Meet Maria Uspenski | Founder & CEO of The Tea Spot

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maria Uspenski and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maria, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I would have to say there are three things which have been vital to our success: innovation, adaptability, and our people.

At The Tea Spot , we craft teas of excellent quality that empower people to improve their lives by making tea a part of every day. And guess what? We have several direct competitors who do the same thing. Our primary differentiator is that we’re always listening, always looking for what our customers might want now or next, and always developing new products to address these needs. We do this with our functional teas, and we design innovative Steepware® as well – modern teaware that makes daily tea easy and fun. There are plenty of companies choose a market niche and decide to do the same thing, only better. We prefer to participate in our industry as thought leaders and trend setters, as opposed to being a follower. Both approaches are perfectly valid. However, as a smaller company in the tea industry (think Lipton and Hain-Celestial), we prefer to fuel our growth by being first to market with products which are relevant to customers right now.

Hand-in-hand with innovation is the need to be adaptable. We’ve all heard about businesses needing to pivot over the past few years. At The Tea Spot, we’ve been sure to maintain the agility which would allow us to do so since our inception. When you’re an innovator, it’s important to be able to respond to an important shift or trend, so your message is always pertinent to your customers’ current needs. There are also times that we have a product in mid-development, and suddenly we need to completely revamp the strategy, positioning, or timeline in order to stay most relevant. These adaptations could range from color trends or “hot” functional ingredients (like Elderberries became were in 2020) to supply chain or cash flow issues.

Most importantly, you are only as good as your team. I can’t ever emphasize or show gratitude for this enough. The Tea Spot is incorporated as a PBC (Public Benefit Corporation). We were one of the first companies to receive a B-Corp certification in Colorado (2011). Purpose-driven businesses often approach hiring differently. It’s part of our company’s core purpose to have a transformative effect instead of only achieving profitable growth. We donate 10% of all profits to wellness initiatives around the world. Apart for looking for qualified employees who are possess the skills and expertise required to perform their job, we look for people who are passionate about making a difference as a part of our team. We strive every day to maintain a sense of community within the four walls of our business. Believing and belonging are critical to how we work with our employees. Mutual respect and support within our team are what drive us to achieve at levels which far exceed the sum of the parts.

And lastly, I’d have to add that our brand has been successful because we care fiercely about our mission to promote wellness. Our core values are strong and inform all our major branding and development decisions. We love our brand, and I think it shows.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Maria Uspenski is the founder & CEO of The Tea Spot, where her mission is to advance healthier living through the everyday enjoyment of whole leaf tea. Their message is simple and powerful – tea in its freshest form is sustainable, and renders exceptional flavor and unmatched health benefits. The Boulder, Colorado based company is a Certified B-Corp, and is committed to a culture of giving back 10% of all profits. To date, The Tea Spot has donated more than 10 million cups of tea and $100,000 for clean water, empowering individuals and strengthening communities near and far. Uspenski is the author of “Cancer Hates Tea”, published by Page Street Books in 2016, and was recognized as the “Top Tea Health Advocate” at the 2017 World Tea Expo. She is featured at conferences nationwide, in the print media, on television, radio and podcast interviews for her success as a social entrepreneur and certified tea and fitness nutrition expert.

Maria Uspenski is founder & CEO of The Tea Spot, a Colorado company, recognized as a “Best For The World” certified B Corp. An MIT mechanical engineer by trade, Uspenski is the innovator listed on 3 U.S. patents for Steepware® inventions, which promote the ease of tea preparation. She is the author of “Cancer Hates Tea”, published by Page Street Books in 2016, and was recognized as the “Top Tea Health Advocate” at the 2017 World Tea Expo. She has been featured in the the media and on television, radio and podcast interviews for her success as a social entrepreneur and tea expert.