Tea Time with Megan Weston: Brewing Success at Felicity Loft in Alaska

Live with Alaska MEP

Join us for an insightful live interview with Megan Weston, founder of Felicity Loft.

Live Summary

Join Sami Jo Lewis from the Alaska MEP and eCommerce Evangelist for Manufacturers Curt Anderson - Founder of B2Btail as Megan Weston, the founder of Felicity Loft, a local tea manufacturer. Discover the birth of Felicity Loft, her motivation to serve tea enthusiasts, and what sets her brand apart. Megan will also share her exciting future plans for Felicity Loft. Join us for a delightful tea-themed discussion!

Key Highlights

• A tea company in Alaska with a focus on wholesale customers. 0:03

• Entrepreneurship, tea, and branding. 4:08

• Branding and packaging for a tea company. 10:33

• Food manufacturing resources and regulations. 15:15

• Starting a business, sourcing ingredients, and food security in Alaska. 23:42

 Transcription

Sami Jo Lewis  00:03

All right. Hi everybody. Happy Thursday. We are super excited to be here and we have a wonderful interviewee today. So we're super excited to get to talk with Megan and learn more about her business as manufacture in the state of Alaska. And of course I have my wonderful friend, Curt Anderson, how are you doing today Curt

Curt Anderson  00:23

and Sami Jo? I am so excited for this wonderful conversation today. So I've you know, I'm not from Alaska. I wish I was I'm like the adopted Alaskan and I've had the honor and privilege of meeting Meghan in person and she is a powerhouse. So Megan, happy Thursday. How are you today?

Megan Weston  00:42

I'm good. I am doing really well excited. It's November 2. We still don't have snow on the ground, which is ideal. So yeah, it's been it's been a good day.

Curt Anderson  00:53

Well, that's awesome. So hey, we're gonna dig into some really exciting things that you have going on. And so Sammi Jo wants it. Let's let's dive right in. Take it away.

Sami Jo Lewis  01:01

Perfect. So first question. We'd love to just learn about your business that you have in Alaska. And so how did let's be let's get started.

Megan Weston 01:10

Oh, it's a great question. So Felicity Loft so we are a tea company based in Soldotna, Alaska. And we started it was started as a side project for me. I was running a restaurant full time and knew that eventually I wanted to get out of food service, but it's what I love. It's what I'm passionate about. And I wanted to stay adjacent to that. And so started looking for business ideas that were couple of couple of constraints and knew that I didn't want to do a product that had any kind of a short shelf life because in Alaska, that's really difficult. I knew that I wanted to get a product that would ship in and out of the state cleanly. And that would pair with things that we could access here in the state. And it was kind of this coinciding with like, more and more tea in my life. I was drinking more tea. I had more people around me that were drinking tea, kind of going on this tea journey. And then at the same time, I was also kind of marinating ideas of like, what the next part of my life would look like. And at some point, it sort of merged in my brain of like, Oh, I could just I could do this. This would be fun. And so yeah, it was it was kind of the slow evolution. Process of all this is what I want to do. And then when I first started I actually thought I was just going to be doing maybe some tea retail and then like eventually years down the road, I would create my own blends. And then I started blending just to understand Timor as I was taking some classes getting certifications as like a T specialty certification, and I started doing some blends and I was like, Oh, I love this. This is like this is like cooking. Like I love this. And I was like I'm going to start with like six blends. And within six months, I had 12 So it was just so much fun. And I really enjoyed it and it paired this amazing thing that I loved which was you know, providing a source of comfort for people. You know that that background I came out of from the foodservice world but then also being able to utilize Alaska ingredients Alaskan to support Alaskan farmers, other Alaskan businesses. So the business has really started its focus more on our wholesale customers. We wanted to be something that retail customers or retailers in the state of Alaska could put on their shelves and sell that would make them money. So it would have a good markup on it. That it would have beautiful packaging something that would draw their customers eyes and say, Oh, this is gorgeous. I want to pick this up. And those were things that seem to be missing within the tea world. In Alaska, specifically in the Alaskan market was elevated packaging and a business that was focused on wholesaler as opposed to focusing on the retail sales. So yeah, it's sort of these these things sort of you know, they never there's never a straight path it's just this like winding of how you get there. But yeah, that's how we started.

Curt Anderson  04:20

So like alright, man Sami Jo. There was so much unpack rate. You know, so again, for Megan, let's let's, you know, hypothetically you know, we want to we're speaking to other potential entrepreneurs manufacturers out there, and just so many great things that you just diagnosed and I wanted to get I'm going to go backwards a little bit. But I love how you said like, I want to get into the brand new I wanted to help my customers make money. I want to source Alaska product. What is a product that I can get to the lower 48 Because I love your tenacity in the logic. You know, sometimes as entrepreneurs, we get so married to like an exciting idea, but like I really feel like you dug into it methodically to build your success. Could you take us one step backwards? What was your previous life? A, B? Was there an aha moment? When you're like, I'm taking this leap of faith. I'm going to do this entrepreneurial journey. I believe you have a family background businesses in my close or what what was your previous life and how did you start this?

Megan Weston 05:20

Yeah, so my previous life, my degrees in economics, and but I graduated with an economics degree in 2008, which was not a great time to be in economics and yeah, it was a little bit rough, you know. So I ended up in food service was what I known, you know, I started as a sonic car hop when I was 16. Yeah, I worked in restaurants and stuff through college and and so I ended up back in food service, and then ended up spending the majority of my adult career in different forms. of food service management, and then I owned a restaurant for almost a decade here on the peninsula. And a big part of that, for me was having a space in our small town that could be utilized, you know, not just like a restaurant that everybody loves, which is, you know, that's what I always want. But there was really a community space and so that for me was I was very involved with community very involved, you know, we had a space that we sort of just opened up to like, Come use it, it's here. It's pretty quiet in the evenings because we are more of a lunch spot. So here's the space, you know, Trout Unlimited. You want to have meetings here. Come on girl scout moms, you want to meetings here come on. And so coming out of the I think like the background of just being a part of a community of working with a lot of farmers trying to get as much food products from the local area into the restaurant. Those connections really led me to knowing what I wanted to do next was to still be a part of the wholesale fleet are a part of the community in Alaska, but more on a wholesale end because restaurants are tiring. They're taxing. You know, they are a lot of work to do them well. And I needed to be able to make my own schedule a little bit more. I become a mom in that time period and wanted a little bit more flexibility. manufacturing's, not any less work, but I do have more control over my schedule.

Curt Anderson  07:26

Okay, thank you. Thank you for filling in that gap. I love it. It's Sami Jo. Let's keep it let's keep the party rolling. What do you have next for us?

Sami Jo Lewis  07:34

Yeah, so no, thank you so much for letting us know how you got started on this journey where you came from why this is important to you. Why? Why did you decide to serve that particular market of like tea drinkers like I know you said you were really passionate about like labels and doing something kind of like different but like why why tea drinkers?

Megan Weston 07:53

Um, honestly, it was because it was so hard for me to get into tea. I always wanted to love tea. I romanticized tea. I love the idea of going to tea. You know that very like, very British romanticization of tea that you think of. And part of that was from my upbringing, and part of it was from like a love of books. But it really took me a long time to understand why I didn't like tea. I like I loved the idea of tea, but I didn't actually like tea itself. For a very long time. And once I realized what the pain points were, which was low quality, it was not following the instructions because either they weren't clear I wasn't reading the words and having the right tools. I realized that tea was something that people even though I mean, it's I mean, the T growth in the last five years in the US is astronomical. So more and more there's more broader knowledge about T but also I just, I really wanted a safer entry point. I t can be there's just so much about it, that it can be a little bit daunting for people and the access that most people have to tea is actually pretty low quality. What you're drinking off of grocery store shelves is not always the highest quality some of its great, don't get me wrong, but and it's gotten a lot better in the last five years. But yeah, I just really wanted to bridge that gap and make it a I wanted to make it a safer and easier place for the customer to start in.

Sami Jo Lewis  09:31

Oh, I love that. I love the way you explained that and I'm kind of curious, a little off. Do you want it to love to you like I totally get that so like was there like a concoction or like extreme a where you finally tried it and you're like, oh my gosh,

Curt Anderson  09:43

this is?

Megan Weston 09:45

Yeah, um, I my partner comes from a t shirt gig family and when I joined the family, I was around people who were drinking looseleaf they were you know, they were experienced drinkers they were making like pots and pots and pots of tea. It was absolutely bonkers like just how much tea this family would go through. I'd never seen anything like it. There wasn't a tea bag, Insight no sachets. Nowhere to be seen just pounds of tea. And, and for me it was it was the that like just experience I just got immersed in it. It was like oh, this is how you make it. Oh, it doesn't have to be that hard. You know, it just it like most things. It was just exposure and that exposure for me came from my partner's family.

Curt Anderson  10:33

Sami Jo, I've done I don't know how many interviews I can honestly say I can go back in time. I've probably hundreds, right literally hundreds. I don't know if the word romanticize is ever been used in a program. And my hat's off to Megan. Because like, Man, I just say make sure you get the best guess you know that go back. And Megan, I know when we had a brief meeting together just you know, you're just a tenacious tenacious entrepreneur and I just love again like to recap how you went into this methodically, but now you're combining the emotional part of it and I just I love that word on like, like you're you're just making this such a doozy like you have such a contagious enthusiasm for your your product, which helps bring success, right so many people like you know, I'm just doing this because I do it or you know, as a market that I wanted to get into but like you really have a passion for this. Like how the same as y'all keep the keep the questions coming. I'm just I'm so excited right now.

Sami Jo Lewis  11:29

Yeah, we'd say it's very evident like you said, like, romanticize hasn't really been brought up but like, honestly, like I should like this is your business right? And you're clearly very passionate about it, and it really shows through and I love getting to hear that backstory so thank you. So moving forward with your team what sets you apart from your competitors

Megan Weston 11:51

Oh, it sets me apart from my competitors. Um, honestly right now. My you know, in the state of Alaska, the thing that sets me apart my competitors is my packaging. That is a thing that is definitely there's a lot of really great tea in the state. There's a lot of people using Alaska ingredients in a really cool way. But the thing that really has allowed us to end up in a different place and on more shelves quickly, is that we started with a nice looking package. And then we brought in we've continued to elevate that brand as we've had more cash flow and connections in the industry and things like that, and we're going to continue to do that.

Curt Anderson  12:30

So Megan, let's go here, so her other entrepreneurs out there and so you know, there's manufacturers that are going to go direct to consumer, you know, so manufacturers that where they're, you know, they're bending metal, they cut steel, they're more that custom job shop, you know, that branding might not be front of mind. It's becoming more and more so as they're figuring out like, hey, I need to have a strong online presence, and it's becoming more prevalent, but shares a little bit like in your previous life, your walk of life, you know, the brain didn't come naturally to you. Did you have to outsource or find help with it? Like, if that's your setting, if since that is your separator, what how and please don't be humble like if you'd like if you did the same thing, own it and brag about it. How did you come up with your branding?

Megan Weston 13:13

So for me, the way that I came up to my branding came up with my branding is that I hired a professional who was very, very good at their job to do their job. So when I started Felicity loft, I hired a professional designer I will say I made a mistake. I hired someone I really liked their vibe, but they didn't have any packaging experience. And I wish I going back I would have continued to look a little bit longer until I found somebody with packaging experience. Because I ended up actually switching graphic designer they love my graphic designer, she did an incredible job to start but we have ended up shifting a fair amount because there were just so much nitty gritty in packaging design. And and I really needed to work with somebody who had that experience. So for me, I am not a great I'm not like a graphic designer. I have always had a pretty good idea of what I want. I know what I like my see it and I do a lot of research before I go to a graphic designer because I've done a couple of different brands for different restaurants and things like that and and I always the key is finding the the idea that you're looking for this kind of vibe, the feeling that you're going for the the experience that you want your customer to have as they're touching your product as they're experiencing it and then finding the right designer to match that because there are incredible designers everywhere. But it doesn't help you a lot if you go after somebody who doesn't have the right experience for you.

14:50

So go ahead. Good.

Megan Weston 14:53

Oh, I was just gonna say that that for me, you know, I do have an eye for what I like and what I am lucky that I am my target. I have my own target demographic. And that helps because I know what I like and I know what my friends are buying and not not necessarily even by design. But I'm a 37 year old woman like we are some of the best buying power especially for my products in the United States.

Curt Anderson  15:23

Well alright so another another nother golden nugget there Sammy Joe for our friends, entrepreneurs manufacturers out there boy, KY KYC Know Your Customer Know Your Customer know your customer. Meghan you just hit that in st John when it's I want one more segue here. Nutritional value or like what are your, you know, so any folks out there that want to plunge into their entrepreneurial journey and they are thinking food or they're like man, Megan, I really love the story. I want to be where you are nutritional value what are your obligations FDA like is there anything there for tea?

Megan Weston 15:58

Yeah, any kind of food manufacturing and we are considered food and beverage in that food and beverage manufacturing even though we're only working with a dried good we're not actually like cooking anything but there is definitely still obligations there and lucky came out of food service. So a lot of this was just second nature. It's not like it's new to me. But there are tons of great resources DC has great resources. You know, I know that MVP right now is giving is like offering these conferences on different food manufacturing, availability and like understanding what's necessary. FDA has a lot of rules and regulations in a lot of places and then other places. You're like, why is this not a regulated thing? So it is it takes a lot of research for this specific thing that you're doing. The big thing in the tea market is there is a lot of health claims going around in the tea industry in the wellness industry. And that is not a portion of the industry that I am interested in being a part of. That's not my experience. I'm not a holistic doctor, I am not an herbalist. I love to hear what people with that experience and that knowledge have to say, but that's not me. I am making a product that is for enjoyment. I'm making a product that is for that's very approachable. And and so we don't actually venture into those health claims. At all. And I just honestly like tell my customers a lot and like if you're interested in this, you know, Google is a great resource. So we we stay away from that line. It's a real it's a real tricky place and we can stay away from it actually.

Curt Anderson  17:39

Well, good and again your your integrity is wonderful. So Amy Jo, maybe an opportunity just to share with folks I love that Megan just said about MEP, you know how you you work with tons of food related type manufacturers anything that you want to segue there and like reaching out the MEP or any like any programs or services that you offer for manufacturers in the food sector. What are your thoughts?

Sami Jo Lewis  18:04

Yeah, so right now I think Megan I had heard about like our house of courses those are going on right now. And so we have an interview had an introductory house. Of course that happened yesterday which was amazing. You get certified at the end. We have an FSI is the pass of course it's a two day course that's going on today and tomorrow. Those folks are gonna get certified as as well at the end. It's also more beginning level but a lot more in depth than the first introductory day course was and then we're also doing a seafood one beginning next week that again, will have certification for food safety, quality wise, those are something that we want to keep bringing back and offering to our food manufacturers. Younger Yeah. So thank you for bringing that up again and mentioned that because we know that food manufacturing picks up like a big portion of manufacturers in the state of Alaska and so it's good to catch up there often. There's different resources out there.

Megan Weston 19:02

Yeah, and it's really great to see you guys offering those resources. And I think like one thing for anyone who is a food manufacturer or depending on the level that you're getting into this, there is a a way you can go the full range, especially once you get there's a huge leap from when you go from like your cottage license to when you get to like your wholesale license and you know, retail licensing. And those are really important steps and they can feel a little nitpicky from Dec sometimes but I think it's really important that we follow those steps so that we are ensuring our customer safety and you know, honestly long term, it's going to keep you out of trouble. And there's a lot of great resources. I know there's some places in the states that have gone and done these huge Food Studies. And worked with different universities to develop very specific food plans and recipes and things like that. So depending on what you're doing, there's a lot of resources out there to be able to make sure that you are offering a high quality, consistent product for your customer.

Curt Anderson  20:05

Awesome. See me Joe. Let's keep it rolling.

Sami Jo Lewis  20:09

All right. That is a great segue into our next question. So I know we are super honored to have a relationship with you as the Alaska MEP. Can you talk about some of the resources that you have used to give examples to others that have maybe a benefit of or others that may are new or they're just starting off and they've and they're just sort of as entrepreneur and are wondering where to go or how we might be able to assist them?

Megan Weston 20:32

Yeah, absolutely. So big one for me. This is like a huge, huge shift in my business is that I started in January. of last year working or this this year to 2023 working with me up on a very specific project and that was to find a piece of machinery that would so I did loose leaf for the first few years of my business and it became very apparent very quickly that customers especially people are traveling so a lot of people in Alaska were looking for a sachet, so not just a loose leaf, but a sachet and to do that you can outsource it but I wanted to do it myself. I wanted to be manufacturing this product in Alaska as much as humanly possible. And so we I partnered with MEP told them what I was looking for they reached out to their massive network of people and worked with New Jersey MEP and who had a guy that they knew who does specific food and beverage machinery research and Sew me up was able to get the funding to hire a researcher to find the exact machine that I should buy. And I had a machine that I was about to purchase. It was $90,000 and I was just in the process of getting the funding sorted out and all of that. And then when the report came back, he had found a machine that was by the time it's all said and done with shipping and yada yada to get it to my door was $32,000 So sorry, homeless.

Curt Anderson  22:16

I'm sorry, Megan would say that number again.

Megan Weston 22:20

$32,000 So MEP saved me $58,000 Because I had found a machine that worked it was completely usable. It was great. In fact it was the thing is is it was about four times the machine I needed for what I was up to and by taking the time to allow me to do their getting their network and asking for help. We were able to find a machine that is great. For me it still has plenty of room for my business to grow with it but saved me an incredible amount of money and I was able to pay for it out of pocket as opposed to going to have to get financing which you know then allows my my business to stay debt free, which has been a goal for a long time. And yeah, so it was a really a really big deal. And so now, as of like three weeks ago I am manufacturing. So I was already blending the tea and all of that but now we have these little sachets I'll open one for you and on the inside is the little t shirt today with even my got my tag on it says Felicity last and everything. So I make these in entry here in Soldotna now

Sami Jo Lewis  23:33

that is amazing.

Megan Weston 23:35

I wish you could smell this

Megan Weston 23:39

you know what talking about

23:40

learning curve was just

Curt Anderson  23:42

like a wonderful like a nice warm cup of tea on a chilly day and we want to just sit there and savor that wonderful cup of tea. We're going to save her Let's recap that Meghan $60,000 that the Alaskan AP saved you. And you know the great thing about the MVP they have a guy right? Hey, we have a guy and he's in New Jersey.

Megan Weston 24:05

We literally we really had a guy in New Jersey like that's literally

Curt Anderson  24:11

60,000 I'm wrong. I'm rounding up. Yeah, seeing me draw into the team at the Alaska BP God bless you guys. I'm just getting chills this even think about that. But look at what that did for you. And I heard the word. Two words debt free and allows you to get your business off the ground and just in. Boy, what a great, wonderful story. Kudos to you for having the humility to reach out and raise your hand and say hey, I need some help here. Do your due diligence, do your research and my goodness at that save you. That's a home run. That is just an absolute home run. So what a great win win win all the way around. And we'll give a round of applause to the guy in New Jersey right so so for those know that so anyway, so guys, when you're out there it is just boy reach out to the Alaskan VP just never know what what is around the corner, what guy they're going to have. Right?

Megan Weston 25:05

I never imagined that there was a guy out there whose whole job was just to like do research and give recommendations on equipment. Now that I'm like in the world, I get it. I'm like, Oh my gosh, I'm so glad we had a guy. But at the time I wasn't in the manufacturing world. You know, I was in the food service world. And so, you know, it wasn't a resource that I knew that I needed. And by just calling him up having a conversation like I just was like, Alyssa, this is what I'm trying to do. This is what I need to do I run the numbers, this is what I think it's going to cost. Like I think that if I spend this $90,000 Like I'll be able to make it back in three years and it'll be worth it and yada yada and instead she was like, what if we just like what if we found what if we just did a little more research to make sure this is like the exact machine that you need? And then it turned out that yeah, it was yeah, it was crazy. It was

Curt Anderson  25:54

great. What a great Can we see the team one more time can we see?

Megan Weston 25:58

So this is the this is the packaging you know, you've got all the different lens that that silhouette of mountains right there that's actually Eliana and her three sisters which you can see from where I not my house and fish from my house. But you know from where we live our area. And then the sachet and then this fabric that the sachet is made out of is a compostable material. So you can actually just throw this whole thing in your compost pile and

Curt Anderson  26:22

what a great story. So Megan, thank you for sharing I know we're coming into time to start winding down. Sami Jo, once you take us home. I know you got one more question for us. Let's let's say

Sami Jo Lewis  26:28

that and it's my favorite question to ask and we have been so honored to work with you. So thank you so much for sharing my story. And to kind of round us off what are you most excited about? What's the future for Felicity last?

Megan Weston 26:40

Yeah, I mean, right now I'm just like really, really? Excited to get these sachets like selling like I have them but they're not for sale yet. So it'd be like next two weeks. That's something that I'm most excited about. But I think the thing I'm most excited at right now is moving forward. I were able to he's gonna be able to with the sachets we're going to be able to service a lot more of the hospitality market, which is a huge part obviously. In the summers tourism. It's a huge, huge deal. And so being able to have people who are coming to Alaska, drinking tea that's made in Alaska that's manufactured, you know, here in town. And the big deal about that is that the more that I more buying power that I have, for specific ingredients, I get to turn around and say like, look, this is an ingredient that grows in Alaska already. Let's start processing it here in the state. And I will buy it from you. I'm a guarantee I'm gonna buy 1000 pounds of that next year. If you can sell if you can process it, if you can grow it and process it. I'm gonna buy 1000 pounds of that from you. And this ability this sachet that the more buying power I have is going to allow us to be able to do more, work more with farmers to be able to do more food security in Alaska. And that is the big deal. And one of the big focuses of Felicity from the beginning. I know I only kind of briefly touched on that but like coming out of working with so many farmers in the foodservice industry, being able to have a product grown in Alaska, but that's usable year round is a really, really big deal. And so we've been in some conversations with MEP and some other state organizations to figure out what is getting a processing facility look like. And so that's you know, that's on the big horizon the the Alaska food farm policy council meeting is coming up next weekend, and so there'll be a lot of really fabulous conversations that come out of that. So yeah, that's my my next big goal is I want to buy as much ingredients inside the state as possible.

Sami Jo Lewis  28:38

That's amazing. Yeah, that's an amazing goal. And I'm getting really excited and thank you for bringing up that Food and Farm festival. We're super excited to be able to see you there can you tell us a little bit more about what you're going to be doing there and like what you're gonna be like listening to and I believe you're gonna have a little spot so you can highlight your product, right? Yeah,

Megan Weston 28:58

I actually MEPS is going to graciously share some space with me, because I live about three hours away. So for me it's not not like a quick trip, but I'm gonna come up for the day. And the thing I think I'm most excited about is to be to be able to connect with some of these people that I've been in phone calls with, you know, and I've met via email and here and there and be able to like meet in person and hear from the farmers what are their pain points and I think you know, these kinds of one on one conversations in the best way of like, how do we find this solution? Where is this middle ground between what I need as a final product and what you are growing? So I think those conversations are the thing I'm most excited about.

Sami Jo Lewis  29:38

I'm excited. I'm excited to see you too.

Curt Anderson  29:40

Yes. What Uh, alright, so, Sami, Jo, as we wind down first off, we everybody out there. Let's give a huge round of applause for Megan, for just being just as wonderful. What an inspiration you are. I just I love this conversation. We wish you just massive, massive success. You know, I've seamlessly I've had the honor and privilege of meeting you in person and the Kenai Peninsula and I cannot wait to come back and just check out just the growth and the excitement and success that you're enjoying at Felicity law. And so Sami Joe let's let's, let's close this out for today in just what a what a great story. So thank you, Megan, thank you for everything today. This was a gift.

Sami Jo Lewis  30:19

Thank you. Yeah, no, thank you so much for joining us. Now. Again, I really appreciate you taking the time to hop on here and tell the story and I know it's really inspirational to other entrepreneurs and manufacturers out there as well to be able to listen to you so I really appreciate it. And thank you all for joining. We do these every two weeks. So we'll see you in a couple of weeks on Thursdays at noon. Thank you.

Megan Weston 30:37

Thank you for having me. Have a great day.