In the May 2024 issue of “Dziennik Zachodni”, Sylwia Mokrysz talks about the world of coffee and tea and more

Not only about the world of coffee and tea

Interview with Sylwia Mokrysz, the co-owner of MOKATE

MOKATE has a long history, women have always been involved in its creation….

The history of my family’s business began more than a hundred years ago. At that time, Josef Mokryš, my great-grandfather’s brother, opened a shop in Dobra (now in the Czech Republic). It offered coffee and tea, among other things. The entrepreneurial gene was passed on from generation to generation, and by the end of the 1990s the ‘Mokrysz’ company was thriving in the food sector, employing dozens of people. It was then that my Mum, Teresa Mokrysz, took over the reins of the company. No one was surprised. Despite her professional career, my Mum continued to help my Dad run the family business. My Brother and I were old enough not to need constant care. In addition, all the circumstances, both family and economic, created such a friendly atmosphere that Mum was able to spread her wings in the business. Dad, in particular, believed strongly in her talent and intuition.

And you? How did you get involved in the family business?

I was already involved in Mokate’s commercial correspondence in English and German during my school years. In my first year at university, which was the key period for the development of the company, I founded the advertising agency ‘Sylwia’. I focused on communication with clients. I created an advertising campaign for the company’s flagship product with the slogan: “Mokate Cappuccino – a Star among Coffees”.

At that time, this TV commercial was the first completely Polish production and thus entered the canon of national advertising art. Since then, ‘Mokate’ has become synonymous with the cappuccino product.

Do you manage to successfully balance your private and professional life?

Being a woman, a mother and running a business is not easy. It would seem that it is easier for me as the daughter of Teresa Mokrysz, the founder of Mokate – I have an excellent role model, a blazed trail and capital to boot. However, I always keep in mind my Mum’s words that “success is not given once and for all’. I have chosen my path and I am happy to have such an Authority by my side, I write my story and go through life with a smile, optimism and curiosity about the world.

How do you try to support and inspire the women around you?

I try to infect others with my optimism – it gives me great satisfaction. In recent years, many organisations have sprung up in Poland with the aim of helping young people, especially young women, at the beginning of their business careers. I have supported many of them and continue to do so. For example, the “Debutantes” or the “Pearls of Podbeskidzie” programmes – which promote exceptional women from my corner of the country.

I am also active in the Polish Network of Female Entrepreneurship Ambassadors and take part in the global “Million Women Mentors” project. This is an international project for the development of women around the world. It focuses on the sciences: technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) for short.

At the moment, more than 300,000 people have registered at www.MillionWomenMentors.org, mentors who have volunteered to share their knowledge and skills. I am one of them, of course – this is an extremely valuable initiative.

Building a global network of mentors sharing their knowledge is as fascinating as the sheer opportunity to tap into such a vast knowledge base.

Do you see any specific challenges that women have to face in business, especially in Poland?

Until a few years ago, the position of women in business was not an easy one. Nowadays, the problem is definitely less noticeable, although unfortunately certain stereotypes still exist and do not help women. In my opinion, women should boldly use their experience and dormant potential, because their current share in Polish business still does not reflect their abilities. The phenomenon we are talking about is an offshoot of the culture we grow up in: it is often women who are responsible for children and relatives.

Going back to your activities, what are you most proud of?

A major breakthrough for both Mokate and myself was the new market sector we entered in the autumn of 2002 with the acquisition of a large tea producer, Consumer. It was a completely different product, consumer and operating philosophy to what we knew from our experience in the coffee industry. However, we had no time to think about what to do. We had to introduce the tea products seamlessly into the Mokate range. To give them a new image in line with the company’s vision.

I was put in charge of the newly created department. I have to admit that I was apprehensive at first – I didn’t know the product, I didn’t know what possibilities it offered. I discovered all its richness during my training at the Thompson Lloyd & Ewart tea house in London. There I met passionate people who knew almost everything about tea. They infected me not only with their passion, but also with the desire to discover more and more of the secrets of the world of tea.

This enthusiasm was also passed on to the team I started to build for the needs of the new department. Based on my previous experience, I was looking for people who were not only great professionals, but also able to create a mutually motivating team. We set about creating a new tea portfolio – refining the design and recipes. Consumers welcomed these changes with satisfaction.

Today, our teas: Minutka (Just a Minute), Loyd or Babcia Jagoda top the sales charts, both at home and abroad. Every year we manage to introduce new innovations, combine often unobvious flavours, and offer new compositions.

The Tea Team is my great professional pride.

What helps you achieve your goals?

Success is the result of skill, knowledge, effort, experience and also luck. To quote Brian Tracy, “Your fate depends on your habits.” If you’re not entirely happy with what you’re doing and the results you’re getting, take a look at your daily habits. Think about whether your mornings are chaotic and put you in a bad mood when you leave the house because you didn’t have time to eat breakfast or read the newspaper with a cup of your favourite coffee (Mokate, of course :-)). Work out your morning routine, which over time will become a habit that will make you a happier and more content person.

The way we approach difficulties and everyday situations affects our emotions and the mood we project onto everyone around us. “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what allows you to persevere.” So let’s try to develop habits that will help us on our way to success.

What is Sylwia Mokrysz doing now, after so many successes?

I continue to work on delighting our consumers…

In 2023, I founded the Coffee & Tea Market Research Institute (based in Ustron and London), where we conduct research based on scientific methods in the area of business behaviour in the food and beverage market, including the coffee and tea market.

I would like to launch a platform for young inventors. Anyone with interesting ideas: for new products, ways of serving, promotions, ecology, reducing production costs, automation, etc. will be able to describe and register their ideas there. We look forward to receiving exciting concepts from potential grant recipients.

Apart from tea and coffee and supporting women in business, do you have any other passions?

I am interested in literature, photography, design… I was so fascinated by Orison Swett Marden’s work “Pushing to the Front” that I decided to translate it and publish it in a limited collector’s edition. The ideas in it were used by Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone and J.P. Morgan.

I like to come back to one of his most often quoted sentences, that in order to achieve success, it is necessary to “focus on the goal and work consistently in the direction set”. This was the case with the translation of this book. I am convinced that it is worth reaching for. Despite the years that have passed since it was written, it has lost none of its relevance.

The book is dedicated primarily to managers and those who have to make difficult decisions on a daily and repeated basis in the rapidly changing conditions of the modern economy.

What advice would you give to a woman starting her own business?

Stay focused on the goal and work consistently in a set direction. This idea, of course, comes from the book “Pushing to the Front” by Orison Swett Marden. It is important to look forward, not back. You cannot dwell on the past because you will miss the present. New opportunities and new challenges are always more interesting…