Petale lays claim to being the first blooming tea specialist in Singapore across both retail and foodservice, and its claim to fame comes from both its unusual flavours as well as the unique presentation of its products.
“Tea balls are handmade balls with a tea base and flowers hand-sewn onto this base, which start off as a literal ball but will bloom into a bouquet once the tea is brewed,” Petale Tea Founder Rosemary Kwa told FoodNavigator-Asia.
“Tea itself does have some health benefits like sugar management and dementia prevention, but we do not focus on that – our main unique selling point lies in the entire experience of the tea-drinking.
“Most consumers in Singapore are already pretty mature tea drinkers and there are also many tea brands here too, so there is that pressure to create something very interesting and very new [in order to attract consumers here], which is why our emphasis is on the experience aspect of watching the tea ball bloom, as well as letting them make bespoke blends.
“Bespokeness is something that many consumers, especially in a market like Singapore, are looking for in this case – people are really looking forward to something so bespoke that is really theirs, beyond the experience of just buying a general product from the store.
“Consumers here are so pampered with so many choices and are already exposed to many brands, so innovation is what brands like ours need to catch up with.”
Some of the firm’s best-performing blooming tea ball flavours include Mango Coconut, Lychee Rose, Japanese Muscat and Korean Peach, in addition to quirky unique flavours such as Onde-onde (a Singaporean coconut sugar dessert) and Nasi Lemak (rice cooked with coconut milk).
The functional wellness trend is also alive and kicking within the tea space, and Petale Tea has also created a line of related products to match this demand.
“Consumers are also looking towards healthier, non-caffeinated teas today, which we are seeing a lot when working with B2B partners as demand has gone up pretty sharply,” she added.
“I think this actually started around a year and a half ago, and we have decided to go with this demand and launched a range of non-caffeinated wellness teas with functional benefits.
“Some of these include ingredients that help with good hair, skin detox, digestive health and more – all teas that can help to improve wellness and health beyond just gourmet tea blends created for aroma or flavour.”
Listen to the podcast above to find out more.
