Understanding when to pivot is one of the most important lessons in CPG. No stranger to hardship, Equitea founder Quentin Vennie is embracing a new opportunity in community-building after pivoting to a pop-up café.
The Baltimore-based brand faced down a host of challenges in 2024 from the loss of its sole copacker to walking away from a potential venture-backed investment. As the brand weighed its future as a retail-first brand, founder Quentin Vennie opened a pop-up café, House 28 Matcha by Equitea, in Baltimore’s Remington neighborhood. After five months as a pop-up “matcha studio,” Equitea is moving into a permanent home in the same area.
“I realized that so much of our business was tied to somebody else’s availability which is foolish to me,” Vennie told BevNET. “We can’t conduct our business based on someone else’s MOQ.”
When kombucha maker Flying Embers was acquired by JuneShine, Equitea found out its sparkling canned tea copacking partner would be changing its production strategy and increasing minimum production runs. The brand was not able to find a new co-manufacturer with available line-time to support its production.
Compounding the “oh shit moment,” as Vennie called it, the brand had to pull out of a capital investment opportunity with a VC firm because “the deal structure didn’t work.” Despite interest from Walmart and its deal with Sprouts, Equitea had to pull back from retail.
Vennie insisted that the brand is not abandoning its 4-SKU line of RTD teas and loose leaf blends, but adjusted Equitea’s strategy moving forward.
After receiving requests from his consumers, Vennie decided the loss of production was an opportunity to lean into its community-based approach and try something new.
“There was clear demand from our customer base for more engagement and more experiences,” he said. “The brick and mortar, pop-up model supported stronger brand storytelling. House 28 Matcha allows for an experiential retail environment to thrive where our customers can interact directly with our products, engage with us and our story.”
House 28 Matcha was opened in February as a short-term pop-up selling matcha lattes, dirty matchas and matcha flights handmade by Vennie using ceremonial green tea. The pop-up became more than a café but an embodiment of Vennie’s approach to community-building within his home city.
Historically, tea houses in the Jim Crow South were instrumental during the Civil Rights Movement, providing places of refuge and healing for the community, Vennie said.
“Our desire from the beginning has always been to be more than just a product,” he said. “We want to create a holistic brand experience that lives beyond just the product.”
Now, with the opening of a permanent location, Equitea has a home to drill down into that mission. It also will be the place where Equitea can rebuild its sparkling adaptogenic, canned teas and other products with an eye towards “thoughtful expansion and intentional growth,” he said.
House 28 Matcha by Equitea will provide a space of “healing” for Vennie and his community.
“Now we’re not only providing quality ingredients, but we’re providing a quality experience that connects on a human level,” he said. ”Human connection is what we’re missing in this current landscape. You don’t get any of that in an end-cap.”