Snarky Tea
The alarm goes off. You have already hit the snooze button twice, at least, and cannot refuse this final call. With a groan you swing your feet to the floor and drag yourself to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. The day begins, and you have, one, two, three, four, five cups of coffee to keep yourself going.
Sound familiar? It’s time to wake you the eff up.
Jenni-Lyn Williams, founder of Snarky Tea, wants to change what you put in your mug each morning, and prove that tea is not just for yogis and relaxation. However, her tea has an adopted language. The blends are named with foul phrases that speak specifically to a need. Feeling like a Fierce B*tch or that you need to Calm the F**k Down? Look no further than Snarky Tea.
“Everyone has had a moment in their day where something happens and they want to drop an eff bomb or say s*** but maybe aren’t upfront about it. There is something about that conversation that makes things relatable,” Williams said.
A new mom, grad student and former full-time worker in financial services in Philadelphia, Williams felt the negative effects of her coffee intake and sought help from her doctor. After a suggested switch from coffee to tea, Williams reluctantly poked around the teabag options at the beverage cart at work the following day. Frustrated with the stale marketing for tea, she craved for something to jump out and tell her exactly what would wake her the eff up. And that is when the idea for Snarky Tea began.
Williams believes that her brand presents a rare opportunity. As a previous coffee drinker, she continues to learn about accessible ingredients that appeal to non-tea drinkers and are not an acquired taste. Herba mate (popular in Latin America) and rooibos (more often used in Europe and Africa) are two distinctive ingredients utilized in her tea. Each tea explains why it works and is included with a humorous description of a scenario leading to why you need it and ends with the same signature, “XOXO, Tea and Sisterhood Forever.”
Williams’ snarky language brews deeper than profanity. She centers her company around boldness and speaking encouragement to the women who buy her tins. She wants her consumers to feel that it’s OK to not be perfect. Her grandmother, whom she says “is as bad a** as it comes,” has encouraged her towards confidence her entire life.
She has a “love letter” of encouragement written on the back of each tin. Whether it brings laughter or a sense of belonging, Williams wants her consumer to take a step back, release the pressure to do everything, of being a Pinterest mom, of comparing herself to friends’ social media highlight reels. Familiar with the isolating pressures of the world, Williams hopes her tea and its message will act as a friend and say, “you aren’t alone.”
Based in Nokomis, Williams recently partnered with “Shark Tank” and its $5 million marketing plan. She hopes to see exponential growth in 2018 with distribution to large retailers, including Whole Foods and increasing online sales. Williams’ goal is to bring more gift-ability to the brand by offering merchandise and selling additional “bouquets” of teas. With many ideas for new blends, the sky is her limit. So hold the eff on, and get “snarky,” Sarasota.
