Waikato's Zealong Tea, New Zealand's only oolong tea grower and exporter, is luring up to 500 visitors a week to its postcard-pretty Gordonton plantation since launching the "Discover Tea" experience in August.
Deputy general manager Gigi Crawford said weekend visitors alone have climbed to around 200 since the Taiwanese family-owned company stepped up its domestic marketing focus, offering a landscaped "tea walk", formal tea ceremony and tasting, and a movie presentation of how a green tea plantation came to be in such an unlikely region as Waikato.
Of the visitors, 60 per cent were tourists from other parts of New Zealand and overseas, compared with 20 per cent a year ago, Crawford said.
A new direct Jet Star flight service from Singapore to Auckland is paying dividends for the company, which has sunk $10 million so far into its organic growing and tourist venture. Only one month into the tourist season, Zealong is seeing visitors from Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia coming to the plantation independently, when last year they arrived as part of organised tours, Crawford said. She attributes Zealong's growing reputation with overseas visitors to word of mouth.
Zealong sells its tea varieties from its picturesque teahouse set in a 50ha camellia plantation on Gordonton Rd, and its product is on the shelves at Wellington specialist tea shop Tealeaf Tea, and at specialist grocer Farro.
It is considering opening a specialist tea shop in Auckland, possibly at the city's airport.
On the export front, the company has just made a sale of 200kg of oolong to German's biggest tea retailer TeeGschwendner which has 200 stores in middle Europe.
While Zealong's tea has ISO accreditation and is organically grown, its product still had to pass the German company's lab tests, Crawford said.
"This is indicative of the process we have to go through to sell into premium markets," she said.
Zealong's tea sits in TeeGschwendner's very top price bracket at around NZ$30 for 100gms, alongside teas considered "exquisite, limited edition`" product, said Zealong spokesman Jeff Howell.
The German company also showed a strong interest in a new "black tea" product being trialled by grower Vincent Chen who runs the company on behalf of his family, and Zealong's "tea master".
Made from the same camellia plants which produce fine oolong tea, the black tea, which Howell likens to fine Darjeeling, was a hit with TeeGschwendner, which wanted 1.5 tonnes immediately, he said.
The hitch for the fledgling exporter is that it has only made 60kg this year.
Another coup was being invited to promote its tea in a top end Tokyo department store, which recently hosted a one week food and tea show occupying a whole floor.
"Japan is a very tough market to break into, but they already trust New Zealand product," Crawford said.
As Zealong predicted earlier this year, Japan's radiation crisis and Northern Hemisphere food and heavy-metal contamination scares are fuelling demand for safe, quality product from New Zealand, she said.
Zealong has also opened a store in Soho, Taipei.
The United States continues to be a tough market proposition, being a coffee culture, Howell said.
"But we are always talking to US companies."
The Chen family plans to invest at least a further $10m in the plantation in the next few years, adding a larger tea house and luxury accommodation.
In line with its business plan, the company had yet to make a profit, but revenue was satisfactory, Chen said.
Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/business/6079140/A-fine-blend-of-tourism-and-global-interest/
Deputy general manager Gigi Crawford said weekend visitors alone have climbed to around 200 since the Taiwanese family-owned company stepped up its domestic marketing focus, offering a landscaped "tea walk", formal tea ceremony and tasting, and a movie presentation of how a green tea plantation came to be in such an unlikely region as Waikato.
Of the visitors, 60 per cent were tourists from other parts of New Zealand and overseas, compared with 20 per cent a year ago, Crawford said.
A new direct Jet Star flight service from Singapore to Auckland is paying dividends for the company, which has sunk $10 million so far into its organic growing and tourist venture. Only one month into the tourist season, Zealong is seeing visitors from Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia coming to the plantation independently, when last year they arrived as part of organised tours, Crawford said. She attributes Zealong's growing reputation with overseas visitors to word of mouth.
Zealong sells its tea varieties from its picturesque teahouse set in a 50ha camellia plantation on Gordonton Rd, and its product is on the shelves at Wellington specialist tea shop Tealeaf Tea, and at specialist grocer Farro.
It is considering opening a specialist tea shop in Auckland, possibly at the city's airport.
On the export front, the company has just made a sale of 200kg of oolong to German's biggest tea retailer TeeGschwendner which has 200 stores in middle Europe.
While Zealong's tea has ISO accreditation and is organically grown, its product still had to pass the German company's lab tests, Crawford said.
"This is indicative of the process we have to go through to sell into premium markets," she said.
Zealong's tea sits in TeeGschwendner's very top price bracket at around NZ$30 for 100gms, alongside teas considered "exquisite, limited edition`" product, said Zealong spokesman Jeff Howell.
The German company also showed a strong interest in a new "black tea" product being trialled by grower Vincent Chen who runs the company on behalf of his family, and Zealong's "tea master".
Made from the same camellia plants which produce fine oolong tea, the black tea, which Howell likens to fine Darjeeling, was a hit with TeeGschwendner, which wanted 1.5 tonnes immediately, he said.
The hitch for the fledgling exporter is that it has only made 60kg this year.
Another coup was being invited to promote its tea in a top end Tokyo department store, which recently hosted a one week food and tea show occupying a whole floor.
"Japan is a very tough market to break into, but they already trust New Zealand product," Crawford said.
As Zealong predicted earlier this year, Japan's radiation crisis and Northern Hemisphere food and heavy-metal contamination scares are fuelling demand for safe, quality product from New Zealand, she said.
Zealong has also opened a store in Soho, Taipei.
The United States continues to be a tough market proposition, being a coffee culture, Howell said.
"But we are always talking to US companies."
The Chen family plans to invest at least a further $10m in the plantation in the next few years, adding a larger tea house and luxury accommodation.
In line with its business plan, the company had yet to make a profit, but revenue was satisfactory, Chen said.
Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/business/6079140/A-fine-blend-of-tourism-and-global-interest/