Download PDF - St. Catherine's College - University of Oxford
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ALUMNI NEWS<br />
Nadeem Lalani (2007, PPE) on his tea-trading business<br />
You can have a positive impact.<br />
In 2010, I left Catz to join my two brothers<br />
in setting up our own tea trading house,<br />
Lalani & Company to source, select and curate<br />
boutique teas produced by family run tea<br />
gardens across the world, with a sustainable<br />
and ethical focus.<br />
We believed that business can, and should,<br />
have a positive impact on society and the<br />
environment, sewn right into the fabric <strong>of</strong> it.<br />
What could be better than doing something<br />
you love and growing a business, knowing<br />
that with every effort you put towards it, you<br />
are indirectly helping improve either the social<br />
or natural environment around you? In the<br />
end everyone wins.<br />
The starting point was tea, <strong>of</strong> which we drink<br />
165m cups a day in the UK, with little idea<br />
<strong>of</strong> just how elegant a drink it can be. So we<br />
set out to change this. We love that we have<br />
been able to work with, and support, artisan<br />
producers and experience how the flavours<br />
<strong>of</strong> exquisite leaf tea are an expression <strong>of</strong><br />
nature’s seasons, biodiversity, climate and<br />
terroir.<br />
The journey so far has allowed us to work<br />
with some great people - from forward<br />
looking chefs to hoteliers, the press, the SRA<br />
and Slow Food. One key step we took was<br />
to create seasonal tea libraries for people<br />
to experience the character <strong>of</strong> teas selected<br />
seasonally with full provenance. We called the<br />
approach ‘curating tea from Garden to Glass’.<br />
I was lucky when I left Catz. I had two<br />
brothers who had just begun the groundwork<br />
<strong>of</strong> what was to become Lalani & Co. Having<br />
business partners like this has been an<br />
immense support. There’s still a lot left to<br />
learn (Catz was only the beginning <strong>of</strong> a<br />
lifelong process!) and if you start your own<br />
business be warned - whatever your greatest<br />
weakness is, you will soon find out!<br />
This is a good lesson though; if you<br />
feel you want to try your own thing, be<br />
entrepreneurial or work with entrepreneurs,<br />
you don’t always need all the skills yourself.<br />
Teaming up with people you trust, who can<br />
pick up where your skill set ends can have a<br />
real impact. Look around you - these people<br />
are with you every day in <strong>Oxford</strong>.<br />
These two years have also opened my eyes<br />
to how intricately tied we are to the world<br />
we live in. The more we see <strong>of</strong> agriculture,<br />
industry and food right from the tea garden<br />
to the very top Michelin starred kitchens,<br />
the more we see the immediate need and<br />
opportunity to increase our sustainability<br />
and be positive citizens in today’s world. It’s<br />
exciting to see how many fun, talented and<br />
wonderful people are out there who want to<br />
do something about it and have fun while<br />
doing so.<br />
I’d encourage you to get stuck in, whatever<br />
you are doing, whether starting your own<br />
business or going into employment. We’d love<br />
to help if you’re thinking about a startup or<br />
want advice on how you could start looking<br />
for an interesting and fulfilling career. There<br />
are plenty <strong>of</strong> options out there. Drop me an<br />
email on NL@lalaniandco.com.<br />
If you want to experience tea culture at its<br />
best, our collection <strong>of</strong> single estate teas<br />
launches in February. Visit lalaniandco.com,<br />
follow us on Twitter (@lalaniandco) to find<br />
out the latest news. n<br />
44/NADEEM LALANI