Today we’d like to introduce you to Yvonne Ochieng.
Hi Dr.Yvonne, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I was born and raised in Kenya in a tea-growing family. My great-grandfather was introduced to tea farming by the British missionaries who settled in the central highlands of Kenya in the 1890s. He in turn taught my grandfather and my father, who has carried on the tradition of being a tea farmer. This region is endowed with rich volcanic soils, high altitude and consistent rainfall that is a perfect environment for tea growing throughout the year.
I migrated to the US about 25 years ago to pursue my college education. Having come from a tea-drinking society, it never occurred to me that I would not be able to find Kenyan tea readily available in the US. I was extremely disappointed in realizing that I couldn’t readily get good Kenyan tea here in the US. Every time I travelled home, I always made sure I loaded my suitcase with tea to keep me going before my next scheduled trip. Eventually, I got tired of always loading up my suitcase with tea and in 2018 after doing extensive research and due diligence about this God-given vision, I took a leap of faith and started LEAFBERRI as a platform to showcase Kenyan tea and make it readily available for tea lovers here in the US.
Tea is a major cash crop that plays an integral role in supporting small-scale farmers like my family. A lot of people don’t know that Kenya is the largest producer of tea in Africa and ranked third in the world in tea production. Kenyan tea is known to have a unique flavor profile that is robust and smooth with a bright finish. It owes this special attributes to the region its grown. LEAFBERRI initially started off with just the purple tea and it has now expanded to include other Kenyan tea varieties – black and yellow tea. We currently have a total of 15 tea blends that we offer on our website www.leafberri.com. We also sell at the local farmers market, craft shows, and local festivals and offer wholesale Kenyan purple, black and yellow tea.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Starting this business has had its challenges. I was longing to branch out and do something more with my life. I realized that I wanted to do more than just being employed. Through prayer for vision and direction plus a very supportive family base, I eventually overcame my own fears of failure that were threatening to hold me hostage and pursue my dream of entrepreneurship.
I am also a wife and mother to four girls and one of the challenges I face is finding the balance between running the business and making sure that I am available and present for my family. I am grateful for my supportive husband – Job, who helps me manage the business on the backend while I am the face of the company. Without his support, LEAFBERRI would never have become a reality.
I am still working full time as I work on scaling up LEAFBERRI. That is also a challenge because I have to make sure I am 100% present to meet my job duties. However, over the years I have developed a routine that allows me to navigate both avenues. It’s not ideal because of missed opportunities to scale up. However, I am hopeful that as the business progresses and grows, I will be in a position to transition to being a full-time entrepreneur growing the LEAFBERRI brand.
There is also the logistics challenge for both the tea and tea supplies that was complicated by the pandemic. My initial bulk tea shipment from Kenya took about 8 months to get to the US verses the standard 3 months. That hold-up brought about its challenges with pending wholesale orders and retail orders. I am optimistic that this issue will be resolved in the future as congestion eases at the ports.
As you know, we’re big fans of LEAFBERRI Co LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
LEAFBERRI is a social enterprise brand that markets teas grown exclusively grown in Kenya. Our niche specialty is orthodox purple tea. The latest and greatest innovation in tea. This new tea varietal has higher antioxidant content than green or black teas and lower caffeine levels than a green tea. Purple tea is currently only grown in Kenya. We also carry orthodox black and yellow Kenyan tea – both as straight teas and blends. All our tea is single origin, non-GMO, organically and naturally grown with no pesticide or chemicals sprayed on the leaves.
LEAFBERRI sources its tea directly from the farmers meaning that it is eliminates multiple stakeholders and allows us to offer a fair market price with the tea farmers benefiting directly through the purchase of their tea.
I am proud of the strides we have made with promoting Kenyan tea. There is still a lot of room for growth but I am optimistic that we are on the right track in expanding our market base here in the US.
We currently market our teas on our website – www.leafberri.com, we can also be found on the e-marketplace – www.ethnicdistrict.com. We offer both wholesale and retail Kenyan purple, black and yellow teas.
We are also proud to use our platform to support a worthy cause back home in Kenya -Totocarebox, a Kenyan NGO on a mission to prevent infant and maternal mortality rates in underserved communities by providing a newborn baby and their mom a totocarebox with enough supplies to carry them through the 1st 28 days of life.
LEAFBERRI supports their mission by donating 3% of its monthly total tea sales. For more information about this NGO and if you would like to join us in supporting their vision, please visit their website – www.tototacarebox.org
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Tea is the 2nd most drank beverage after water. According to the Tea Association of the US, 159 million Americans are drinking tea. In 2017, Americans consumed 8.6bn gallons of tea. This is expected to grow by about 15% in the next 5 -7 years. This growth is being driven by variety, convenience, health benefits, sustainability, availability, continued innovation, and the discovery of unique flavorful, and high-end specialty tea. Growth of the “US tea culture” will rely on the continued adoption of tea by new consumers seeking healthy food and natural choices. LEAFBERRI is excited to be a part of this journey and look forward to the opportunities that abound.
- Email: info@leafberri.com
- Website: www.leafberri.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/leafberri
- Facebook: www.fb.me/ilovepurpletea
