STiR coffee and tea magazine

STiR coffee and tea 53 What they don't always understand is that the product must offer a unique selling proposition, she said. "Buyers will ask 'what is your product adding to my current selection?' she said. "Is it a distinctive origin, unique flavoring, trend setting?" Many products that make that claim are more likely itera- tions of existing lines. The market responds favorably to inno- vations, not iterations. Packaging and logistics are another concern, explains Grover. "Are the product benefits and brand essence clearly com- municated and packaged correctly, arriving in good condition in the format requested," she asks. Finally, is the product competitively priced to be commer- cially viable? The task is daunting. But the rewards are significant for owners generating above- average revenue, consistent profitability, and exceptional mar- gins in retail. For some, marketing a well-established tea or cof- fee brand beyond their home market is the only way to maintain growth as they exhaust fast-growth options in country. This is a story of how an Australian tea company, marketing its Planet Organic brand, approached the North American mar- ket and landed a sizeable sale to a $30 billion conglomerate that owns several department and home goods stores. Much has been written about strategic positioning of fast- moving consumer goods (FMCG) and global trends. There are books and manuals aplenty describing tactical maneuvers for entering an overseas market. The scope of this article takes some of that into account (See, Go With the Flow, pg. 54). Here STiR traces a path back in time from the retail shelf to the in- ception of the plan in a faraway land. How the quest began Planet Organic is a 20-year-old firm that employs 60 with of- fices in Coolum Beach, Queensland, Australia. Brian Condon is the company's director of marketing. He considers the company fortunate to be shipping its tea and booking re-orders following three years of pursuing placement of the company's organic tea in the US market. "The best advice I received is that it would not be easy," says Condon. "This all started with a conversation with a buyer from TJX Group, a multinational that owns two small Austra- lian home store chains." The buyer was interested in adding a tea line and in 2014 Condon was invited to present his selec- tions. Numerous meetings followed but "it all fell through due to her budget having changed," he said. The exchange encouraged him to approach other US ven- dors such as Texas-based Whole Foods Market via email with- out success. He remained interested in selling tea in the US but was at a loss as to how to make it happen. Timely export workshop Last summer Condon received an email inviting him to at- tend a USA export workshop sponsored by FIAL (Food In- novation Australia, Ltd.) an industry-led, government funded initiative to accelerate commercially-driven collaboration and innovation in the Australian food and agribusiness. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained so I signed up and took myself off to Brisbane for the day not knowing what to expect," he said.

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