EquiTEA

Bird & Blend Tea Co., has closed its latest crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube, securing over £1 million, from over 1,800 investors.

The most recent funding round takes the total raised to over £1.3 million, following its first raise in 2017. The money raised in this second round will support its local high street expansion, investment in the wider development of its innovative range of flavours, and build its communiTEA via a digital innovation strategy.

This raise was supported with additional benefits, offering those investing EquitTEA perks; money can’t buy experiences and access to exclusive offers and products, plus private tours, bespoke mixology sessions with the business Founder, Krisi Smith and a one-off opportunity to become an official Tea Taster. Over 1800 Perks will be issued which includes one official Tea Taster Perk, thirty six personalised tea consultations/create own blend sessions and five private tour and dinner with friends and Bird & Blend Founder Perks!

Aiming to raise just £500,000, the brand smashed through the £1 million ceiling and its investors large and small will support its vision to spread happiness and reimagine tea, championing the concept of tea mixology, and delivery of meaningful and impactful ethical and sustainably led initiatives, alongside its retail expansion.

Mike Turner, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Bird & Blend Tea Co. said, “I think I speak for the whole of our team when I say that we are humbled by the level of investment and by how many of our customers, friends and new Tea Birds, have chosen to invest in us and our vision at this time. Its exciting that we can invite them to join us in the next stage of our journey.

This level of funding will support our strategy of developing our e-commerce experience, plus allow for more investment on local high streets, delivering our new hybrid model further around the UK, creating more local community hubs where customers can come to make connections with one another and our team, and enjoy interacting with our teas. For us, there will always be a place for magical in-person experiences.“

This crowdfunding round caps a transformative 12 months for the business, which has opened 6 new stores and launched a new website supporting its need to move to a hybrid model. This new model offers its customers the choice of both bricks and mortar stores and in person experiences accompanied with the option of purchasing their favourite teas and tea ware via its e-commerce offer too.

Now employing over 125 across its stores, headquarters, and ecommerce site, having begun life with just 2, its founders Krisi and Mike, packing tea in a back bedroom, it is projected to turnover +£30m over the next 3 financial years.

Funds raised will enable;

• Expediting the growth of the Bird & Blend Tea Co. brand to introduce tea mixology to more tea lovers around the world via experiential activity and events, the launch of new innovative flavour combinations and mixes alongside the introducing of further unique gifting items, supported with additional investment in digital innovation, the tech stack & the team
• Investment in the UK local high street & local community by opening 4 more stores per year, championing local retail, and the first Scottish store opening at the end of this month
• Investment in its digital customer experience with its first tea experience app offering & innovative product builder
• Undertaking impactful Environmental, Social and Governance projects, with a climate commitment to become a net-zero carbon company, plus achieving B Corp status for the Bird & Blend Tea Co. brand

Krisi Smith, Co-Founder and Creative Director, Bird & Blend Tea Co. said of the EquiTEA raise “We knew creating the EquiTEA perks programme would be attractive to our loyal customers. As a brand that delivers amazing experiences for people on both sides of the counter, we wanted to ensure that investment at this stage would be beneficial for everyone, and money can’t buy experiences would be that game changer, we are thrilled that so many customers have chosen to invest and for us as a business, it really cements further our excitement for what’s to come.”

“Whilst tea itself is at the core of our business, the planet & people on it are just as important as the financial profit and the experiences they seek. A proportion of this raise is ring-fenced for sustainability projects, which is a huge priority for the whole Bird & Blend Tea Co. family. Spreading happiness through tea isn’t just a statement, it’s a manifesto our people live by, and we’re excited to build our business further with previous and new investors keen to help us spread that happiness further.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sharmee Mavadia .