What ‘Community’ Means
Numi Tea’s sustainable practices and outreach efforts touch areas both abroad and at home.
Numi Tea
www.numitea.com
Specialty: Organically Grown Teas
Mission: The Numi Foundation
Created by founders and siblings Reem and Ahmed Rahim, the Numi Foundation’s mission is to foster thriving communities by supporting initiatives that nurture art, education, health and our natural environment. Their vision is a world where all people have access to art, nature, knowledge and resources for good health.
“Numi is more than just a tea company. We are an organization that delivers goodness through the intentions of our work and the collaborations with our community,” states Ahmed Rahim, Co-Founder, CEO, and Chief Alchemist. We talked with Ahmed and his sister Reem, Numi’s Chief Brand Officer, about Numi’s goals and outreach.
TM: Talk about your mission: People, Planet, Profitability and Purpose. How did you develop this business ethic?
Ahmed: Our company started organically 14 years ago, and our goal then was to keep resources manageable to what we needed at that time. We have evolved, and as our focus grew more refined and our team grew, we turned more attention to our products, committing to staying organic. After 5-6 years of business we had 50 varieties overall. We took time working with farmers in their lands of origin to make sure we were converting the land and working with farmers to plan ahead. Quality is very important, so we married organics with premium quality, looking at the work standards of each country. China and India have different standards, and so we are still working with the farmers to elevate standards. Through our own trade programs and fair labor practices and working with Fair Trade USA, we’ve worked to elevate farmers’ well-being. It’s been an evolution for us with the Numi Foundation, and we aim to continue to grow organically. Our internal core values are reflected in how we run our organization, through the volunteer work we do with food banks, cleaning beaches, and other programs with the Numi Foundation. Reem and I really believe in the earth and we have a vested interest in organic agriculture.
Reem: We see our values of the company as an extension of ourselves and what we care about—being fair to workers and retaining resources so the earth isn’t polluted. We are doing what we believe in while still being profitable.
TM: How do you link your company’s work with ACTION Oakland with other stakeholders in the community?
Ahmed: We started Numi in Oakland—in an apartment! We now have a real presence. They know us; we distribute our products in more than 30 countries, but we opted to stay in Oakland. We’ve helped pull both for-profit and non-profit [businesses]together to help Oakland be a more thriving place. You can’t run a business that focuses on the outside world and ignore what goes on in your own backyard. We know so many organizations here, both civic and governmental, that we are trusted to provide a safe way for everyone to work together in one voice rather than separate, individual efforts.
ACTION Oakland (A Creative Transformation In Our Neighborhoods) works to bring together citizens, community organizations, businesses and civic leaders to benefit Oakland. The goal is to nourish and cultivate long-term, cross sector partnerships that achieve mutual goals and generate value for the community. This will be accomplished through 12 sectors including justice, education, health, art, technology, mobility, local economy, and collaborating in monthly O’Day and volunteer work events.
TM: Talk about your efforts to promote art and education—that’s somewhat unique for a tea company!
Reem: We are interested in both art and nature, so we combined them with a focus on education. Here in Oakland, there is a deficit in learning arts for inner city kids, so we work to help kids find that voice.
Ahmed: We are originally from Baghdad, Iraq, and there were many challenges there to implementing these kinds of programs. So when [the state of]California removed a lot of art classes, we knew that was our next mission. Kids gravitate toward art, and through art education, children can really tap into their true potential.
TM: Discuss your recently introduced Fair Labor Practices Program.
Ahmed: Our Fair Labor Practices Program is a proprietary verification program with is a continuous improvement model that focuses on the labor and workplace conditions throughout Numi’s entire supply chain. Fair Trade USA is the lead certifier of labor practices in the tea industry. We went to an organization called SCS Global Services, a verification standards organization, six years ago. We wanted something more connected to our needs with farmers. We asked them if we could create new certification standards, and after many years of working together they allowed us to manage the verification.
Our goal is to expand the FLP program to other organizations that are looking for a way to expand their social certification programs, build an intimate relationship with their suppliers, and have a meaningful impact with their supply chain. We wanted to take it to a new level of commitment to farmers and to the supply chain, and this looks at every single step for verification.
TM: What other efforts are you planning for Numi Tea for the future?
Ahmed: A group we started 18 months ago is OSC2—One Step Closer to an Organic Sustainable Community—for other owners and friends who run great sustainable businesses. We created a forum for us to work together and share resources, create coalitions, and get the attention of the biggest producers of packing materials. Companies like Whole Foods, Clif Bar, etc., all use packaging and look to find sustainable solutions; we have their attention now! We’ve created sustainable packaging materials for 2014, pioneered through our efforts and focus. We also want to foster younger companies through a partnership, offering support to those who want to start up but need mentorship and funding. The OSC2 members can help these companies with funding so they can follow sustainable practices.
Reem: Our team makes it all happen! Our staffers are fully committed and that really fortifies our company to fully embrace our goals. We’re lucky to have them
