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Quality first: the secret to tea legend Wissotzky’s long-standing success
Interview and Manufacturing Base tour

Exclusive preview: 5 flavors / 100 tea bags collectible tin boxes will be available at all Costco Japan in December 2020.

Wissotzky is a global tea legend with a 170-year history of blending and producing tea. A few years ago, this brand expanded to Japan where it quickly became a sensation for high-quality herbal tea lovers. We paid a visit to Wissotzky’s HQ and the company’s manufacturing plant about 100km away from the center of Israel in the Galilee (Northern Israel) to hear about the history of the brand and the secret behind their delectable tea.



From go-to brand of the Russian Emperor to Global Giant

Wissotzky is a family-owned business with a history that spans 5 generations. The company was founded in 1849 in Moscow by a Russian of Jewish descent, Kalonimus Wolf Wissotzky. The Russian emperor fell in love with the brand and for the first half of the 19th century Wissotzky maintained a strong global presence, even surviving through the Russian Revolution and the two world wars.


Kalonimus Wolf Wissotzky

Dedication to quality

Nowadays, Wissotzky is still a titan on the global market with a market share of 80% in Israel alone.

Their success speaks of an unbending dedication to quality, ensured by the head of the company who taste-tests all tea products before they are distributed around the world.


We interviewed the Chairman and owner, Mr. Shalom Seidler who is an experienced Tea Taster & the Head of the International division, Bosmat Levi, about the brand’s dedication to quality and its successful expansion to Japan and worldwide.


Owner, Mr. Shalom Seidler(Left), Head of the International division, Bosmat Levi (Right)

―――5 years ago, you expanded the brand to Japan through the membership-based American supermarket chain Costco with herbal tea as your lineup. Why Costco and why herbal tea? 


Tea has been a part of the Japanese culture for centuries and even nowadays tea is enjoyed by children, youth, and adults in Japan on a daily basis.

In recent years, we have seen a rising interest in herbal tea, for health and beauty concerns. Especially for children, it is recommended not to drink caffeinated beverages before sleep.

Wissotzky has decided to be the innovative premium brand, bringing in new caffeine free tea flavors in high end offerings each time in store.


―――What went into the product development for Japan?


Particularly for Japan, we produced our tea using pyramid-shaped sachets. We place big pieces of herbs, flowers, and fruits in the semi-transparent silky sachets that allows the consumer to see everything that’s inside the tea.

We put a lot of effort into the packaging, to emphasize the quality as well as giving it a premium appeal. For raw ingredients, products, packaging – quality comes first.

We pay attention to the details and the consumer’s sensorial experience starts with the visual of the packaging, the easy opening, high-end zip lock packaging to keep the freshness and the quality of the blends. As well, once you open the package, the aroma is very delectable, then, you touch the tea bag, where you can clearly see the flowers, fruits and herbs blend, and then comes the taste.

We make sure to surprise the consumer through all the steps while appealing to all the senses.



―――Wissotzky has markets in Japan, the US, Sweden… What kind of considerations goes into developing products for different markets?


We carefully conduct market research together with our local business partners in each market when looking to expand. We look at many factors, such as cultural values, trends, favorite flavors, and what is missing in the market. We take all these factors into account when developing content for each market. We offer a unique proposition for each market. We also pay attention to the design and the color of packages. In Japan, we know that some colors have important meanings.


―――Where do you see Wissotzky in the future?


As part of the global trend toward more healthy food & beverages, the tea category has been growing and even more so during the pandemic situation the entire world is facing. Wissotzky invests a lot in developing more products with proven health benefits and we have 3 years of innovation in our pipe line . For example, we just launched this month Green Tea with Vitamin C & D. A lot of researches have linked Vitamin D levels and COVID-19.


We are also opening soon a concept store in Israel by the end of 2020 for tea innovation and experience. The name will be “T-Lab” and the shop will offer tea tasting and introduce the new groundbreaking world of tea to our customers in person.

We innovate 2-3 tea products per year and this development frequency, along with product education and being a trustful brand, is the reason why our company has been a leader in the industry for many years. We strive to continue distributing high-quality tea throughout the world, following a strict and thorough protocol for quality control, in Japan specifically, we aim to reach the high-end tea lover population and people who look for a unique tea experience.


A visit to the manufacturing base in the Galilee area, Northern Israel

Wissotzky Manufacturing Plant in the Galilee area, in the North of Israel.

The factory is surrounded by flowers and plants.

Koi fish pool in the factory

We leave the headquarters to move on to Wissotzky’s manufacturing plant, located in the Galilee area in Northern Israel. Previously based in Russia, Ukraine, and Poland, Israel has been home to the base since 1936. Today, the location spans 37,000 square meters dedicated entirely to tea. The factory is surrounded by many types of flowers and greenery, including pomelo trees, which are commonly found in Israel.



While the old tea filling machine produced 65 tea bags per minute, the new state of the art machines can produce up to 400 tea bags per minute. The air inside the machine is replaced using vacuuming and wind pressure so that the machine is completely clean and dry before the next filling of tea.

From the advanced blending department, teas are transferred to the machines that weigh and blend the tea leaves and flavors together. Once the quality has been approved, the blended leaves are led through the pipes to the tea filling machine and work can begin. While the machines help with the process, human evaluation is pivotal to the quality of the tea.


The chair and desk Ahad Ha'am used when working at the London branch of Wissotzky, 1907.

Between 1907-1922, Ahad Ha’am, a Ukrainian-born philosopher, Hebrew author, and Zionist thinker was the head of Wissotzky London branch, then moved to lead the company in Mandatory Israel.
The chair and desk he used are on historical display inside the Wissotzky factory.



More than a few hundred tons of tea leaves are delivered to Israel's manufacturing plant 2 to 3 times a year. Every year, samples of tea leaves are sent from all over the world – for example, green tea leaves from Vietnam and China and black tea leaves from India, Africa, China. Once the sample leaves are approved, a large-scale shipment is brought in. Wissotzky uses only hand-picked tea leaves to ensure fresh taste and flavor is maintained.



The final products are distributed to stores all over the world, including Costco in Japan which is home to the silky pyramid sachets of herbal teas – just one of Wissotzky’s many exquisite tea blends.


Wissotzky will take part in the first “Israel Culinary Show 2020”, a Virtual International Conference & Exhibition taking place on October 27-28.

The networking event will focus on the worlds of Health and Wellness and will present innovative Israeli companies who develop products in accordance to the global trends.


The networking event will focus on the worlds of Health and Wellness and will present innovative Israeli companies who develop products in accordance to the global trends.

Registration is open: https://culinary.forms-wizard.biz/


Website

https://www.wtea.com/