An Austrian-Tanzanian Icetea Edition
Marry Icetea is a young, Austrian beverage company producing delicious natural iceteas. The tea leaves are sourced internationally and then blended with locally grown fruits, creating a unique flavour profile. But apart from the fact, that Marry Icetea as well as Kazi Yetu work with teas, how is this now exactly related to Kazi Yetu?
Kathi, our Sales Manager in Europe, met David Prott (co-founder of Marry Icetea) at an Austrian trade fair. After a few chats throughout the weekend David got hooked on the idea of experimenting with a new special edition recipe using one of our 100% natural tea blends. Fast forward a few months…
Carry – “The sunny winter queen” – icetea edition is out!
This special edition uses our Coco Choco blend as foundation, lemon juice and elderberry are later added.
Although we are separated by over 6,000 kilometers (airline Tanzania – Austria), there are more similarities between Kazi Yetu and Marry Icetea than you would think. Sustainability, transparency, natural and high-quality ingredients and last but not least innovative flavour profiles are in the center of both brands! Also an interesting side fact: We share the same birth year! 2018 both companies started their journey.
In the following interview with David (co-founder of Marry Icetea) and Tahira, our co-founder, you can get another glimpse in the start-up life across continents.
Interview
– What was your motivation to start Marry Icetea/Kazi Yetu?
David: The starting point for Marry Icetea was my rather special hobby: making tea. Stirring and mixing different kinds of tea with fruits brought me mental relaxation from the busy everyday life (besides Marry Icetea I also work in a software company). Apart from the relaxation I got really tasty, natural alternatives to conventional iced teas as a side benefit. The positive feedback from friends regarding the taste and processing of the ingredients gave me the extra boost to turn my hobby into an innovative beverage startup.
My drive is to create low-sugar products made exclusively from natural and high-quality ingredients, with a focus on regionality combined with an international mindset. Together with our partners we work according to the approach “think global, act local”: We combine international charm (teas) with regional components (fruits) to the best of our ability.
Tahira: When I moved to Tanzania in 2016, I went straight to the store with my essentials list, and tea is on the top of that list! Knowing that Tanzania has tea plantations, as well as spices in Zanzibar and herbs in farms around the country, I was surprised to find very limited local options. I realized that there is a huge gap in the market and an opportunity to quench my thirst for delicious tea!
I also have a passion for supporting economic growth for women and farmers. Building this tea business gives me the opportunity to contribute to job creation for women in our factory and the improvement of livelihoods for farmers around Tanzania. My grandfather had a farm in Tanzania and also started his own business here, and it has been my dream to re-root back here and seize the opportunity.
– How long did it take from the first brainstorming of ideas to the first product sold?
David: We spent a total of 1.5 years tweaking the first recipe. Over 1,000 customer opinions were solicited in this process to evaluate the taste, sweetness, design, quality and, very essentially, the drinking experience of the icetea. Through customer feedback it quickly became clear that the (low) sugar content of a beverage is an important factor in the purchase decision. Due to the low-sugar trend, we have encountered positive feedback regarding the sweetness of the drink till today.
Tahira: The first thing Hendrik and I did was drive to farms around the country and see what kinds of teas, herbs, and spices grow in Tanzania. We collected samples, blended many different varieties, and then landed on our absolute favorites within 3 months. We created our initial packaging and samples and then took them to Germany to share with friends, business contacts, and potential customers for feedback. We built on the very positive feedback and launched within 6 months!
– Since sustainability is a focus for you – what is your biggest challenge in terms of sustainability and how do you deal with it?
David: The biggest challenge is still our desired switch to reusable bottles. The reuse of glass bottles is more ecological than the use of disposable bottles. In terms of resources, material, energy and melting down, the production of glass bottles is more harmful to the environment than the return transport and washing out of used bottles. However, this switch involves a lot of costs such as logistics, investment in equipment and bottle registration, which can hardly be borne by a young company like us. The primary goal, however, is to switch to reusable bottles, which is why process developments and smaller investments are made every year in order to be able to guarantee this changeover sustainably and economically.
Tahira: Absolutely agree with David. In terms of sustainability, our packaging is the biggest challenge with several different components. While our pyramid tea bags are biodegradable, they are not biodegradable in a home-compost – they are biodegradable industrially. While this is a positive first step, we are working on sourcing options that can be compostable at home. We have also tried to offer compostable paper bag packaging for our loose leaf tea, but again this is not compostable at home. We are investing in research and trying different types, but this takes time and the production is expensive. It is a challenge that all conscious brands are facing and investing a lot of research and development into.
– What are the 3 most important ingredients for a successful start-up?
David: We defined 7 essential factors for our success and call them the “FRIENDS PRINCIPLES” of Marry Icetea:
- Fail fast, succeed faster: Be proactive, take risks, challenge yourself and learn from your mistakes.
- Respect the world: Every living being has special characteristics. Meet them with appreciation.
- Ignite your passion: Do what you love, love what you do.
- Ensure growth: Grow sustainably and healthily with a fighting spirit.
- Nourish teamwork: “We over me” mindset. Together we are strong.
- Drink global, act local: Combine international charm with regional components in the best possible way.
- Shake your happiness: Happiness is a direction. Not a place.
Tahira: I love all of these, David! Totally agree. Especially with Teamwork! Three ingredients for us are:
- Always be solutions-oriented – we have hundreds of challenges but what keeps us going and growing is finding solutions and trying our best;
- Nurture your team’s wavelengths: each person has a different wavelength, and the business is a beautiful harmony of these wavelengths. It’s about how these come together in harmony and synergistically as we grow;
- Think big, and if that’s doable, think bigger! Entrepreneurs need to push the needle and that is how we can make a difference in the world.
