We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ricky Van Warner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ricky, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

The idea came to me while backpacking through Asia and exploring tea houses. I have always had a love for tea thanks to my Grandma, however, on this trip something clicked which told me to pursue this as a career. In my 20’s I spent some time traveling around the country and working on various farms and homesteads. Here I learned about herbalism and started making herbal remedies for different aliments. I began to dive deep into plant medicine and came up with a variety of teas. This was the beginning of my business starting to take form.

Ricky, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

What started as a hobby quickly grew and took over a good part of our house. Last year I decided to share this passion of tea with others and began selling some of our teas at local farmers markets. The local community was very receptive and things started gaining traction much more quickly than I had ever anticipated. This lead me to be able to quit my “day job” this year and pursue this full time business. I now do 4-5 farmers markets a week in the Asheville area as well as travel out of town some weekends to Plant & Herb Festivals. We have an online store and also sell our teas in other small businesses around town.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social Media has never been one of my strong suits or something I particularly enjoy. Luckily my partner and wife, Nikki, is extremely talented and understands that aspect of business well. She has really done wonders for our social media and online store presence. Her advice would be to remain true to who you are and consistency is key.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think what helped my reputation in our market is having a positive interaction with every customer. Really making connections and having meaningful conversations about our products has gone a long way. Another aspect is having a solid product that is approachable and delicious. Being open to suggestions from others has helped us formulate products and bring them to the standard they are today.

Contact Info:

• Website: appalachiandivinitea.com
• Instagram: @appalachiandivinitea
• Facebook: @appalachiandivinitea

Image Credits
Appalachian DiviniTEA