Sourcing Story
Tea straight from Nandi Hills, Kenya
Joseph’s exploratory trip to Canada was to identify natural products of African origin that mesh well. Kenya has such a prosperous tea culture and cultivation. The Tea Research Foundation of Kenya (TRFK) is always researching and bringing something new to the tea industry.
Joseph wanted to bring something new, innovative, and beneficial, not just any kind of tea. So purple tea and sweet potato tea were great options as they are full of nutritional benefits, antioxidants and minerals. Joseph wanted to introduce new products to the market and increase people’s awareness of their beneficial properties. It is not just for the sake of doing business, it must be beneficial to humans. That is what drives the brand and its purpose.
Nigerian Origins
The Hibiscus and shea butter are sourced from the northern part of Nigeria. Joseph has very strong ties to the community. It is very important for us to make sure that the community workers are paid justly for the value that they are creating.
Our shea butter is processed in the traditional way which is done by women. It is a long and tedious process that is all done manually. Traditional women are known for being industrious, hard-working, and very enterprising. It is a cultural way of working in those communities. Shea butter is traditionally used in Nigeria to take care of issues of pain or muscle soreness. They blend spices like ginger and use it to do massaging to help with the healing process.
Shea butter is one of the richest and most powerful natural moisturizers to use on hair and skin. We decided to provide shea in its natural form with no other additives. There are a lot of people who are sensitive to scents, and they cannot cope with cosmetic or skincare products that have fragrances or irritants. So the shea is meant to cater to a large audience that can have the benefit of using something natural to moisturize and nourish their skin
Incorporating sustainability into our core values
Sustainability is an important part of the company’s foundation. It is vital to create a business that produces something valuable and at the same time be mindful of reducing waste. We put an emphasis on the importance of using sustainable materials, so all of the packaging are made of kraft paper. We value minimalism and upcycling. We try to repurpose materials to limit unnecessary waste.
We think about sustainability when talking about sourcing. We source from a place that values sustainability because we want to be able to sustain the community we source from. Traceability is an important aspect, especially from the point of sourcing to the point of exit, because safety is crucial. It’s important for us to do that for the safety of our customers to be to ensure that sustanibility is well documented.