Floristea: The addition to a healthy, colourful life with organic tea

The idea of starting her own business catering to selling organic tea products came about when 25-year-old Jiah Rosli was just in her final years to finishing her degree.

The youth entrepreneur was already thinking ahead of what kind of business she would want to venture into after graduation and not long after, Floristea made its debut in July 2019.

With tea lovers in mind, the home-based business aims to encourage people to live a beautiful and healthier lifestyle, already having its own customer base dubbed FTBloomers.

What is Floristea?

Her decision to open the brand was also because there were no other businesses offering the same or similar products at that time, giving her the confidence to jump into her solo venture.

At Floristea, one can enjoy plenty of options where each tea contains its own health benefits such as the FT6Combo that is good for the skin, body and mind.

Several other teas in their list include FTClassic, FTPetite and FT6Combo of Apple flower, Butterfly Pea, Lavender, Rosebud, Roselle and Wolfberry, FTHerbs such as Dried Lemon and Red dates, FTDoorgift, Doorgift.mini and new edition, FTBlend of Dear Beautiful, Sleeping Beauty and Fruit-tea.

Furthermore, Jiah gets her stocks from a supplier in Malaysia whose teas are of high quality and not only that, but some of the ingredients used with the organic tea are sourced locally in Brunei.

“Most of the consumers of this brand are FTBloomers who wanted to include more of naturals in their diet which is in line with the brand’s purpose of providing tea that is organic and healthy for the body,” said the 25-year-old who packs the products on her own.

To purchase the tea, it is done on a pre-order bases and sold in batches where customers can only place their orders during a certain period.

However, catering to special orders, Floristea has also expanded into providing tea door-gifts for exclusive occasions which was not in her initial plan.

Challenges faced

To start off the business, Jiah had about $300 to $350, and all of the money went into the product manufacture, bringing in the supplies as well as funding the marketing.

Of course, being a small home-based online business, it does come with challenges especially for a solo entrepreneur.

She shared that one of the main challenges faced since the start of her business is doing online marketing and creating her own publicity.

For the 25-year-old, she knew that she needs to come up with ways to promote her teas to consumers whilst also gaining their trust.

Another challenge that is being faced by the brand is looking for high-quality flower teas and supplies in order to keep the products always at their finest.

However, there are also some competitions along with the famous beverages’ companies in Brunei and that she came up with ways to make her products unique and eye-catching to the consumers.

For marketing, the brand utilises Instagram as their main business platform, creating aesthetically pleasing layout with inspirations from YouTube and Pinterest.

“I have no background in business, but you can always learn and self-teach as nothing is impossible. Entrepreneurship can be learnt from professionals, but it can also be learnt from YouTube,” said the 25-year-old.

Future plans

Currently, the brand is focusing on the launch of their next FTBlend editions containing five more Tea Blends by year with their new collection Tea Bombs will be introduced next.

With that, Floristea hopes to create more products to satisfy their tea lovers so they can try out newer and different flavours and still be on the healthy side.

Furthermore, the brand’s biggest goal now is to open a store in the future where they can display the products that they offer and interact with the FTBloomers.

Talking about opening new business for aspiring entrepreneurs, Floristea calls on more people to come front and join the journey no matter if it is the same type of business or not.

“What’s important is as long as they have their own identity and unique from existing businesses,” said Jiah.

“Entrepreneurship is a broad course and people will not stop creating and we will keep on learning. If we can go for it, it is never too late or too early,” concluded the creator of Floristea.

To know more about the home-based business, follow them on Instagram @floristea.bn and be amazed by the attractive images.

This article was first published on 16 October 2021 in our Weekly E-Paper issue 163

THE BRUNEIAN | BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

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