Our Sourcing Academy visit Kenya
Roughly a 2 minute read
A lot of people in our business travel to origin. It’s especially important for our supply team who use these trips to build strong relationships with our producers. We’ve been all over the world, regularly visiting our current suppliers and potential new suppliers. For us it’s key that we work with people who share our values and are willing to work with our Sourcing Approach, which ultimately supports them as much as us.
A few years ago, we started a program called Sourcing Academy that allows people from all over the business the chance to travel to a tea and coffee origin. This trip gets people from all over the business involved, from Sales and Marketing to Operations.
In December 2017, ten of our employees were lucky enough to be selected for Sourcing Academy and made their way to Kenya. The trip lasted a week in total and the team spent time exploring tea and coffee farms, meeting our suppliers and really understanding the whole process of what goes into making the perfect brew.
“Plucking tea with Peris, touring the factory, tasting a rainbow of teas, visiting the Kenyan Tea Research Institute and topping it off with a Christmas celebration at the highest point of the estate. The passion and enthusiasm of the group and our suppliers at this point on the trip was infectious and without doubt my fondest memory.”
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“We have an amazing relationship with a suppliers and we also care about the livelihood of our farmers. When we asked Charles, Director of Imenti Tea Factory, what he valued in our relationship he replied “I only know Taylors buyers personally and that’s so important to me”.”
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The trip was a fantastic opportunity for people in our business to really see and understand the process from bush to cup, the way we work with our suppliers and the relationships we hold in such high regard.
“Simply paying more for our tea and coffees doesn’t address some of the key issues that affect the people that work the hardest right at beginning of our supply chain. Seeing examples of our sustainability projects first hand has highlighted to me how Taylors make a difference where it is really needed.”
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Last updated 22nd January 2020