In brief: Jersey entrepreneur Alix Page launched a matcha and coffee pop-up business called blonde. in July, drawing queues at its first stall in Charing Cross. The 23-year-old, who completed a matcha course in Japan and a barista course at Highlands College, is now making her own flavoured syrups and has ambitions to open a permanent coffee shop.
From lockdown sewing to matcha queues
Matcha, the vibrant Japanese green-tea powder made from specially shade-grown leaves, has been one of the more unlikely success stories of recent years. Walk into almost any coffee shop and you will find it in everything from a simple vanilla version to a visually striking strawberry blend. Now it has found a champion in Jersey, Channel Islands, in the form of Alix Page, a 23-year-old finance worker who has turned a passion for the drink into a fast-growing pop-up brand.
The business is called blonde., a name Page has actually been using since lockdown, when she ran an Instagram page posting sewing and thrifting videos. “I started off in lockdown sewing and making clothes,” she told the Jersey Evening Post. “I’ve always had quite a business-focused head and also knew that I wanted to open my own business. I just didn’t know what.” The answer, it turned out, was matcha.
A trip to Japan and a gap in the market
Page’s interest in matcha grew naturally from her love of coffee culture and the drink’s rising profile online. She travelled to Japan with her partner, partly to explore the country and partly to learn more about matcha at its source. While there, she completed a matcha course and gained a certification, learning about farming, harvesting and what distinguishes a high-quality product.
The experience sharpened her eye. Back in Jersey, she found the matcha drinks on offer fell short of what she had tasted in Japan. “Some of the matchas I was trying made me think that they could be better,” she said. “I felt like something was missing compared to what I had experienced in Japan.” That gap became the seed of blonde.
After completing a barista course at Highlands College, Page looked seriously at opening a shop, only to find the costs prohibitive. “I looked into the equipment I would need and hiring a shop, and everything felt like a reason to say no at the time,” she said. A pop-up model offered a more accessible route in, and by July she was ready.
Queues down the street and homemade syrups
Blonde. made its public debut at Charing Cross on 10 July, and the response exceeded all expectations. A queue formed all the way down the street. “It was so over-stimulating,” Page said, laughing. “But it made me so happy afterwards. They weren’t being forced to stand there; they wanted to come and support me.” Her father built the pop-up stall himself, and a friend helped serve on the day.
Since then, Page has hosted several more pop-ups and taken part in events around the Island, all while holding down a full-time job and continuing to grow her social-media presence. She has also begun making her own syrups, with flavours including brownie batter, brown sugar, white chocolate and salted Nutella. “For now, I intend to keep the menu flexible, so that my customers can try different items on the menu,” she said.
Page has spoken openly about the self-doubt she had to overcome, particularly the concern that Jersey’s small, close-knit community might be quick to judge. The reality, she says, was the opposite. “I’ve never felt so welcomed and supported by everyone, which is so weird to say as Jersey is so small, and everyone knows each other.” She has also found that Jersey’s size, once a perceived obstacle to building a social-media following, has become an asset, giving her a distinctive local identity and a ready audience curious about independent food and drink spots on the Island.
Her longer-term ambition is a permanent coffee shop. “I want a permanent space, and I want it to be something that’s very me,” she told the Jersey Evening Post.
Source: Jersey Evening Post
