Distributed locally under franchise by the company Run Tea, the organic tea brand Kusmi Tea began to change its distribution in 2020 by closing its Dionysian boutique in favor of resellers. Today it focuses on e-commerce, with home delivery, a purchasing method well suited to the product.
In a rather coffee-like land like Reunion, the tea progresses slowly, but he is progressing. In particular, iced teas and infusions are becoming popular and finding their place in the concert of refreshing drinks.. In the tea offer, Kusmi Tea takes a special place : that of tea blends, fruits and spices, which characterize the art of Russian tea (see box) whose brand perpetuates and claims the heritage. A know-how that extends to Kusmi’s other major specialty, fruit waters, fruit infusions, without theine, to drink hot or iced. Present for six years in Reunion, the brand developed under the leadership of Bertrand Hulin, co-founder of the Run Tea company which operates the local franchise. “We opened the Kusmi Tea boutique on rue Jean-Chatel, in Saint-Denis, December 20, 2016 exactly. The brand was already known to people who had traveled to mainland France. We built our first clientele this way. For my part, I left one professional activity and was looking for another. A friend with other franchises asked me to join him in this adventure.. »
Wider distribution while remaining selective
Notoriety gainer, the local franchise has evolved its distribution method to extend it to resellers and supermarkets. The store closed its doors in 2020. Kusmi Tea now only has its own point of sale, a kiosk corner within the Carrefour shopping mall, in the Canabady area of Saint-Pierre. For the rest, it is distributed in delicatessens, in concept stores, and works with the CHR, hotels, restaurants, bakeries, tea rooms… Notable fact, it appeared in some supermarkets, at the request of the latter, with some references.
“We benefit from the media support of the franchisor, of the reputation of the brand, of its presence in particular on social networks. Which means that today, new people have easy access to our products and can discover us” notes Bertrand Hulin.
A Reunion online store for Kusmi Tea
www.Kusmitea.re : Kusmi Tea authorized its Reunion franchisee to open its own website. Replica of the metropolitan site; but dedicated to Reunion, it gives access to the entire Kusmi Tea range of teas, fruit waters and accessories. Ordering is done online. References are sent to your home within 48 hours. “It’s important to have products on display, but it is clear that another way of purchasing has taken hold in Reunion following the Covid crisis. The health crisis has shown us the benefits of this new distribution route. Online sales are well suited to this type of light products, not very bulky, which can be sent by post” concludes Bertrand Hulin.
A very old tea house
At the origin of Kusmi Tea is a tea house founded in Saint Petersburg in 1867 by Pavel Kousmichoff, creator of the brand's historic blends. Fleeing the Russian Revolution, the family moved to Paris in 1917. Kousmichoff teas acquire a great reputation. However, the house lost its prestige when it was bought in 2003, to be revitalized by Sylvain and Claude Orebi under the name Kusmi Tea with an entirely organic offering that respects the traditional know-how of Pavel Kousmichoff. Kusmi Tea teas and infusions are produced in Normandy
