National Tea Day: “Building my feel good tea business has been a decade long struggle”

OMGTea founder Katherine Swift was burned by Dragons, bashed by Brexit and discovered just how hard it is to sell tea to the British. But now, after major investment, she’s ready for growth

When Katherine Swift launched her matcha tea business in 2014, most Brits had never heard of the Japanese beverage. It didn’t take long for her to realise that this nation of tea drinkers was going to be a tough sell.

“Nobody even knew what matcha was and, despite massive growth in popularity over the last few years, a lot of people still haven’t tried it today.

“The last ten years have been challenging. If I knew what it would be like when I started I’m not sure I would have done it, but I am so glad I did now,” says the OMGTea founder.

Today, OMGTea is riding high with sales expected to exceed £1m this financial year and listings in well known retailers such as Selfridges, Holland & Barrett, Ocado, Wholefoods Market, Planet Organic and Harvey Nichols.

The company’s artisanal green powder, made in Japan using traditional methods, has won a string of Great Taste Awards.

The business recently received major investment from Aiya, Japan’s leading matcha producer with 136 years of experience and the provider of OMGTea’s product.

“We are the only company Aiya has ever invested in,” says Swift. “They’ve been a part of our journey over the last 10 years and invested because we are the real deal.

“We only sell authentic matcha made the traditional way. There are a lot of cheaper, lower quality matcha products out there, but our focus has always been on making high grade matcha accessible.”

Today, celebrities such as Taylor Swift, Jennifer Anniston, Ryan Reynolds and Serena Williams are reportedly matcha devotees and attest to its anti-oxidising health benefits and feel good quality.

OMG Moments

A chance set of ‘OMG moments’ led Swift to launch her business. One day in 2009 her mother was undergoing surgery for breast cancer and, desperate for a brief distraction, she made a call to a business contact.

“I was an event manager working on The Northwest Football Awards. To take my mind off things I put in a call to Maurice Watkins, who chaired the judging panel.

“On the call, he happened to tell me that he was also chairing a £5m charity appeal for Breakthrough Breast Cancer, now known as Breast Cancer Now. I got goosebumps as it seemed so coincidental. An OMG moment.”

Within a few months, Swift had taken a job at Breakthrough Breast Cancer and was running the charity appeal. It was then that she met the appeal’s research director, Professor Michael Lisanti.

Lisanti’s research suggested that certain antioxidants and amino acids found in matcha tea could potentially reduce the growth of cancer stem cells. Enthused by the idea and desperate to help her mum, Swift began to source the best matcha she could find.

“I sourced a high grade matcha direct from Japan and the quality was fantastic,” says Swift. “It made me and my mum feel great. It gave us a sense of control by doing something positive that might help. We got a mental and physical boost of energy.”

Over a decade later and Swift’s mother is alive and well and still drinking matcha. “My mum has an indomitable spirit and has an iron will. She practices yoga, runs up and down stairs, eats very well and drinks lots of matcha tea.”

After a few name changes, Swift settled on OMGTea and launched in 2014. “Organic Matcha Green Tea – OMG! It was just another coincidence. I loved the name and it seemed to fit so perfectly.

“The lettering in our logo represents the delicate lines on the granite stone mill, which is used by authentic matcha producers in Japan to grind the tea leaves into a fine powder.

“We launched on Amazon in early 2015 and went to food festivals and farmers markets to make those early sales. Our first listings were at Planet Organic and other independent retailers in Brighton and Hove, where OMGTea is based. Sales were slow at first, but the feedback was always good.”