About 85% of global tea production is sold by multinationals. And three multinationals control one fifth of the global tea market – Unilever which owns Brooke Bond (UK) and Lipton (worldwide) with 12%, Tata Global Beverages which owns Tetley (among others) with 4% and Twinings with 3%.
But, in the tea market as in the coffee market, boutique brands are gaining footholds, especially with younger drinkers where the health properties of tea play an important role.
Twinings may be seen as the established premium tea brand in its key markets, but it also seen as old-fashioned. So it asked its design agency of six years, BrandOpus, to help the brand reinvent itself. Following the launch of its Infusions range, Twinings has launched 22 contemporary blends. And BrandOpus has revitalised how the brand and its teas look on shelf, responding to a brief to reinvent regular tea, which has become commoditised and uninspiring on shelf.
The agency saw that its job was to reignite people's enthusiasm for quality, and make Twinings relevant and more approachable in a modern world, without losing the stylishness that underscores its premium brand status.
BrandOpus has introduced a new architecture system, a brighter colour palette with organic shapes and illustrations. The new architecture system is delivered through a central lozenge device. This allows greater clarity between the different ranges, under an umbrella created by a consistent visual thread of vibrant shapes and movement. The central lozenge also carries box tips, tasting notes and key information.
The design of the new Premium Black Tea range is built around visuals that cue the actual origin of the teas – the Kenyan safari plains, or an Indian festival, for example. Each blend has been given a different story that flows from the outside of the carton, through to the inside and on to the envelope and the tag.
Illustrations were created in-house. BrandOpus partner, Avril Tooley, commented, “We worked with Twinings and their tasters and buyers – who are the same people – to understand where teas come from.”
The Origins teas have also been renamed and include: Pure Ceylon, which was Ceylon; Spicy Chai, which was Chai; Golden Darjeeling, which was Darjeeling; and Smokey Lapsang, which was Lapsang Souchong.
The new loose leaf and loose leaf pyramids ranges have been given a flavour emphasis that is underpinned by the packaging form. The pyramid mesh bags are packed within a new resealable pouch format to protect their delicate flavour. The design uses the fluid movement of bold shapes, to convey the idea of brewing and the aromas that result.
Tooley added, “Coffee has been growing year-on-year and changed the way people are drinking, so there is a real opportunity in tea to reinvent. Twinings has been working on new innovation and flavours and it was up to us to make the overall portfolio easier to navigate.”
Twinings Origins range has already launched in the UK with six blends, including Bold Kenyan and Moroccan Mint. The loose leaf range launched with 13 mesh pyramid and 3 loose pouch variants.
