Linda Appel Lipsius
A chance celebrity sighting changed the trajectory of Linda Appel Lipsius’ life and that of women 8,000 miles away in one of the poorest parts of the world.
For weeks, her future husband had been working on the great American novel in the same New York cafe where Kazi Anis Ahmed was working on the great Bangladeshi novel, but they didn’t have a reason to speak until Monica Lewinsky happened to walk in, Lipsius explains. The men became friends and Ahmed eventually sought advice from Lipsius, 48, whose family owned Orange Glo International, maker of OxiClean.
After selling that business in 2006, Lipsius began working with Ahmed whose family’s 3,000-acre organic tea garden uses regenerative growing practices to restore the land in a region of Bangladesh where the environment had been decimated by rock lifting practices. The garden uses no pesticides, machinery, or unnatural irrigation to cultivate its teas, which has resulted in a regeneration of the area's once-barren ecosystem.
“This was totally revolutionary and had never been done before,” says Lipsius, who co-founded Teatulia Organic Teas, which produces award-winning hot teas, iced teas, and tea sodas, made with tea that is direct-sourced from the Teatulia Tea Garden, where tea pluckers and factory workers are paid 50 percent more than the industry average.
Sales of Teatulia’s products, which are touted as “garden-to-cup,” contribute to the Teatulia Cooperative which has established education, health, and a cattle-lending program whereby members of the co-op are lent a dairy cow that can be paid for with dung that’s used to fertilize the garden.
“These women end up owning the cows outright and it puts wealth and knowledge into the community,” says Lipsius. “It’s very empowering and some are even sending their kids to university. It’s awesome to see the upgrade to their standard of living.”
Boding well for their future is a portfolio of diverse and innovative products, including Teatulia's growing ingredients business through which tea is sourced by specialty makers like craft beer and kombucha producers. Lipsius' vision for products such as these have helped sustain the business during the COVID-19 pandemic, even as sales in foodservice – its largest distribution channel – took a major hit.
In keeping with Teatulia’s environmental mission, retail products are packaged in canisters that are 100 percent compostable and made from post-consumer waste. Labels use water-based inks and adhesives, and pyramid and square tea bags are compostable. Lipsius is hopeful that this packaging will also soon feature a Regenerative Organic Certification seal, as the company is in the process of pursuing the new designation. Efforts like these helped Teatulia obtain its B Corp status.
“We try to set a good example for how companies can do things better,” says Lipsius. “We’re hoping that more will challenge themselves to find ways to make positive change, since it’s not always that hard, and it’s sometimes even easier to do so, while at the same time being very good for your business.”
Timeline
— 2000 Teatulia Tea Garden founded in Northern Bangladesh with the goal of improving the local community.
— 2006 Linda Appel Lipsius sells family business Orange Glo International, begins working with Kazi Anis Ahmed part-time
— 2008 Lipsius joins Teatulia full-time; Tea Garden becomes organic certified; Whole Foods sources Teatulia Organic’s whole leaf tea.
— 2012 Caffeine-free herbal teas introduced; Teatulia Tea & Coffee Bar opens in Denver
— 2013 Teatulia becomes first Colorado tea brand to be certified B Corp.; launches more affordable Fine Cut Line
— 2014 Becomes Rainforest Alliance Certified
— 2015 Launches Energy Tea
— 2016 Tea Garden becomes first Fair Trade Certified garden in Bangladesh
— 2018 RTD tea soda in cans debuts; tea shop and tea-based cocktail bar opens in London
— 2020 Teatulia seeks Regenerative Organic Certification