Ayumi Kinezuka, Toshiaki Kinezuka, Ian Chun
Ayumi Kinezuka and Toshiaki Kinezuka of NaturaliTea, and Yunomi Tea Merchant Ian Chun

Interested in selling tea from Japan? Apply here for a wholesale account.

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We use the Shopify e-commerce platform, and highly recommend it for serious businesses who are just getting started. Our tea store was built by ourselves, and we can also help you with your own store. Contact us at help@yunomi.life for online tea store creation services!
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1. REGISTRATION

Please apply for an account first here (Wholesale account application). If approved, you will be required to pay a non-refundable application fee. This fee generates the same amount in store credit that can be used to purchase samples while we discuss your business needs. So the application fee is essentially a pre-payment.

You should create a site account when purchasing the application fee. Your account will be switched to a wholesale account, so please use the email address you wish to be associated with your wholesale account.

In the rare case that we do not approve your account, you will not be asked to pay the application fee. The application fee is non-refundable.

 

2. CUSTOM ORDERS & REQUESTS / DROP SHIPPING / PRIVATE LABELS / ORIGINAL BAGS WITHOUT YUNOMI LABELS

If you require a certain item, configuration, private labeling, please contact wholesale@yunomi.life to discuss terms. We work with packaging suppliers, for multiple packaging types including packages with Japanese design, resealable stand-up pouches, Japanese washi paper cans, etc. Small orders will be packed at our office, while larger orders will utilize outsourced, professional packers in the Japanese tea industry.

Drop shipping and private labeling are separate services. Please click below for details. Note that lead time for production of a private label product can be 3 - 14 days depending on availability and scheduling (up to 4 weeks for out of stock items). As such is not meant for online-only businesses looking to drop ship 100% of their sales, but rather businesses looking to augment their standard line up with rare products  

If you plan to do the repackaging / labeling yourself, you do not need to purchase the private labeling fee.

We keep a number of matcha in stock as unlabeled / unbranded bags. When ordering, please include a private labeling fee per unit if you need us to place your label on. If you only want the unlabeled bags, simply indicate to us in the order notes.

All items in-stock should be considered labeled with Yunomi's labels. If you require the original bags without Yunomi labels, please mention that in the order, and all items will then be considered out-of-stock and require procurement from the original producer (allow 4 weeks). For small amounts, repacking into a new bag is likely faster.

Drop shipping Private Labeling Fee Matcha for Private Labels

3. IMPORTANT NOTES

Wholesale accounts are not eligible for retail promotions / free shipping. Please note that this site is primarily a retail site. From time to time we offer promotions meant for retail customers including discount codes, free shipping, etc. Please note that as a wholesale buyer, you should not use these promotions. Your order will either be cancelled, or you will be sent a bill for any outstanding amount before your order ships. In the case that utilization of a retail promotion results in excess payment, you will be refunded. We may offer wholesale-oriented promotions, but they will be explicitly stated as wholesale-oriented. Thank you for your understanding.

4. ELIGIBILITY

NOTE: Registering for an individual account ahead of time speeds up the application process.

Wholesale accounts are available companies intending reselling tea as well as organizations distributing tea to their members including tea clubs, student organizations, etc. If you are unsure, please submit your application and we will contact you.

Minimum annual purchase requirement: To maintain eligibility for our wholesale program, a minimum annual purchase requirement of 60,000 yen is necessary.

5. SAMPLES

As a marketplace (not a tea company), in general we do not give out samples, but will give you a significant discount on the purchase of retail sample packets for evaluation if your application is approved.

6. ORDERING

After your application is approved, we will contact you to determine your needs, and orders may then be placed by email. You may also place orders directly from the website by logging in to access wholesale discounted pricing, and checking out as a normal e-commerce order.

You may also have the option of submitting a draft order for us to review, particularly in large quantity cases where the system may not be able to accurately calculate shipping costs.

7. MINIMUM ORDER QUANTITY

Our business model is to connect small tea retailers (and individual connoisseurs) with the type of tea they would not otherwise be able to get from importers...teas from artisan tea farms and factories. If there is a larger minimum order quantity from the producer, we bear that cost on your behalf with certain exceptions. However, there is no exclusivity for any country. Certain items may be grouped into lots, for example, 10 x 1kg cases.

8. PAYMENT

Payment may be made either by credit card, PayPal or International Wire Transfer from your bank to ours.

If you would like to pay by International Wire Transfer, please inquire with your bank as to the exchange rate in effect and transfer information. All wire transfer fees are your responsibility. An addition, we require a 5000 yen handling fee for all transactions below 100,000 yen.

For credit card and PayPal, and invoice will be sent to you either through the Yunomi.life system or from PayPal directly. The order, regardless of currency or payment method, will be recorded in the Yunomi.life system for our records.

9. AVAILABILITY

We carry inventory of many of the products listed on the site, but only in small quantities. After payment, if we cannot fulfill your order from our own inventory we will procure the rest from the supplier.

Please note that most of the tea suppliers (farms and shops) we work with are actually quite small, with minimal production capacity (as well as commitments to Japanese customers). If you end up needing 100kg of a tea product to supply a large account, this may not be possible. In such a case, please inquire as to the availability. Larger farms, factories, and certain merchants may be able to offer an alternative.

SIZE: If a 1kg option doesn't exist for your product on Yunomi, that most likely means we have not negotiated a price for that quantity with the supplier. Your interest in the product will be our reason for asking for bulk pricing from that supplier. You should contact me in that case.

10. BULK PURCHASING

We currently have permission to offer teas in 1kg bulk units (1kg bags) from several suppliers. If a 1kg option doesn't exist for your product on Yunomi, that most likely means we have not negotiated a price for that quantity with the supplier. Your interest in the product will be our reason for asking for bulk pricing from that supplier. You should contact wholesale@yunomi.life in that case. If you need quantities of 30kg+ for any one tea per order, we may be able to renegotiate a lower price depending on the supplier.

11. SHIPPING

Detailed information about shipping policies are available here: Shipping Policy -- for amounts over 5kg, US$12/kg is a good estimate. 

LEAD TIME PRIOR TO SHIPMENT: For orders that include back-ordered items, please allow at least 4 weeks processing time prior to shipment. Please inquire with us to confirm. If everything is in stock, it may take us time put it together, so please allow about 1 week processing time.

SHIPMENT TERMSFree Carrier (Incoterms, FCA - click for details) — we are responsible for the goods until handed to the courier (i.e. post office). Thereafter, you are solely responsible for the goods. However, we will work with you to help you in case of any trouble with the shipping company or Post Office.

  • DELIVERY GUARANTEE: Yunomi Delivery Guarantee applies only to individual retail orders, not wholesale orders. We do not guarantee delivery and recommend that your order is insured.
  • INSURANCE: Any damage to order contents is the responsibility of the wholesale customer. EMS shipments are automatically insured, but DHL shipments require an extra fee of 3000 yen or 1.2% of the value of the order (whichever is higher). We recommend that you buy insurance for large value orders if shipping by DHL

12. IMPORT & EXPORT DOCUMENTATION

GENERAL POLICY: We ask that you cooperate with us in ensuring the proper import documentation is included with the shipment. We will not be held liable for costs associated with shipments that are refused entry, returned to us, or disposed.

UNITED STATES: We carry out FDA Prior Notice of Import registration free of charge for every shipment of food products into the United States. If your destination facility is a registered food facility, please inform us of the facility registration number in parenthesis next to your company name so that we may be compliant with regulations.

EU: The EU Declaration of Import is no longer needed for tea products (See Page 2 (10) of the regulation) as of April, 2014. However, customs officials may not be fully informed, and we recommend that you confirm with the customs office in your country. If they say otherwise, you should point to the actual regulation from the EU in the above link.

ALL REGIONS: Purchases of value over 200,000 yen will need export permission for the Japanese government. There is no charge for this documentation, but there may be a 1 week delay. Thank you for your understanding.

ORGANIC CERTIFICATION: USA, CANADA, and EU require shipment and product specific documentation filled out by the certification organization of that product to be legally sellable as a certified organic product (and for you to legally use the certified organic logo of your country). In some countries, you may also need to be registered as an importer of organic products. Fees may be required for each of these documents.

13. Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the difference between purchasing here and on one of your partner sites?

Matcha Latte Media operates both Yunomi.life as well as DobashienTea.com, AzumaTeaGarden.com and KuriharaTea.com on behalf of those respective merchants and farmers. These sites have prices listed in Japanese yen, and products are shipped from Yunomi. 

Shipping fees: To aggregate shipping fees, you must purchase from Yunomi.life. Shipping fees will not be reduced if you purchase on the partner sites separately. 

We used to operate ObubuTea.com and NaturaliTea.com for those farmers, but we are now primarily offer tech advice / maintenance in addition to procurement for Yunomi.life. Purchasing from these websites is a direct transaction between you and those farms, but we maintain very close relationships with them, and you may contact us if you have any trouble.