Bringing Matcha Tea to the Mainstream

Context

As a founding executive at Muzi Tea (formerly a partner of the AIYA group), Denise worked alongside the CEO and the retail and operations teams to introduce one of the first premium matcha tea brands in North America. At the time, matcha was little known outside Japan. Muzi set out to transform it from a niche tradition into a modern lifestyle choice.

Challenge

Build a brand from the ground up, educate a market unfamiliar with matcha, and create products and partnerships that would make Muzi Tea both culturally relevant and commercially successful.

Approach

• Guided the brand’s identity and voice, positioning matcha as aspirational yet approachable.

• Partnered with R&D to create an entire tea range, including new product formats never seen before, developed with the same technology used in matcha green tea

• Secured wholesale partnerships with prestigious names such as Estée Lauder, Harrods, and other global retailers, along with specialty shops, spas, and wellness spaces

• Built cultural traction through chef collaborations, wellness influencers, and non-profits, making Muzi Tea part of a broader lifestyle movement

• Supported retail expansion and operations to ensure the brand scaled consistently across markets

Results

• Product Innovation: Developed a complete tea range, pioneering entirely new formats for the category.

• Prestige Partnerships: Secured wholesale accounts with leading international retailers.

• Market Growth: Expanded into more than 250 specialty stores and wellness spaces within two years.

• Consumer Demand: Grew direct-to-consumer sales by more than 40 percent year over year through PR, events, and cultural activations.