At English Tea Shop, our employees are at the heart of everything we do. We work closely with our employees to forge a community and not just a workplace. Join us each month as we sit down with a member of our team to find out a little bit more about them. Next up, we are joined by Shashika – Manager of Sales and accounts, here at English Tea Shop. We talk about sales, markets, Prajãva and our wonderful blends!
Tell us about your role at English Tea Shop, what does your job involve?
My role at English Tea Shop is finding, serving and connecting external like-minded partners to work with our empowered value chain to spread the goodness of organic with the rest of the world.
What do you love the most about English Tea Shop and the farm-to-cup ethos?
The most heartwarming thing about ETS for me is the person-first approach. No matter the scenario, this company goes out of its way for people, and that drives us to feel at home. That assurance is a very hard promise for any business to make, unless that business is created for people!
What does Prajãva or community mean for you?
Prajãva is very much internal to me. I can’t read or interpret what we do on a daily basis without Prajãva, as it is the basis of everything we do as a brand.
Tell us more about your approach to sales at English Tea Shop…
Our Creating Shared Value model guides our sales approach. We take pride in having a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility staffed with skilled and versatile employees, high-tech machines and labs, along with a sourcing capacity enriched with our base of suppliers & farmers contributing and strengthening our value chain. Due to this unique approach, we are able to provide superior teas to the kitchen table and as gifts for you and your loved ones that are of great quality, affordable and ethical to all consumers which gives us a competitive advantage.
We are seeing a rise in consumers valuing authentic sustainable practices in their favorite brands. Our founding principles through the CSV model give us this additional edge in connecting with this modern consumer. Therefore, as a sales team, we narrow our focus to align with the brand’s identity and purpose through sacrifices and trade-offs. Thus, taking advantage of like-minded businesses and capabilities that are unique to us and our purpose. That’s our approach to sales – we love working in our sweet spot!
What is the biggest challenge when it comes to your role at English Tea Shop?
Customer bargaining power has evolved to an all-time high putting extra pressure even on well-established brands out there and on brands like ours. Keeping in mind that our teas are not something our consumers cannot live without, brand identity makes all the difference in customer choice and bargaining. Today brands can win customers using attributes such as branding, quality, and unique packaging taking away some of the pressure from price. We are also seeing consumer demand changing towards healthy and wellness offerings delivered in a subtle trendy way. Therefore, we need to continually innovate to stay on top of the game.
Tell us about the open book management initiative at English Tea Shop…
At ETS, we employ a distinctive approach; we are all stakeholders in the business; this means that as employees, we own 30% of the company. We adopt a forward-thinking business mindset where we not only draw from historical data insights but focus on future oriented considerations. For many years, we’ve been conducting weekly huddles, which have proven to be a valuable platform for learning. Over time, we’ve witnessed a marked improvement in our business fluency as well as our collective understanding of how each of us contributes to the company’s financial well-being.
This approach has fostered constructive debates among team members on various aspects of our future, such as immediate objectives for the next month, expectations for the upcoming financial year, performance against budgets, strategies for overcoming immediate team challenges, as well as the well-being and happiness of our employees and farmers. It is truly remarkable how a straightforward open discussion centred on finances has given rise to this unique culture within English Tea Shop, which we fondly refer to as the ‘Big Game’.
Are you more of a tea cup or a mug person?
I’m a tea-cup person.
What is your favourite blend of tea and how do you enjoy it?
My favourite blends are Pure Green Tea and Perfect Peppermint. I have at least 3-4 cups per day!
What blend do you reach for when you’re feeling unwell?
Immune Me or Lemongrass, Citrus and Ginger.
What is your favourite ingredient in its natural form, and why?
Ginger because of its health properties and unique, aromatic flavour.