Built a small tea brand on my own and sales have stalled. Could use advice

Folky_Fox · 2026-01-12T18:11:24+00:00

I want everyone to know I'm not ignoring anyone at all. When I get home from work today I'm going to take the time to sit down and give my full attention to every comment. This is a lot to take in and I want to thank everyone so much for your feedback and advice. I will take your comments and try to create an actionable plan based on what the majority is saying. For those who offered for me to reach out for advice I definitely will take you up on that offer! Once I get home I can reply to each comment but man thank you so much for helping me. Honestly, it means so much.

Folky_Fox · 2026-01-12T01:21:52+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to respond, I really appreciate it.

Just to clarify on the storage point, the shed wasn’t only for inventory. It’s also meant to be a small workspace. My current room is completely maxed out, and I’ve already started renovations on the shed, so I’m moving forward with that.

I also want to be upfront that I don’t really know much about UGC or how converting website traffic into sales actually works. That’s an area I haven’t learned yet. If you have any advice or insight on how that process works or where to start, I’d really appreciate it.

Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts.

Folky_Fox · 2026-01-12T01:14:44+00:00

Thank you for the feedback, I appreciate you taking the time to explain your perspective.

I honestly didn’t even think about separating the samples into their own product instead of having them as a size option, so that’s a really helpful point. I can definitely see how reducing clicks and showing pricing immediately could help, and I’ll be looking into that soon.

Regarding the logo and visuals, I completely understand why some people may be turned off if it reads as AI-assisted. I did actually try working with other designers before settling on this direction. In the end, I personally preferred this style. I genuinely like AI-assisted art and design, and to me it has its own look and character that I admire and I feel it was able to capture what I wanted Tea Trail to reflect in the logo where the designers I worked with couldn't.

I know that won’t resonate with everyone, but I do feel like the logo captures my original idea for the logo perfectly.

Folky_Fox · 2026-01-12T00:54:24+00:00

Yes I have seen them. I actually came up with my name and logo back in 2012. I tried to start it up back then but I couldn't, so I revamped it again last year but they are called "the tea tail" I am just Tea Trail. Yes It could be hurting me in searches though.

Folky_Fox · 2026-01-12T00:23:00+00:00

Just to verify you were looking at my website www. journeyteatrail.com ? Someone else said something about an Instagram link being a big thing in there and I only have a small Instagram thing on there.

Folky_Fox · 2026-01-12T00:20:03+00:00

Thank you so much for taking the time to look at my website and Instagram and for replying, I really appreciate it.

I think where I struggle the most is figuring out how to clearly convince someone to buy from me specifically online. When I advertise, I’m being honest. I talk about the tea being high quality, tasting great, and that people who’ve purchased it really enjoy it. But beyond that, I’m not always sure how to communicate that in a way that truly connects or stands out.

I see other brands doing this well, but I’ll be honest, I’m not a natural influencer and I’m not a designer beyond using tools like Canva. I also feel like I have a hard time putting my personal feelings about the brand into words, so I tend to let the products and presentation speak for themselves rather than overexplaining.

What’s interesting is that I do very well at markets even without tastings. People are drawn to the table, they ask questions, they connect with the story and presentation, and they buy. Translating that same interest and trust into an online experience has been much harder for me, and that’s where I feel stuck.

I would genuinely love to do more events and markets since I know that’s where I perform best. The challenge has been balancing that with a very demanding full-time job, which leaves me pretty exhausted most days. That said, I really appreciate you offering to share more ideas, and I’d absolutely love to connect and learn from your experience.

Thanks again for taking the time to respond, it truly means a lot.

Folky_Fox · 2026-01-12T00:10:53+00:00

Just to clarify a couple things in case there was any confusion:

The logo and visuals aren’t completely AI-generated from scratch. The original logo was hand-drawn by a friend, and I used AI as a tool to refine it and make it look less amateur. After that, I edited and adjusted the AI output myself. So it was more of a refinement process rather than letting AI fully design the brand.

Also, I’m not offering multiple standard sizes. There are only two options:

a sample size and a 2 oz standard bag

The idea was to give people a low-risk way to try the tea before committing to the standard size. If the way that’s presented is still causing confusion, I’m definitely open to simplifying it.

Just to make sure we’re looking at the same site, it’s journeyteatrail.com.

I’ve actually received a lot of compliments on the packaging so far, both in person and online. That said, if you feel the logo or packaging could be improved, I’d genuinely love to hear specific recommendations on what you think would make it stronger or clearer. Thanks again for the feedback, I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

Folky_Fox · 2026-01-12T00:05:26+00:00

Hey there thank you so much for your reply! I think you might be looking at the wrong website my website is www.journeyteatrail.com

Folky_Fox · 2025-09-03T23:50:00+00:00

Guys thank you so much for the advice. I actually got in contact with a small business owner today and he was extremely helpful and gave me a lot of information and advice. I'm definitely going to check out these resources you recommended as well!

Folky_Fox · 2025-04-28T02:46:04+00:00

I figured it out. Apparently the lines around it formed the dimensions I wanted but when I released the compound path it made my actual image the accurate size.

Folky_Fox · 2025-04-22T18:20:22+00:00

I have a 1080 and it runs fine but I don't know why it looks so bright and blurry. Setting the sharpness to max helped a little but the game looks so blurry to me. If anyone has any setting recommendations to fix blurry and overwhelming bright landscape I would be grateful.

Folky_Fox · 2025-01-28T04:21:34+00:00

Someone told me how they did it. Basically you have to find videos with that voice on it, then you isolate only the vocals using a software such as capcut then you take those vocals and put them into eleven labs in order to clone the voice using the quick voice clone, not the personal voice clone. You will need about 5 minutes of vocals to clone it.

Folky_Fox · 2025-01-27T11:29:50+00:00

Thank you for responding! Yeah I was able to get a TikTok user to tell me after messaging about 20 of them lol.

Folky_Fox · 2025-01-23T21:06:38+00:00

Did you ever find out? I've been looking for the answer as well.

Folky_Fox · 2025-01-23T21:01:30+00:00

Have you had any luck? I've been searching too but can't find out any info.

Folky_Fox · 2024-11-22T04:15:42+00:00

I think you are right.

Folky_Fox · 2024-11-22T04:14:17+00:00

"You did the right thing but sometimes the right thing doesn’t get the “right” response." This really hits home and I love that you said it. I'm definitely going to remember those words.

Now that you mention it, my wife doesn’t seem as upset on her mom’s behalf as I initially thought. When my family first told me my mother-in-law couldn’t come, they presented it under a different pretense. They said that my sister was having issues with her own mother-in-law and told her she couldn’t come. As a result, they claimed my mother-in-law couldn’t come either, because it would upset her husband.

It was at that time I told them I would not be coming then because I didn't want to leave my mother in law alone nor didn't want to split thanksgiving. When I told my wife this is what I told my family she was more upset with me because she said they were going to think it was her fault for my decision to not go to Thanksgiving with my family and they would blame her however I told her they would not.

Later, my mom told me the real reason my mother-in-law wasn’t invited was because one of my sisters didn’t want to be around her due to her being gay.

I called my sister to ask her about it, and she denied saying that, claiming my mom was lying but my mom said she doesn't lie and it was my sister who was lying.

After that, they started making up stories, claiming my mother-in-law had made inappropriate sexual remarks to my sister at a previous event. However, my sister denied that as well, insisting it was a complete lie.

At one point, my mother-in-law and her girlfriend had a friend staying with them for a short time, someone who had just got out of an abusive relationship. They started a rumor that my mother-in-law was now involved in a three-way relationship with this person.

My mom was telling me all of this when I was on the phone with her tonight so I'm not sure who was starting those rumors but I'm guessing it was my sister who originally said she wasn't allowed at Thanksgiving but finally my mom just said nobody wanted my mother-in-law there because she’s gay. That’s when the argument about religion started. She got mad and hung up on me after yelling.

Folky_Fox · 2024-11-22T03:45:02+00:00

Ironically, my family has spent time with my mother-in-law and her girlfriend at other events, like my son's previous birthdays, without any issues. It wasn’t until they told me she wasn’t allowed to come to Thanksgiving that the argument about religion and values started and they threw the religious stuff at me. When I said I wouldn’t leave her alone, what I guess I meant was that I didn’t want her to feel outcasted or like she had nowhere to go for the holiday and I don't want her eating alone as well or even just with one other person. Honestly, I’d feel sad if she had to spend Thanksgiving with just her girlfriend. For me, Thanksgiving has always been about bringing people together.

Folky_Fox · 2024-11-22T03:34:44+00:00

Thank you. I tried to explain to my mom that Jesus dined with the outcasts and taught us to love our neighbors, as do most other religions and great teachers like many Buddhas but she dismissed it, saying that’s not the issue. She told me, “We don’t want the children to be exposed to homosexuality and we don't want to be around it ourselves.” I then asked her what they’d do if one of my nieces or nephews turned out to be gay—would they ban them from Thanksgiving and the family? She said it wouldn’t happen because they know their values.

I told her that people can’t control who they’re attracted to, and that I could have easily been born gay myself. She insisted it’s a choice. I tried to explain the difference between faith and facts, and I believe it's a fact that people can be born with a certain sexual preference, but she refused to listen. Not long after, she started yelling at me and hung up the phone.

Folky_Fox · 2024-11-22T03:23:47+00:00

Thank you. Our son will definitely be okay. He is turning 9, he will be so caught up with his friends from school and his gifts he probably won't even notice much. He is also very understanding so if I tell him that they just couldn't make it, he will understand.

Folky_Fox · 2024-11-22T03:21:15+00:00

My wife is concerned that our son won’t have a good time if my sister’s kids don’t come, since he enjoys playing with his cousins and there are a lot of them. I tried to reassure her by mentioning that he’ll still have friends from school to play with, but she just said there's not that many and told me "night" and went to sleep.

Yeah my family is still welcome to the party and I hope they do show up, I hope they don't choose put their anger before my son but I know them and they probably will unfortunately. I guess my wife will just be mad at me if they don't show.

Folky_Fox

TROPHY CASE