Sustainability is the buzz word on everyones lips at the minute for businesses large and small. We have been actively focused on creating a sustainable brand since launching in 2015 here is a little more about our journey and how we have ensured we  maintain our sustainable focus for better products for customers and the environment as part of our ongoing growth in 2025.

                 1. Why is sustainability important to you, enough to have prompted you into                       this business venture?

I believe businesses large or small are an integral part of every community. Not only in relation to how they provide local jobs, support the local economy and evolve areas of expertise or countries but what those businesses mean to everyday people like you and I. They literally become the fabric of people’s lives just like your daily cup of tea.

We began as a loose leaf tea business partly due to my dislike of teabags.

The tags, the staples on organic teabags attaching the tags to the strings, the strings themselves and then of course the actual nylon teabags the whole concept I felt was ridiculous for essentially what was meant to be a natural plant product.

The root of our product is sustainable it will keep growing on its own as long as it receives water and sunshine. Therefore everything attached to the process of harvesting, packing or delivery should also have a sustainable aspect to it.

While loose leaf is great its also messy to use in the office or on the go and often you will overload the amount of tea you use which is great for brands repurchase rates but not great for your pocket – remember your pocket needs to be sustainable too. In 2016 I looked at the teabag and wanted to make it better – reinvent the wheel if you like.

I discovered there were significant numbers of customers who wanted toxin free teabags and who were using a number of different options to have a better zero toxin daily brew.

We use corn starch teabags – completely natural, biodegradable and they become shear when you pour hot or chilled water on them so you can see the natural organic tea ingredients. Our specialised tea machine heat presses the teabags together so there is no glue involved and we made our packaging and branding so beautiful we knew we would never need to add a tag to every bag to remind you who we are. We believe we created a better teabag for a better cup tea

2. What changes would you like to see in the commercial tea industry? 

Since starting Tea Bird Tea I have wanted to get rid of single teabags packed in sachet’s. It is a huge waste and all in the name of shelf life and low cost volume sales at the detriment of the planet.

The F&B industry have been the main users of single packed teabags and it definitely effected our business in the first few years by not moving to a single packed sachets. However we are proud that we have stuck to our beliefs as it’s the right way to run our business to make real long term change for our environment and our customers.

We have recently taken the 1^st step towards changing the commercial tea industry with a new sustainable partnership setup with The Datai Langkawi. We met with them in July 2023 to pitch our idea which we believed met a key business goal for them. We knew it was a big ask but we are proud to be going live with in-room refillable tea tins we designed specifically for The Datai Langkawi.

They had tried other products but found that there was always “strings” attached quite literally. Employees would have to remove the teabag strings before the biodegradable teabags where dispensed in their onsite composting unit. This created additional labour in addition to how the biodegradable product they where using was not really meeting their biodegradable requirements.

Quote by Stephane Duvacher, General Manager of The Datai Langkawi:

We believe tea can be an important part of a guest’s hotel experience, especially at a resort situated between lush ancient rainforest and pristine beaches like The Datai Langkawi. Guests come here to relax and enjoy, but also to reconnect with nature. Having a cup of tea on your balcony and just immersing yourself into the jungle experience, observing Dusky Langurs moving through the majestic trees around you, or watching an Oriental-Pied hornbill fly by – these are unique moments that can’t be experienced just anywhere.

We aim to enhance such moments with our services and offerings, and strive to deliver not only the best level in luxury guest service, but also ground all our services in our sustainability and regenerative tourism ethos. To this end, we have founded The Datai Pledge in 2019, a private trust dedicated to conserving and protecting the rich bio-diversity of Langkawi while supporting surrounding communities.

When Tea Bird Tea approached us with their idea to offer refillable tea tins in-room, this was exactly in line with our own programmes to enhance sustainability in our hotel operations. Not only can we offer locally sourced organic loose-leaf teas to our guests thanks to Tea Bird Tea, we also get to present these teas in a vibrant and colourful tin that was designed by the creative forces at Tea Bird Tea for us, to catch the eye of our guests when they enter the room. We are delighted that we are able to support a Malaysian business with our new in-room offering, while at the same time enhancing our own efforts in sustainability.

 Enjoy in-room tea recipes and afternoon tea at The Datai Langkawi 

Off course for us as a business and on a personal level the big win is effecting sustainable operational business change in a 5 star hotel whose goals are also focused on delivering seamless service in tune with our environment.

Putting the planet above profit in the short term will enable environment, people and businesses to thrive and create long term sustainable change and good business practise.

3.     What should consumers be aware of when trying to shop for sustainable tea products?

1.     Visibility on their supply chain & sources

2.     Ingredients – where are they from and how are they processed

3.     Rain Forest Alliance process credible

4.     CSR programs within their local communities

5.     Upholding high sustainability goals is costly therefore SME’s cannot always offer the lowest pricing we recommend customers should consider the company’s overall ethos over time and they have endeavoured to maintain their mission.

4.     What are some key messages would you like people to know about your products? Feel free to share a press release if you would prefer. 

Keep on doing what we said we would do, deliver premium products, continue to grow our sustainability efforts throughout our supply chain. 

Achieved in 2024

1.     Launched an operational sustainable partnership with The Datai Langkawi

2.     Launched instore in Japan which has one of the highest standards for organic products in the world.

3.     We have added 3 new sustainably sourced organic blends to our range Matcha, Chamomile and Jasmine Green tea.

5.     Carbon reduction green route choices on all shipping applied

6.  Certified Organic USDA, EU & JAS completed as a repacker and blending processor.

7. Tea Bird Tea opened a factory location in Johor to create a centre of excellence for organic tea products & blending enabling us to share even more visibility on the sustainability of our supply chain.

                  Coming in 2025

1.     In 2024 we will be working with guidance from Rain Forest Alliance to engage and support Malaysian organic producers showcasing them and their ingredients in Tea Bird Tea blends.

2.     Deepening our local supply chain integration, exporting organic Malaysian made products overseas and continuing to deliver sustainable products to customers in Malaysia and all over the world.

3.     Continue to minimise plastic usage, reduce unnecessary pack sizes

4.     Expansion of our refillable packaging range

5.   Working to begin regular export to the UK & US

6.   Working to expand our distribution in Japan with new and existing distributors

7. Received first MIDA letter supporting business expansion