Seicha Announces New Flavor Of Matcha-Based Lemonade In Early 2018

How would you describe Seicha in a few words?

Seicha is an all-natural range of sparkling matcha green tea drinks. We currently have two flavors: lime and grapefruit. As far as we know, this is the first ceremonial-grade matcha to be bottled. We partner with a 4th generation family farm in Nishio, Japan to source only the finest organic matcha – hand-picked from farm to bottle!

What inspired you to create the drink? How did it all start?

Well, it really grew out of necessity. While we were studying, my brother and I started to look into alternative energy sources based on tea. We realized that there was a huge market gap for a ready-to-drink (RTD) tea that actually contained real tea.

After testing a dozen of different alternatives, we liked the effects of matcha and started experimenting with different juices to drink it with. It didn’t take long until we were known around our university as the guys who were always drinking that special green stuff.

As many entrepreneurs stay away from working with/hiring friends and family – how does it work for you? What are the benefits of working with your brother?

We believe in the same values and vision. Our biggest advantage is trust. We’re able to make decisions on each other’s behalf and there’s always the comfort of knowing there’s someone in your corner. If either of us had set up the business on our own then one person would have to deal with all the pressure, so it’s good to have the reassurance that we’re in this together.

The competition in the lifestyle sector is fierce. What makes Seicha’s Matcha Drinks stand out of the crowd? What is the key differentiator?

When we launched as one of the first RTD sparkling matcha drinks back in 2015 it was a real risk that matcha wouldn’t take off – fortunately, though, our belief in matcha was vindicated.

Our ceremonial grade powder offers the best value drinking matcha on the market but it’s also our bottling technique that sets us apart. While other companies still overheat their products and lose the healthy nutrients of the tea, we’ve started to bottle our drinks with a unique cold brew process. Our focus is creating products that offer a real choice and provide healthy options for people who want clean energy.

Spill the tea: what was the biggest challenge you faced so far and what were your learning points?

To balance the growth of the business and investment. We’re growing continuously and that brings exciting opportunities and challenges with it. We’re not backed by big VCs but that also means we can operate independently. At every stage of the journey so far we have had to raise cash, which is obviously very time-consuming. However, it’s all about finding a smart balance to make sure we’re doing the best we can.

What’s next for Seicha Matcha Drinks?

We’re excited to announce that we’ll launch our third flavor in the beginning of 2018. This flavor is based on a matcha tea infusion as well, but it also contains a unique Japanese fruit. We’ll be announcing more details on that soon.

Over the next 12 months, our focus is still to strengthen our brand and raise awareness. After a successful start, we’re also looking to expand our distribution channels into new markets.

Finally, what’s one piece of advice you can give to fellow founders for their startup?

Go after solving a problem that you have yourself. Something that’s near and dear to you, not some random market opportunity. If you’re chasing just the money, or a random market opportunity, you’re not going to be able to have the fortitude and the passion to stay with it when the road gets bumpy.

When working in a startup you learn so much; you start building your network, and form confidence in your own abilities – and that’s not rocket science, anyone can do that. But it’s not something you learn in a big company.

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