The Spice & Tea Exchange was established in 2008 with the goal of giving visitors a singular sensory experience. This franchise genuinely stands out as a unique experience. The aromas that greet you as you enter The Spice & Tea Exchange® stores fill your senses, and you find yourself immediately thinking of the recipes you could create using the ingredients in front of you, such as recreating your mother’s or grandmother’s spaghetti or your favorite dish from the nearby restaurant. This experience is what sets us apart from your regular grocer or spice shop. Many of its unique spice mixtures and teas are handmade right in the shops. Visitors are welcome to “open the jars” as they explore, observe the hand-mixing of blends by the Spice Masters, sip freshly brewed tea at the tea bar, and converse with our educated staff. It really is an experience for all of your senses.
“We all loved food and had this vision to share our passion for food in a way that brought the ingredients, fun, and industry expertise into the concept. We started our first shop in St. Augustine, FL, and as guests came to love the store, it became a reality for us that we would potentially want to expand. Franchising allowed us to do that in a way that brought other foodies and entrepreneurs into the mix. The organic growth from there has been incredible; we’re currently at 83 franchise locations and growing.”
Below are highlights of the interview:
Give us a detail description about the featured person (founder and CEO)?
As CEO and a founding partner, Amy oversees all aspects of The Spice & Tea Exchange® Franchising and department support. Amy’s true passion lies in supercharging and empowering her teams and driving success through team development. Amy is an active member of the IFA and obtained her Certified Franchise Executive designation in 2014.
What were the major difficulties encountered by the franchise during the epidemic, and what has changed since then?
Immediate closures impacted our entire system overnight, much like the rest of the United States. Many of our stores were forced to shut their doors completely for several weeks or months; others were able to reopen with reduced hours and serve their guests with curbside pickup from behind closed doors. It was a learning moment for us, as it was for so many. We were able to support our stores with local pickup and delivery forms online, and social media helped to keep guests informed and engaged while they were also quarantined at home. Guests were cooking at home, looking for natural immunity boosters and at-home wellness remedies, and in need of a moment of comfort. We were honored and grateful to continue to be able to provide that to them. As everything opened up in late 2020, we experienced an incredible boom.
2021 was our best retail year yet, as our system finished the year 70.8% ahead of 2020. We opened seven new doors across the United States. Supply chain disruptions and internal labor shortages certainly challenged us. We adjusted internally by altering our buying philosophy, implementing new systems to improve forecasting capabilities, and expanding our direct sourcing internationally. We scaled our team upwards of 42%, expanded our working shifts, and leveraged technology to maximize coverage in fulfilment. Our Franchisee partners continued to focus on community and retention to increase sales and local partnerships, culminating in the best year we’ve ever seen in business.
Mid-2022, I believe that we are all much more aware of the power of “We.” Incredible steps can be taken when we are all maintaining momentum together.
How selective is the brand in choosing franchisees?
We believe that smart franchise growth is based on a strong foundation. We look for our core values among other necessary criteria when considering an addition to our spice family. At this pivotal moment in our growth we are walking, not running, to ensure our system is successful.
What does your training program entail? Do you provide assistance with advertising and marketing?
We have an incredible team of professionals to assist our stores as they onboard with us. Our Franchise Owners complete a full week of Spice UniversiTea at our facilities in St. Augustine, Florida to learn the ins-and-outs of the company and operational management. We introduce them to tools and technologies that will assist them through opening their store, as well as consult on business operations, marketing, and how to leverage our many support partnerships. They then receive two weeks of on-site education as they prepare to open and begin to implement customer service and merchandising techniques into their day-to-day. As a part of their continued education, we offer virtual education and documented learning curriculum via online platforms.
What sort of characteristics in employees contribute to the organization’s success?
In new team members, we look for a natural belief in our core values. These values reflect who we are as an organization:
- “Passion” — belief and enjoyment in all that we do.
- “Distinction” — unique and creative in all that we do.
- “Responsibility” — accountability and ownership in all that we do.
We believe that “I is We,” and upholding these values ensures trust and a greater understanding of our purpose as a company.
What is the best way to build a great team?
Understand your purpose for doing what you do, communicate it well, reiterate it often, and hire the right individuals who can breathe it with you. The right team will help drive your culture and business through difficult growth stretches and lift you up as you continue building.
What are your overall objectives and goals for your brand? What are the future plans to sustain the company’s success?
We’re about to hit 100 locations! At this moment, we are keen to expand, but also focused on infrastructure to bolster our teams and technology to handle what’s to come. We’re further developing our Learning & Development areas to nurture our system (new and existing), we’re growing our consultant teams to give added support to our field and investing in new channels (such as wholesale) to open additional lines of revenue for our owners.
What does “performance culture” mean to you?
To create a “performance culture,” you need to keep a strong pulse on the health of your organization, continually motivate your teams, and enable them to create processes and opportunities to advance themselves and the company. We wouldn’t be here today without our teams and franchisee partners. We’re continually taking our pulse, listening, adjusting, and working to ensure that we’re fostering a system that embraces the voice and needs of our franchise family. Allowing our team members to shine in their genius fosters the nurturing and empowering culture we’ve built.
In your opinion, what are the primary factors that have the potential to revolutionise the franchise industry’s future?
In the last few years, we’ve seen an incredible shift in the need for virtual learning and the platforms and technologies available to support the industry. As we continue to stretch our arms out and bring our concept to life through our franchisees, we are looking at these major shifts in communication and engagement as a key to our future success— impacting how we share, engage with, and enhance our ownership and employment experiences.
Website: www.spiceandtea.com
