Tae tea brands fly into Dublin Airport

WALKINSTOWN-based Tae Tea flew onto shelves in Terminal 2 of Dublin Airport recently and the Makers Academy finalist behind it all, Tara Kelly, described the “surreal” experience of building her brand.

Tae Tea create special herbal tea blends, matcha, and tea accessories and began when the Walkinstown native wanted to bring something new to the tea market, in a time when coffee was becoming all the rage.

Irish identity is synonymous with tea drinking for many, and Tara took the opportunity presented by the gap in the market to create something that would reach those who enjoy a cuppa at home.

The business owner said: “It still fells quite surreal. I drew this on paper and now it’s real life and now I’m out delivering to shops…I was working part-time in a coffee shop and this was around the time of all the coffee trailers and the horse boxes – coffee was having a moment.

“I was thinking, ‘Why is there nothing with tea?’  We’re a nation of tea drinkers…everyone still drank their tea at home, but there was nothing new.

“I just thought there’s definitely something we can do here.”

The brand remains in the Irish market for the main part, with some wholesaling deals allowing the product to appear on shelves outside the country, but no official expansion yet.

Tara was a teacher with qualifications in Spanish and Geography, but also an avid tea drinker, and has found life as an entrepreneur more rewarding since taking the leap.

“I wanted to create the kind of tea brand that I wanted to buy myself. So, we started with our herbal teas.

“The aim was to make a new modern functional herbal tea that would appeal to a younger market [compared to] the quite traditional herbal teas – and they went down really well.

“Then after that, we branched off into matcha and started sourcing matcha from different parts of Japan.”

The Local Enterprise Office has lent a hand to Tae Tea and its founder, from workshops getting started, to mentoring over the years and now the tea business is headed for the Makers’ Academy, delivered in partnership with Kilkenny Design’s senior leadership, buying, marketing and ecommerce teams, alongside leading industry, and enterprise experts.

Participants will receive practical guidance across retail strategy, branding, finance, ecommerce, digital marketing, and founder development, equipping them with the tools to accelerate their businesses.

As part of the Makers’ Academy, each finalist will also receive the opportunity to showcase their products through pop-ups in Kilkenny Design retail stores, providing exposure to customers and first-hand experience of trading within one of Ireland’s best-known retail destinations.

Tara designed her brand from the ground up and is excited to have the opportunity to “soak up” more knowledge.

“Anything that I can learn after Kilkenny Design Team would be fantastic because I still have no idea what I’m doing really.

“I just feel like I will soak up anything that they’ll teach me. I’m honestly delighted to be to have been chosen for the course.”