According to the FAO, tea is one of the most important commercial crops and plays a significant role in rural development, poverty reduction and food security in exporting and developing countries. It is an important source of income for millions of small producers.
The price of tea, as well as herbs, spices and fruit, is influenced by countless factors. Harvests can be disappointing due to weather, pests, diseases, strikes, etc. Transport costs, usually by container ship, can fluctuate greatly depending on the availability of containers in the right ports, fuel prices, pandemics, etc. EU rules may be tightened, resulting in fewer batches being available on the European market, which drives up prices. Changes in labour costs, energy prices and the cost of packaging materials can occur throughout the chain.
At De Theefabriek, we are constantly dealing with changes in purchase prices and other indirect costs. These changes are reflected in our sales prices via a calculation model. If our purchase price for a new batch of an ingredient suddenly increases significantly, we recalculate the ingredient and the blends it is part of and adjust the sales price upwards or downwards where necessary. This calculation model also takes into account personnel, packaging and transport costs. Price changes are not announced and can take place throughout the year, sometimes for one product, sometimes for several, and sometimes for all.
In general, we try to include both competitively priced basic teas and higher-priced quality teas in our range. For example, we have a delicious jasmine tea based on Chun Mee, a more refined jasmine tea based on Chun Hao, but also the very exclusive, hand-rolled Jasmine Dragon Pearls. When it comes to herbs, spices and fruit, we mainly focus on the more affordable basic ingredients. However, we also have a few specialities in our range, such as jasmine and butterfly pea blossom.