When COVID-19 shut our doors mid-March, it was a mere 4 days after we had just re-opened them. Months of hustling to get our new space ready and trying to minimize downtime between the relocation suddenly felt like all that work for naught. We had just committed to and hired a manager and we were busy planning how to train and ramp up our team who hadn’t steeped a cup of tea since February 14.
And suddenly we were a mail order business. With the surge in COVID-19 cases, we stopped serving customers indoors and began the frantic process of applying for loans and emergency funds. Our customer base was amazing, ordering loose leaf tea for pickup or to ship. Even old high school classmates came out of the woodwork to support us (love my Big Sky Eagles!). To keep our staff on board, they pivoted to fulfilling loose leaf orders and could gain hours by taking online classes, watching tea or wine documentaries, and working on marketing initiatives. Enter #SLCTeaTime. Our new manager, Tori, had this idea that we should begin a campaign to encourage our communiTEA to enjoy a virtual cup of tea. Wouldn’t there be something comforting about knowing that at the same time every day, other people were also taking a moment to enjoy a cuppa? We committed to daily social media posts highlighting what we were drinking every afternoon, sometimes filming short videos about how to make the cup of the day and tagged each one #SLCTeaTime.
The concept evolved into a weekly Instagram Live event. Sundays at 2, Scott and I would sit down in some location of the new shop to talk about a few of our teas, share what was happening at the shop, and finish with a tea cocktail demonstration. I’ve always been adamant that if tea culture is really going to take off, we need to show the world how easy it is to incorporate tea into other areas of your life – baking, roasting… and cocktailing! #SLCTeaTime became a way to engage and connect with our customers during a time when people were desperate for entertainment, distractions… and taking up new home hobbies. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit it was a good outlet for us too – after all, part of what we love about Tea Zaanti is connecting with people.
So here’s the silver lining of COVID-19 – early July we learned that Salt Lake Magazine picked the tea cocktails* featured during #SLCTeaTime as a Best of the Beehive winner, complete with a photo of the new Tea Zaanti patio and its physically distanced tables. Not only were we featured, but it was the FIRST highlight in the article (and right next to Post Malone!). We couldn’t have asked for better organic marketing if we tried and we are so thankful. Who knew an initiative to justify keeping our staff would result in a creative outlet, a customer engagement tactic AND garner us free media with a long shelf life?
We don’t host the show as often anymore now that we are back to serving customers in a limited capacity, but it does make an appearance every now and then (keep your eye on Instagram for announcements). I have shifted my energy to building out our broader community initiative, Tea Wine Action. More to come very soon, but not to worry, while the goal is to build bridges and educate our community, I know tea cocktails is a great hook to get people engaged!
*To clarify, Tea Zaanti only serves beer and wine, the only tea cocktails we serve are Tea-mosas and Tea Shandys (apologies, we forgot to download and save that episode - we were still rookies at IGTV back then!). The cocktail lessons are meant for at-home enjoyment.
Yeah, we had to buy the plaque, but you should come in and see it for yourself.
