Dragons' Den | Tea Plus Drinks | Tej Lalvani Vitabiotics

AS SEEN ON BBC's DRAGONS DEN

Starting Small

T Plus was established in 2015 by husband and wife team, James and Jade Dawson, whose vision was to create a new, independent company on a mission to make the world of tea a little smarter.

From there, a unique range of vitamin teas was born. Combining the best bits of herbal, fruit and green teas with daily essential vitamins made T Plus teas the most nutrient rich teas on the market. By bringing the benefits of a supplement to healthy hot drinks, meant that people could get their vitamins in a more convenient method, which effortlessly fit into their lifestyles.

Starting with market stalls and local events, James & Jade began to make a name for themselves which later lead to T Plus being picked up by major retailers.

From Strength to Strength

From 2015-2017 T Plus went from strength to strength and thanks to the retail sector. the business grew fast, more than doubling in size.

Gaining major retail stockists meant that T Plus were in over 750 retail listings across the UK and Ireland through retailers such as; Wholefoods, Ocado, Holland & Barrett and Boots, in just 2 years!

But James and Jade had set their sights high for the growth of the business and wanting to take T Plus to the next level meant only one thing was next...Dragons Den

Dragons Den

James has always had the ambition to test and push himself and in April 2017, he did just that by pitching T Plus on BBC’s Dragon’s Den.

The Dragon's Den process began in 2016. The initial call led on to a year of pitches and presentation to ensure T Plus bagged a slot on the prime time tv show. You may have seen the episode air back in February 2018, or if not you can now catch it on the TEA+ YouTube channel.

After a brilliant pitch, a grilling from all four of the Dragons and interest from two, James finally shook hands on a deal with Tej Lalvani, the CEO of Vitabiotics. James left the Den with a Dragon on board.

As a challenger brand at the core, James saw the Den as another challenge to take on with T Plus and a bonus - the hard worth paid off!

As quoted by the BBC2 Twitter feed: “What better way to kick off your vitamin business with a deal from the Vitamin King!”

We believed

Running a start up business is hard work - ask James and he'll be the first to tell you that running your own business is a rollercoaster ride, with highs and lows. The key to growing and maintaining your own business comes down to wholeheartedly believing in your brand and product. If you stick by your vision and remind yourself why you started in the first place, you will succeed.

James and Jade have done exactly that and having the belief in their range of vitamin teas is what has lead them to now be stocked with over 2,000 retailers nationwide and even more internationally.

Holding on to the belief they had in T Plus' USP was key when entering a new chapter for the business in partnership with Vitabiotics.

Vitabiotics Partnership

After James’ time on Dragons' Den and the investment he won from Tej Lalvani, the T Plus brand went through some exciting redevelopment.

Beganing a partnership with Vitabiotics, the UK’s #1 vitamin manufacturer, has taken our vitamin teas into their next evolution. Spring and Summer 2018 was spent working on a huge rebrand, reworking and refining the blends and the brand all in preparation for the relaunch from T Plus to TEA+!

from T Plus to TEA+

In November 2018, T Plus became the TEA+ you see today.

James & Jade worked closely with Vitabiotics over 8 months to rebrand and redevelop the TEA+ proposition. Hard work, a lot of taste testing and plenty of late nights were on the cards but it was all worth while.

TEA+ officially launched in November 2018, where the revealed brand new range of four were revealed. Launching the first ever 100% RDA Vitamin D infused tea was a personal TEA+ highlight, along with refining and improving some old favourites from T Plus.

The TEA+ & Vitabiotics team are so proud of the new, refined range of vitamin infused teas, infusing health in every cup.