Exhibiting Wellness Teas at the BBC Good Food Winter Festival
I decided to finish this year off with the BBC Good Food Festival, one of the biggest food festivals in the UK which atttracts over 40,000 visitors.
Spanning four days, the BBC good food show is a wonderful food festival featuring lots of artisan food producers, food celebrities such as Gennaro Contaldo, Nadiya Hussein etc and several live cooking shows.
I travelled to Birmingham to set up my stall at the NEC and was super excited for this one as it was my first consumer facing show. I thought it would be a wonderful way to get feedback directly from the customers, not just regarding the taste of the products but also on the packaging.
The show went well, it was busy, though not as busy as I had expected it to be. My neighbours said this year was quieter than previous years. Perhaps, it is the inflation affecting the economy? (Me putting on my Economics hat)
Most of the people visiting were in an older age range and the only tea they had ever tried was PG Breakfast tips. If they were being adventurous, then perhaps peppermint or chamomile tea. I found this really intriguing as in London, there are a multitude of flavours and it is unimaginable to never have tried any other tea (in my mind anyway).
I had a real challenge on my hands as the teas I sell are wellness teas. Some of the herbs are conventional herbs such as rose chamomile and lavender tea which most people have heard of, however, I also sell ayurvedic herbs such as ashwagandha tea, turmeric, tulsi (holy basil) tea which are relatively new in the western world and mostly unheard of even in Birmingham!
It was all about educating the visitors about the wonderful adaptogenic and functional effects of these ayurvedic herbs and how they can help us to deal with issues such as stress, sleep or low immunity. The tea that sold out for me was the one that had ashwagandha in it for stress which suggests that no matter where you go in the UK, people are stressed 🙂
All in all, it was fulfilling to educate others on how they could improve their health and wellness with simple natural ingredients.
What I loved was everytime someone walked past my stall, the name “Better Food Mood” would put a smile on their face. I heard several people say, “Oh, I love that name”.
I came back with lots of feedback on my products and branding. I am looking forward to more consumer facing exhibitions next year and can’t wait to share my experience with you.
