At the award gala for the “Golden One Hundred of the Silesia Voivodeship” plebiscite, that is the ranking of the best companies in the region organised by the Polska Press Group, publisher of Dziennik Zachodni (Western Journal) and Strefa Biznesu (Business Zone), four special awards were also presented. One of them, the Golden Statuette for Creativity, was presented to dr Sylwia Mokrysz from the Mokate Management Board.

What’s the deal with creativity? Is it true that women are more creative than men?

I don’t think that sex plays any role here… It is more about thinking outside of the box. In my business career I have met many creative managers, both women and men. Creativity is partly inherited and partly acquired over lifetime. At the beginning of my studies I started the “Sylwia” advertising agency and conducted an advertising campaign for the company’s flagship product with a slogan: “Mokate Cappuccino – gwiazda wśród kaw” (“Mokate Cappuccino – a star among coffees”). I even personally appeared in one of the clips. This TV commercial has entered the canon of national advertising art as the first entirely Polish production. Since then, “Mokate” has become synonymous with the cappuccino product. It was a huge market success and great satisfaction to all of us.

Those times were quite hard for business ventures.

It’s true. But running our own business actually started for the Mokrysz family more than 100 years ago. It was then that Josef Mokryš, my great-grandfather’s brother, started the first shop in Dobra (currently Czech Republic) that offered, among other things, coffee and tea. The gene of entrepreneurship was passed on from one generation to the next, and at the end of the 1990s the “Mokrysz” company was thriving in the food industry and employed dozens of people.

My mother, Teresa Mokrysz, took the helm of the company. It was no surprise to anyone. Me and my Brother were at such an age that we were also involved in the company’s affairs. There was no pressure, but rather an exchange of thoughts and long conversations. One of them led to the idea to change the name of the company. I remember that we were sitting at sheets of paper with various proposals. Finally, the MOKATE name emerged: MOkrysz, KAzimierz TEresa. It was perfect: vibrant, easy to remember. What is more, it was closely related to our family.

Then the tea era came to Mokate…

Yes. It was a very different product, consumer and operating philosophy than what we knew from our experience in the coffee industry. To be honest, I initially had some concerns: I did not know the product, I was not aware of the opportunities it gave. We did not have time to figure out what to do. We had to smoothly introduce the tea products to the Mokate offer. To give them a new image consistent with the company’s vision. Supervision of the newly established department fell into my hands. I decided to draw upon the experiences of people smarter than me, so I started training at the Thomson Lloyd & Ewart tea house. I met true enthusiasts there, people who knew virtually everything about tea. They influenced me not only with their passion, but also with the will to discover new possibilities. Such enthusiasm was also assumed by the team I started to build for the new sector.

The Loyd brand found a new image and entered the top of the tea brands in the country. I incorporated it in the fight for primacy in many markets in Europe, Asia and Africa. I won the prestigious membership in the London Tea History Association for it. When promoting Loyd, I returned to marketing – we created a new advert that was nearly as important as the first one for Mokate’s cappuccino. It featured Justyna Steczkowska who described her work on the set as follows: “Everything was perfectly prepared, I could focus only on creating the fairytale mood. I am very pleased with the final result – I tried to bring out the magic of the Loyd tea. I think I succeeded.” We managed to fit the creative works on the “Minutka” tea brand in the “product placement” formula. We started cooperation with the makers of the Ranczo (Ranch) TV series and placed our teas there – the result was excellent. One can still see our tea in the right context in the reruns of the Ranczo TV series, and this makes it very clear and convincing.

Coffee and tea – successfully present on the market for years. What now?

Further development and new challenges. Last year, I founded the Coffee and Tea Market Research Institute (based in Ustroń and London). There 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. This association is a summary of my coffee and tea passions. Apart from the analysis of the coffee and tea market, the Institute promotes knowledge about these fascinating beverages. It integrates the scientific and business milieus, including universities and people starting their career in business. It also focuses, among other things, on the creation of new products (which is not an easy feat in the case of coffee and tea), training and facilitation of self-education, organisation of conferences, meetings with other enthusiasts and professionals, etc. The works of the “Coffee and Tea Market Research Institute” are summarised by the publication of the Coffee & Tea Marketing Journal, a scientific magazine which helps to make even more people interested in our activities. Maybe it will be a platform that will allow for the creation of fund for young scientists who wish to increase their knowledge of the food industry. They also have interesting ideas for new products, ways of serving, promotion, ecology, reduction of production costs, automation, etc.

Going back to the women’s notion, is it easier or more difficult for a woman to succeed in business in Poland than for a man?

In my opinion women should boldly use their experience and dormant potential, because their current share in the Polish business still does not reflect their capabilities.

The life of a woman and a mother, while running a business, is not easy. It would seem that for me, a daughter of Teresa Mokrysz, the founder of Mokate, it would be easier, as I have had an excellent example, an open road and a starting capital. However, I always remember my Mother’s words that “success is not given once and for all.” Having this Authority on my side, I build my story with optimism, joy and constant appetite for life.

In recent years, many organisations were founded in Poland to help young people, particularly young women, at the beginning of their path in business. I have supported and still support many of them, e.g. the “Debiutantki” (“Debutants”) or “Perły Podbeskidzia” (“Pearls of Podbeskidzie”) programme which promotes the extraordinary women of Podbeskidzie.

What advice would you give to a young woman who starts her own business?

Focus on the goal and consistently move forward in the set direction. This motto is obviously taken from the book: Pushing to the front by Orson Swett Marden. You need to look forward and not backward. You cannot dwell on the past, because then the present issues escape us. New opportunities and new challenges are always more interesting…