Community Highlights: Meet Alicia Beckford of Sips Tea

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alicia Beckford.

Hi Alicia, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a professional Chef and Nutritionist from Los Angeles, CA that has a love for all-natural things. I became passionate about natural remedies at the age of 16 years old. I suffered from reoccurring conditions that I felt doctors didn’t take the time to really help cure and prevent. The lack of care from healthcare professionals pushed me to research natural home remedies and I was amazed by how many of our cures are right in our refrigerators and kitchen cabinets.

Since my discovery, I made it a duty to educate my peers about natural cures but for some odd reason conversations about health and wellness tend to bore us, especially those in my community. Those conversations and lifestyles are a bit foreign to us because we are deprived of tea houses, juice bars, aspiring dietitians, etc… It’s almost like when people hear the word “healthy” their ears filter the word into something else like “dry salad” and “intense exercise.” To those who don’t mind the lifestyle it doesn’t sound so bad. But what I’ve realized is people like the easy way out, so pharmaceuticals and procrastination it is. However, I also realized no one likes anything boring no matter what it is and Sips Tea drove me to find ways to make a healthy lifestyle fun and exciting for everyone. Literally, I want people to forget they’re even putting the proper dose of nutrients in their bodies when utilizing my products.

I started Sips Tea in 2018 in my apartment kitchen located in Hawthorne, CA. I didn’t have much success at the beginning because I went into this business with no idea what I was doing. I didn’t have a plan nor a job to fund my business. I jumped straight into it with nothing but some cheap plastic cups of iced teas, my passion of servicing others and vibes. I didn’t have the proper packaging, labels nor customers. I had an exceptional amount of supporters (people that shared my posts and gave great words of encouragement) but not one real customer. I became immensely discouraged and put Sips Tea on the back burner to focus on my new pregnancy with my second daughter. Although my hopes for Sips Tea were temporarily diminished, I never lost the love for it. I continued to jot down mind-rushing ideas on the nearest piece of paper I could find at any given moment because I knew I’d revisit my passion again.

Fast forward to April 2020, seven months after having my babygirl, the unfortunate epidemic COVID-19 arrived and gave Sips Tea the perfect opportunity to resurrect. This time, I added dietary cleanses, natural fruit juices and smoothies to the menu. From Spring to Summer 2020 Sips Tea was an exceptional success until we began to approach Fall when the weather starts to cool down. Now that it’s cold, no one really cared to come for fruit juices and smoothies but the cleanses were still the most sought-after items on the menu. I then slowly began to bastardize my menu items by converting the fruit juices into loose leaf teas using a dehydrating method on the organic fruit and mixing them with perfectly pairing herbs. Now Sips Tea is an online tea shop where you can purchase delicious and unique teas that taste like fruit juice once seeped and sweetened with your favorite sweetener of choice.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Absolutely not! I truly believe as long as you have a business, you will go through trials and errors because you’re constantly learning every single day. With a world that is ever-changing, challenges are inevitable especially when you have a product or service that isn’t a popular demand. I actually have two roadblocks I currently face being an entrepreneur; and the first to mention is “keeping up.” We now live in a world that’s powered by social media and nothing but social media. I constantly struggle with maintaining connections due to not being as active on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. It’s not intentional at all, I just really live my life away from my phone because my feet are constantly moving and my hands are always tied. I actually wish I can sit on my phone and laptop to create content and connect with my audience all day but I can’t seem to find the time and energy but I’m definitely working on it.

Second, getting people to respect and treat me as a business owner and not their “little friend” (as our mothers would say) has been the biggest struggle for me. People feel because you don’t have a big name, they get to treat you any kind of way. That’s why I despise the title “small business” when referring to any entrepreneur/sole proprietor’s hard work because when they see “small business”, they treat you small. Taking a leap out on faith in a city full of negativity, criticism and small minds is not small at all. We carry everything on our back by ourselves. We take major losses and sacrifices, gambling our finances and mental health every single day to serve others, that’s major to me. A lot of people don’t think that way so they feel they can completely ignore the website you spent 16 consecutive hours straight with no breaks to hop straight in your DM’s to ask you “what are your prices on cleanses?” (I’m projecting) I have nine different cleanse programs, for someone to think I’m going to sit and type out every title, quick description and price in their DM when it’s on the website is a total slap in the face.

We’re professionals, we don’t want to be rude to people by ignoring them but we will not put our boundaries to the side for lazy people. I’ve learned to just suck it up and simply respond, “visit our website for more information…”. Then the inquiring party becomes disinterested in the product all of a sudden because you didn’t cater to their indolence. Now there goes your sell. It’s a lose, lose either way, it’s frustrating. We literally scroll on third-party delivery service apps all day trying to figure out what and where we want to eat and you mean to tell me it’s too much to use that same discretion towards a “small business?” Nevertheless, I stay patient and professional. I just have to expand past my current audience and that’s what I am currently working on now. But that doesn’t mean other challenges will not take place.

As you know, we’re big fans of Sips Tea. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Sips Tea is an online tea company specializing in fruit incorporated loose leaf teas, nasal steams and aromatherapy. My teas are packed with so much fun, mystery and flavor you totally forget the selected base herb is working on your gut flora, high blood pressure, mental health, etc.

My endeavor to make the teas taste less herbal is what sets me apart from every other tea company. Bursting flavors of juicy pineapples, strawberries, citrus, etc. paired with herbs give these teas their quirky nature making them almost exclusive.

At the moment, I am currently rebranding and expanding Sips Tea. I will be adding new teas and new menu items. As it warms up outside, I am recovering one of the most favored products: the bottled fruit teas or I should I say, “nature’s kool-aid.” These sweet, fruity teas aren’t made with dehydrated fruits for seeping, only the herbs seep. I create these iced teas with real fresh, organic fruit juice and agave for sweetening. Loose leaf teas are still open for purchase on the website or customers can catch me in person on selected Saturdays at Los Feliz Flea market or Melrose Trading Post on Sundays. There will be free samples on site for taste testing before purchasing.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
The only thing I have to say about risks is…TAKE THEM! The worst thing that can happen is failure and even failure isn’t the worst thing that can happen in life. That’s why we get another day, or a lack thereof to try again. So get out there and do what’s on your heart. Failure means you made an effort. You don’t want to grow old regretting not going after something you love. All I have to say is whatever choice you make, make it count.

Contact Info:

• Email: Organiqfire@gmail.com
• Website: Mysipstea.com
• Instagram: Sipsteala