2007 media appearances ktar - az tv channel 13 – “pat mcmahon show” february 2007 knxv channel...
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2007 Media Appearances
• KTAR - AZ TV Channel 13 – “Pat McMahon Show” February 2007
• KNXV Channel 15 – “Sonoran Living Live” March 16, 2007
Contact: Bret WingertOffice – 602-938-1216Cell – 602-4636342Email: [email protected]
2006 Media Appearances
• KTVK Channel 3 – “Good Morning Arizona” February 2006
• KPNX Channel 12 – “Upfront” March 2006
• KNXV Channel 15 – “Sonoran Living” September 22, 2006
• KXAM 1070 – Arizona Chain Reaction” October 29, 2006
Contact: Bret WingertOffice – 602-938-1216Cell – 602-4636342Email: [email protected]
2006-7 WebPress
• KTVK Channel 3 – My Sweet Connection
– http://www.mysweetconnection.com
• TEAMAP – http://www.teamap.com
• AZ Central, “Tea With a Twist”
• Monthly Business Review
Contact: Bret WingertOffice – 602-938-1216Cell – 602-4636342Email: [email protected]
January 27, 2007
East Valley
Tribune
October 2, 2006
Souvia to pour more tea shops into PhoenixBy Joanne Friedrick - 11.2006
PHOENIX--With one shop open and four more on the drawing board, the owners of Souvia are counting on tea lovers here and in the suburbs to support their efforts.
Bret Wingert and his wife, Kerstin, opened their first 1,000-square-foot, European-style tea shop in January. The format, said Wingert, who is the company's vice president, is a hybrid of the traditional European shop that is focused on selling loose tea and some accessories, and the more Americanized version that caters to on-the-go customers with take-out drinks as well as in-store seating.Souvia, which received its name from a combination of the words "soul" and Kerstin's middle name, Olivia, stocks about 125 teas and herbals, said Wingert. Also featured in the store are a host of tea wares, including pots, infusers, tins, mugs and filters.
The couple began with the idea of selling tea online, said Wingert, who is a former aerospace engineer for Motorola, but after they found "a great spot" in a strip mall in Phoenix, they quickly changed their plans. Fortunately, said Wingert, they had been acquiring tea already for the online project, "so we were ready to open."
Wingert said he and Kerstin, the company's president, attended the World Tea Expo to get ideas on what to carry. Kerstin, who comes from a part of Germany that has a large tea-drinking population, was already familiar with many teas. And Wingert, who lived for three years in Tokyo, had developed a taste for green tea.
Still, Wingert said, "we wanted to get things that were not just what we liked, but that would appeal to others." The couple ordered and sampled many teas and consulted with friends and other tea-drinkers as well.
The selection includes the foundation teas--black, green, white, oolong--along with rooibos, organic herbals and flavored teas.
Because tea isn't familiar to everyone, Wingert said Souvia offers classes that have become quite popular. "We started with Tea 101," he explained, and then moved on to classes on oolong, tea and health and tea and food pairings. The classes are limited to 12 attendees, he said.
Tea, said Wingert, is a lot like wine in that it can be a bit intimidating to consumers. That is why it's important to educate the consumer as well as the staff, he said.
Based on the early success of the first shop, Wingert said plans are to open a second shop in Scottsdale by year's end.
"We're in negotiations in Scottsdale," he said, for one of three possible sites.
From there, he said, they will look for additional 900-square-foot to 1,200-square-foot locations in Tempe, the West Valley, downtown Phoenix and eventually the East Valley. "We would like to have five stores in 18 months," he said. There has also been interest in from out-of-state customers to take the concept beyond Arizona, he said, but that won't happen until the operation here is more established.
One of the biggest obstacles to finding a site is that existing beverage retailers Starbucks and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf have already put a hold on certain locations, noted Wingert. "That's the only thing that's slowing us down," he said.
Contact: Bret WingertOffice – 602-938-1216Cell – 602-4636342Email: [email protected]