Arbor Teas is hitting the sweet spot for its tea production, clocking double-digit revenue growth and pushing its packaging to become even more sustainable. The Ann Arbor-based online retailer for loose-leaf tea prides itself on selling its teas in compostable packaging. It upgraded that system earlier this year by adding a compostable adhesive that makes it packaging easier to assemble and biodegrade.
"That was fairly revolutionary for us," says Jeremy Lopatin, co-founder of
Arbor Teas.
Jeremy Lopatin launched Arbor Teas with his wife, Aubrey Lopatin, a little more than a decade ago. It now has a staff of seven people, including three hires since early 2014. The new jobs include inventory management at its warehouse on Ann Arbor's north side and customer service.
Arbor Teas sells a broad variety of organic-certified teas from around the world. It recently added teas from Kenya, Korea, and Hawaii. It sells them online but is aiming to expand into brick and mortar sales over the next year. The Lopatins are also looking at opening an organic tea bar in Ann Arbor.
Arbor Teas grew its sales by 25 percent last year. It is exceeding its sales forecasts for this year so far.
"We're doing about 21 percent this year," Jeremy Lopatin says.
Source: Jeremy Lopatin, co-founder of Arbor Teas
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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