Nicole Lamond and Julie Hirsch Eloments Interview

First Ever 100% Natural Vitamin Tea Pours Into Aussie Supermarkets

Fairtrade and female owned Eloments has unveiled five rich flavours of organic tea infused with 100% natural vitamins and minerals. The world-first range is now available in Woolworths stores nationally.

Eloments' organic tea has been carefully crafted using 100% natural ingredients that are free of nasties like the harmful chemicals, pesticides, formaldehyde and genetic modification that are found in many teas. Formulated by Australian nutrition specialists, a single cup of Eloments tea provides consumers with over 40% of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, C & Zinc.

Most vitamins are comprised of synthetic compounds, however the vitamins found within Eloments are 100% natural because they have been delicately extracted from holy basil, guava, amla, annatto, sesbania and lemon using a patented water-processing method. Ingesting plant sourced vitamins allows for faster absorption with little to no stomach irritation, making it the most alkaline way to consume dietary supplements.

If nutritionally deficient, the benefits of drinking the vitamin range may include increased energy levels, improved skin and eye health, digestive2 and immune system support and metabolism support. Thorough lab testing also revealed that by immersing the vitamins in hot water the vitamin content increases significantly.

Tea lovers will be spoilt for choice with five luxury blends to delight the senses, including Double Lemon, Egyptian Mint, Ceylon Breakfast, Bourbon Vanilla and Summer Orange. Each flavour has been created using fair trade certified teas, herbs and spices.

The entire Eloments range is certified as:
100% Organic
100% Natural
All Vegan
No-Pesticides
Non-GMO
Non-Synthetic

Interview with Nicole Lamond and Julie Hirsch

Question: What is Eloments?

Nicole Lamond and Julie Hirsch: Eloments Organic Vitamin Tea is the world's first 100% natural vitamin tea, created by two Melbourne-based female entrepreneurs. Every cup of Eloments Organic Vitamin Tea provides you with over 40% of your recommended daily intake of nine essential vitamins and minerals, including Vitamin B1 B2 B3 B5 B6 B7 B9 C and Zinc. Eloments' multivitamin blend, which was developed in collaboration with an Australian Dietician and Nutritionist, was formulated for general health and wellbeing, and can help with things like immunity, sleep and skincare.


Question: What originally inspired you to create Eloments?

Nicole Lamond: We wanted to create an enjoyable way to get your daily nutrients without having to pop pills (which people often forget to do in the mornings anyway!). We spent two years creating the world's first natural vitamin tea. Unlike most other supplements, we wanted to keep Eloments 100% natural, so we sourced plant-based vitamins that come from organic fruits, herbs and botanicals.


Question: Can you talk us through the journey from idea to product?

Julie Hirsch: When we set out to make a 100% natural vitamin tea, no one had ever been able to create one before. We had to create a totally new process for blending plant-based vitamins and minerals with Fairtrade teas in a way that wouldn't harm the nutrients. After two years of research and development, we created an innovative manufacturing process that is now patent-pending. The response from retailers and tea lovers was overwhelming. In only 8 months we were in almost 1000 stores around the world and we were so lucky to partner with Woolworths to launch in their tea aisle!


Question: Which of the range is your personal favourite?

Nicole Lamond: I love the Summer Orange! It's a bright citrus flavour with fennel for a bit of natural sweetness, and the green tea comes from 10 remote mountain communities.

Julie Hirsch: I drink the Egyptian Mint almost every afternoon! It's a caffeine-free tisane of peppermint and spearmint that's perfect after lunch, and the B group vitamins help give me energy for the afternoon.


Question: Why is it important for you to support natural products and ethical business techniques?

Nicole Lamond: Nicole: I became passionate about Fairtrade after a trip with World Vision to Africa where I realised that hard-working tea plantation workers needed aid because they weren't being paid fairly. People who buy Eloments can have peace of mind that there is no slave labour or child labour in our supply chain. In fact, for our Ceylon Breakfast black tea, the majority of tea comes from small-scale, family-owned tea gardens.


Question: What advice do you have for other business owners hoping to implement more ethical business practices?
Nicole Lamond: We believe that the best things in life are free, and everything else should be fairly traded. While it's much harder to be an ethical start up, if you're committed to an audited supply chain, sustainability and ethical business dealings you can absolutely do it.


Question: What's a typical day like, for you?

Julie Hirsch: We have the privilege (and challenge) of working with Fairtrade cooperatives around the world, which means we're usually working across lots of time zones. As most entrepreneurs would know there's very little routine in a startup - we can go from one day of organising sea freight for 2000kg of beautiful peppermint from Alexandria to another day at our warehouse putting stickers on packs for a promotion!


Question: How do you split the role of Founders, successfully?

Julie Hirsch: We were friends for years through a creative writing group before we started Eloments, so we'd built respect and trust in each other. Although we agree on most things, having this as a base means that we can simultaneously challenge each other to get the best outcome and believe in each other to manage our areas of responsibility.


Question: What's next for you and Eloments?

Nicole Lamond: As a Fairtrade certified tea we're excited to be in the middle of Fairtrade Fortnight this week. We're offering free samples for anyone interested in trying an ethically sourced tea through our website (hand packed by the two of us on weekends!). Our goal is to help as many people try Eloments as possible - we spent a long time creating it so it's wonderful to be able to share it now.


Interview by Brooke Hunter