Upmarket cafe on menu as Tea Monkey moves into Mothercare

Tracey Bovingdon is a successful entrepreneur and business consultant who founded Strictly Education Ltd, providing payroll, HR and facilities management services to schools. She sold the business to Bond plc in 2007 for £2.85m.

While living in Thailand, she gained the inspiration for Tea Monkey, which she founded two years ago. Last weekend a Tea Monkey rebranded cafe opened within a branch of Mothercare in Leeds.

She said the partnership between the two companies was a no-brainer as they both have similar values, in that they provide accessible and appealing facilities for families while offering high levels of customer service and great products.

Tea Monkey has other branches in Milton Keynes and Bath. It sells 40 types of loose tea and wellness teas.

Ms Bovingdon told the Yorkshire Post: “This is my fourth company and I tend to look for gaps in the market. I’m not too concerned about the recession, it doesn’t matter what time you set up your business, it is always going to be tough initially.

“Opening a small independent business can be pretty brutal. But there are some good points about a recession, as you can negotiate better deals for leases. If you set up during the recession you can become much more stable and robust and then when things start to lift, you’re in a good position. I believe things have begun to improve but it is incredibly slow.”

Ms Bovingdon has noticed that consumer spending is starting to increase and there is much more consumer confidence on the high street, in her recent experience.

“In a recession, people decide that they have to get back to basics and if a company can survive in the recession, then it can survive and grow in the long term,” she added. Businesses that are already established can cut back on the fat and become more efficient.

So, why tea? She said coffee is to go and tea is to stay. “Coffee has done very well and I can’t knock it,” she said. “I have no criticism of coffee shops whatsoever. But I don’t drink it and I never have done.”

She began the business because she was quite simply “fed up of being treated as a second-class citizen” in some coffee shops for wanting a cup of tea. It dawned on her that there were no modern tea shops on the high street and she spotted a gap in the market.

Tea Monkey also sells coffee and, in fact, one of its outlets sells more lattes than it does cups of English breakfast tea. Ms Bovingdon aims to be much more inclusive and not discriminate against coffee drinkers, either. The coffee has won awards from the Beverage Standards Association.

“The business is trying to be family-friendly and to appeal to all people of all ages. We’re likely to have children with their parents and teenagers as well as older people who want to come in, chill out and enjoy a cuppa.”

The first franchisees are now on board and Ms Bovingdon had inquiries from international backers as far afield as the United States, Middle East, Japan, India and the Philippines. She is hoping to work in partnership with Next.

Ms Bovingdon said that, as a mother-of-two, she can understand what demands are put on parents and hopes she can provide an opportunity for them to take time out to refuel with their children while shopping.

She also admires the traditional tea shops and is a fan of Betty’s in Harrogate. But what she has created is a modern tea shop with iPads and apps for children to play on as their parents relax, colouring stations and cookie decorating options.