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De Pere Tea Shop Thrives Under Jennifer Nowicki's Continuous Cultivation

Published April 09, 2018

It might be cliché, but for Jennifer Nowicki, owning a business really is her cup of tea.   The owner of Cultivate Taste in De Pere (cultivatetaste.com), Nowicki’s business includes fine tea events for almost any occasion, tea classes and an online gift shop. She says that she is steeping, reaping and cooking her way through life.   Having recently been awarded honorable mention in a business competition at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay where she is a student, she was asked why she is taking entrepreneurship and business classes when she has 25 years of experience in the gourmet food industry.   “I went back to school to complete my major in business administration,” she said. “With the entrepreneurship classes, I feel like it will help my business grow. In the classes, I am given examples and ideas of what other businesses are doing and that allows me to look at things from different angles.”   Evaluation is something she does continuously. She has tried different business models and made changes. She owned and operated a tea house in Milwaukee for three years, but decided to close when the hours became overwhelming.   “I literally was working pretty much 24/7 and was at that point where I needed to hire staff, but wasn’t at the point where I could afford to," she said. "It is like a catch-22.”   Instead of causing cash flow issues that could cause lasting damage, Nowicki looked at alternatives. She and a friend considered a shop in Madison, but were unable to put a plan together. So, she returned to the Green Bay area where years earlier she had been co-owner in a local coffee shop.   However, it would not be coffee this time. Tea has been her passion and she has spent years visiting tea plantations, taking classes and learning as much as she can about tea. She is the only person in Wisconsin who holds a Certified Tea Specialist designation.    “As I developed my business model, I visited tea rooms across the country and found that owners were very helpful,” Nowicki said. “Since we aren’t direct competition, everyone is happy to share ideas.”   She continues to modify the business plan that she used in her last venture. With the hours required to run a bricks-and-mortar location, she is trying to build the current business through special events, classes and unique tea blends. Loose leaf teas, most straight from the smaller farms where she has connections, are of the highest quality.   “I have higher end teas, but some that are lower priced are really good, too. However, if you’re drinking Lipton tea, you won’t be buying my tea,” she said   Through the classes at UWGB, she learned about wholesaling and has been growing that part of the business by selling to local restaurants and specialty shops. It was another adjustment that she made in her business plan.   “I have my business plan and know where I’d like to go, but obviously there have been changes and I’ve been continually assessing things as they develop,” she said.   As trends show that the specialty tea business is booming, Nowicki wonders if the area has caught on to the health benefits and array of delicious flavors. Although tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world next to water, coffee remains king in many locales. For Nowicki, that has never been a choice.   “I have fond memories of drinking tea with my grandmother when I was little," she said. "In my early 20s, I found loose leaf tea and discovered the superior flavor to bagged teas. But another part of the reason for tea is that I have tried coffee, and I don’t like the way it tastes.”   Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt is co-owner of DB Commercial Real Estate in Green Bay and past district director for SCORE, Wisconsin.
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Green Bay Press-Gazette

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