Vitalife Teas heads overseas thanks to RiDO

VITALIFE Teas is expanding its business across three continents three years after it was founded.

The business, based at Fusion at Magna  in Rotherham is planning growth with support from RiDO’s (Rotherham investment Development Office) Soft Landing Zone.

The support has helped Vitalife, run by managing director, Gavin Edley, research and develop contacts in international markets with sales secured in Germany, France and Australia and the project is also looking into opportunities to set up a distributorship in the US and Poland.

It is on course to double turnover this year.

Mr Edley said: “We have had some great support from RiDO to identify new markets and to research opportunities in Europe, the US and Australia.  We are also working with RiDO to establish a distributor network outside of Europe.  Their help has been vital in putting us in contact with organisations such as UKTI and with trade associations in specific countries.  We see tremendous market opportunities internationally for our products and are really excited what the future holds for us.”

The entrepreneur set up Vitalife Teas in 2010, as he spotted a market for herbal teas which had a direct health benefit.

Working with a Japanese tea specialist, Gavin designed and developed a number of specific tea blends, plus one cocoa blend, to meet a variety of different health needs from dealing with an upset stomach, to assisting weight loss and helping to create a calm, relaxing effect.

Vitalife Teas’ Matcha Green Teas, for example, have 130 times the antioxidant properties of most other green teas. The benefits of antioxidants include strengthening you immune system and slowing down the ageing process.

The Growth and Prosperity in Rotherham (Soft Landing Zone) project aims to assist Rotherham companies in accessing international markets and also helps foreign inward investors who choose to locate to RiDO’s business centres.   The project is supported financially by the European Union. It has attracted £842k investment from the European Regional Development Fund as part of Europe’s support for the region’s economic development through the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF Programme 2007-13.