Life & Work with Aureal Ojeda

Today we’d like to introduce you to Aureal Ojeda.  

Hi Aureal, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
From years of being a construction worker, I have seen the damage and been a part of the damage to the environment. I took this experience and created a brand that supported families, the environment, and our future. This experience is why all our packaging’s are home compostable, plant-based, high post-consumer use, plan table (grows flowers for the bees and has zero plastic. As a mother, I understand how hard it is to provide for your family. I source tea from small tea farm families in developing countries and don’t work with big corporates. 

To create an impact, every purchase plant one tree to help with reforestation. 

Many people have asked me, “why tea?” Tea helped me on my health journey to focus and get my life on track. It became a tradition for me to drink tea and take a moment and be intentional. I wanted to share this experience with everyone because tea has helped me mentally and physically. 

We are a proud mother and son-operated business supporting families, the environment, and a greener future. 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Pivoting and innovation are skills I had to learn right away while opening during a pandemic. My original launch date was the day the government-mandated shutdowns. I did not let this stop me. I recreated the brand and crunched the numbers to become a B2C business. Originally, I had B2B contracts in place, and they were all canceled due to the pandemic. 

I couldn’t find a manufacturer to package my tea with zero waste in mind. So, I created it myself by working with multiple businesses to create one package. Packaging was and still is a constant challenge while I scale. 

With inflation on the rise and shipping going sky high, I had to decide to invest thousands in inventory to keep bulk pricing still and not have to raise my price drastically for our customers. This decision meant I sacrificed my cushion money and had to go back to work and still run my business full time. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m known as the small but mighty business that finds a way to be the difference we want to see in the world. Our tea is very niche, unique, and of high quality. 

I’m most proud of my son for the great entrepreneur he is becoming. I’m truly grateful we are fortunate to plant over 1,500 trees to date thanks to our partnership. 

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I would like to start traveling and doing speeches on sustainability and how innovation with empathy can truly make difference. We would like to be able to afford to help in third world countries however we can. 

Pricing:

• 24.00 Most bags of tea
• 32.00 Gift boxes

Contact Info:

• Website: www.outwokentea.com
• Instagram: outwokentea
• Facebook: outwokentea

Image Credits
Aureal Ojeda