Tea Sourcing & Product Development Consulting

Tea expertise connected to commercialization

Billy Dietz brings more than twenty years in the tea industry, including nine years in research and development at DAVIDsTEA across teabag, loose-leaf and powder formats. His book, Spill the Tea, covers blended, flavored and herbal teas.

Don Ho brings the operating perspective of building and exiting a four-location foodservice and retail beverage business. Together, the principals connect product decisions to sourcing, operations and the commercial model.

Define the product before choosing a source

Establish the base, flavor profile, target cost and intended format before asking suppliers for proposals. A loose-leaf retail blend, a foodservice beverage and a powder product place different demands on ingredient selection and manufacturing.

Certification requirements should be stated at the start. They affect which suppliers can be considered and what documentation needs to travel with the product.

• Tea, botanical or other base and dominant flavor notes.
• The intended format and preparation method.
• Channel, price position and required margin.
• Order quantities, lead times and certification requirements.

Build continuity into the supply decision

A sourcing decision should account for repeat orders as well as the first delivery. Review minimum orders, supply dependencies and the documentation needed to maintain the intended product specification.

BDH’s published work includes replacing a supplier after it lost organic certification without disrupting the client’s sourcing story or timeline. A backup plan should be considered before an interruption forces the decision.

Coordinate development and production

Where formulation or blending is required, use a written brief and a documented sample cycle. Confirm the partner’s operating model, production capability, commercial terms and responsibilities for ingredients.

Approve a specification that records the agreed result. Keep decisions traceable so the supplier, brand and operating team have the same reference when ordering or investigating a quality issue.

Scope the right starting point

Some projects start with a new product. Others start with a supply problem, an unsuitable minimum order or a product line that needs better economics. BDH scopes the engagement around the constraint and the evidence needed to resolve it.