The infusions of "Jezreel Tea", which combines people with special needs at work, can be found in hundreds of restaurants and cafes around the country • Who is behind the great initiative?
The decisions of "Jezreel Tea"
Photography:
Uri throat
Here is a figure that may surprise you, except for water, tea is the most popular drink in the world.
No coffee, no squeezed juices and not even chocolate, the tea, the drink that many consider gray, wintry and even a little sucks, stands proudly at the top of his favorite hot drinks, and rightly so.
In Israel, where the tea market rolls in hundreds of millions of shekels every year, tea has long been not the soft drink given to patients alongside honey, ginger or lemon.
The product has undergone a revolution and has become accessible, special and even more prestigious for the Israeli consumer, who often purchases a variety of rich types of infusions that come from different and diverse cultures.
A survey conducted by Tuck for the Pompadour brand among 502 Israelis shows that 67% of them drink green tea or herbal and fruit infusions, 33% of tea consumers drink it throughout the day and sometimes as a substitute for coffee and 40% of all tea drinkers are Heavy drink, that is, more than one glass a day.
When asked why they chose to drink tea, about 76% answered that the reason is that tea supports a healthy lifestyle and 67% of tea drinkers answered that the great variety of flavors and quality of leaves makes them choose tea and herbal and fruit infusions at the expense of other drinks.
On the occasion of World Tea Day, which is International Day for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which took place at the beginning of the month, we will introduce you to "Jezreel Tea", a small and independent business that catches our eye thanks to the special infusions sold there, People with disabilities.
The story behind the company spans three generations and is no less interesting than what is happening in it today.
It all started with Zeev, the grandfather, who was an agricultural officer in Judea and Samaria and as part of his job developed a unique and aromatic variety of hyssop called the cabaret variety.
His son, Yoram Dror, grew and marketed the cabaret hyssop and following the success, he established a hyssop factory in the 1980s.
Hyssop was then sold in almost every home in Israel and was identified mainly due to its unique packaging - a pyramid packaging with a red cap.
Later, Yoram decided to develop further and turned to growing herbs in growing areas in the village of Tavor and Sde Ilan, from there the road to marketing the hyssop and tea infusions of "Jezreel Tea" was short.
These were herbal infusions that at least at that time were less familiar to the Israeli palate, such as white, lime, Louisa, Melissa, marjoram and more.
So the family actually became a pioneer in the decision-making industry.
Turns in the third generation
Throughout and even today, Yoram's wife, Mira Dror, is an integral part of the stability and development of the family business, but as mentioned, it does not end there alone.
About five years ago, the family business underwent another upgrade when the son Omri, the son of Yoram and Mira, entered the family business and began marketing the "Jezreel Tea" solutions to hundreds of restaurants and cafes throughout the country, a move that led to a new breakthrough and familiarity with a new and significant market segment.
"The idea behind entering the restaurant market was to replace the decided jars with glasses and make the work in these places more elegant and cleaner," says son Omri.
"The move to the restaurant industry needed innovative and younger branding. The goal was for the brand to re-emerge from the restaurant industry as a boutique and quality brand."
"We changed the visibility completely," Dror adds of the new branding.
"Our infusions come in clear and individual sachets, whole leaves and glass jars. They are all based on secret recipes that have been passed down for three generations and are built on our extensive family knowledge and experience regarding special plants, the right combinations and exact doses that create the most perfect and balanced taste. A hand and a lot of love by people with special needs. "
What is behind the integration of special populations?
"We were looking for a way to pack the decision bags in a way that would not harm the quality of the product so we chose manual packaging and not by machines or choosing a cheaper workforce. Once we discovered that it is possible to integrate people with special needs and thus contribute to the community .
What difficulty arises as a result of working with special populations, if at all?
"Difficulty is not the exact definition, but there are challenges, especially ours. For example, the understanding that this is a person who packs and not a machine, which affects the productivity that in our case varies from employee to employee. So, in fact, we can never know or accurately predict production capacity. our".
Expanding under the auspices of the Corona
As befits a business that regularly operates in front of cafes and restaurants, the income of "Jezreel Tea" was also affected as a direct result of harming them and closing some of them, so Dror and his family had to, like everyone else, reinvent themselves and think of new income directions and other places to market their produce. .
"The damage to the tourism and restaurant industries happened very quickly," says Dror.
"We thought quite a bit and decided that now, the best way to focus, given the new situation, is to open an online store where our decisions will be sold and include deliveries all over the country. In addition, we have expanded to new industries such as health food stores, many delicacies and other online stores."
In light of that devastating virus, Dror and his family decided to be more careful about their development and plans for the future.
"Ultimately," he concludes, "the most important thing for us is to maintain the quality of the products, so we are growing gradually and moderately, focusing on industries that are looking for premium products such as hotels, high-tech offices, deli and more. At the same time, it is very important for us to maintain The social project and expand it even further, and here too the moderate growth is significant. "
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