Last Updated on May 6, 2024 by DesignerPeople


Everyone loves tea; there are people who just and function without it!
It’s an industry that is futuristic with many opportunities; like global tea, the market was valued at nearly 200 billion U.S. dollars in 2020 and is expected to rise to over 318 billion dollars by 2025.
From green tea, black tea, white tea to regular tea, there is a target audience for each segment of tea type. You will not see many blogs about tea branding, so we as a leading branding agency brought in tea product branding principle, essential elements of tea branding and some inspirational design of tea packaging around the world.


Table of Contents
Principles of Tea Branding
Branding conversations in today’s era is all about placing your customers and their experiences at priority. Many elements go into a product and a person – to understand the environment and brand design authenticity and beauty. All of these are, will act as a core pillar of quality branding.


1. Tea Brand strategy
A unique strategy helps maintain exclusivity in each of its different product categories, which will then add USP to your brand. The brand’s distribution strategy is customized as per the state, region or countries and focuses on targeting its specific consumer base and usage.
Social platform will also decide what kind of strategy will work towards engaging and attracting customers to your brand.
Tea brands invests in its store locations and store displays as critical elements of its marketing and brand strategy.


2.Tea Brand Positioning
A memorable tea brand positioning aligns a vital purpose with sipping something new. Understanding what your target audience wants in the tea they buy is critical. A positioning statement is a crucial factor that will influence your creative brief for the brand.
A brand can be positioned differently from both an emotional and functional perspective within existing platforms. The brand positioning highlights a unique proposition for the brand – range, ingredients, benefits, dynamic and active recharge, convenience, and availability.
Some will position the health aspect, some as energy boosters, premium, luxury, affordable, healthy, and many more.



3.Brand Personality
Like we humans, even brands have unique brand personalities; green tea for energetic people who boost energy and achieve gym and weight-loss goals faster.
Some are herbal and organic. They will always represent their image as natural and authentic in personality.
Same way, whatever your brand portrays should display through its packaging, colours, images, content and many more to justify its brand personality.


4.Target audience for your tea
You will find tea lovers everywhere, your brand persona in mind, brainstorm the kinds of characters your target audience would connect with who can be a corporate person, daily cuppa routine, ice tea and many more.
Products that target the mass market are generally positioned in the middle of the tea price spectrum. Targeting the audience includes the study of demographics, personality descriptors, and lifestyle traits.



Types of Tea & its branding
1.Black Tea Branding
The best combination with snacks, biscuits, along with a lot of benefits, provided consumed appropriately. Sipping on a lovely warm, tasty and flavourful tea is the most heavenly feeling tea-lovers can get in their lives. The overall tea packaging should focus on health benefits, and often, its target audience is busy people that are goal-oriented and determined.

Source: behance.net/gallery/89780845/Seasons-Greetings

Source: packagingoftheworld.com/2020/05/the-z-black-tea.html

Source: packagingoftheworld.com/2017/12/hette-black-and-green-tea.html

Source: packagingoftheworld.com/2021/03/assand-tea.html

Source: behance.net/gallery/116940357/Packaging-design-for-premium-tea

Source: behance.net/gallery/53678615/Cariad-Tea-Packaging

Source: behance.net/gallery/89639419/Adour-Black-Tea-Packaging-Design

Source: behance.net/gallery/89780845/Seasons-Greetings


2.Green Tea Branding
Here the tea is positioned as health-oriented with calm and determined personality traits. The target audience is health-conscious people or gym goers who love a dynamic beverage to boost their energy level.
Stacked with various disease prevention agents and supplements, Green Tea is one of the most healthy drinks that effectively affect your body. The packaging will highlight core ingredients such as tulsi, pomegranate, lemon-ginger, baron dark many more natural herbs; flowers will help display its brand positioning.

Source: behance.net/gallery/73978871/Packaging-Design

Source: packagingoftheworld.com/2020/01/organic-matcha-green-tea.html

Source: packagingoftheworld.com/2013/10/tea-trunk-packaging-design.html

Source: packagingoftheworld.com/2015/05/tg-green-tea-ready-to-drink.html

Source: packagingoftheworld.com/2019/05/fabsta.html

Source: behance.net/gallery/112468601/Box-Packaging-ABW-Green-Tea

Source: packagingoftheworld.com/2015/05/tg-green-tea-pouches.html

Source: behance.net/gallery/109529043/Tea-Time-Packaging?


3.White Tea Branding
It belongs to a premium category where the target audience is sophisticated and classy. The brand’s personality is gentle and delicate with its value proposition of being beautiful and healthy at the same time.
The niche of this tea is that it is very minimally processed, due to which it retains its original flavour. Being one of the healthiest tea in the world, make sure your branding is communicating that through correct brand messaging and content.

Source: amazon.in/Octavius-Premium-Silver-Exclusive-Healthiest/dp/B01KHH0NT8/

Source: amazon.in/Karma-Kettle-Birdsong-Lavender-cockscombs/dp/B07XCNMCMJ/

Source: amazon.in/looms-weaves-Leaves-Anti-oxidants-Weight/dp/B08GJ13R7L

Source: amazon.in/Celeste-White-Tea-Ginger-Elixir/dp/B08G8RGRJQ/

Source: amazon.in/Gopaldhara-Darjeeling-White-Romance-100gms/dp/B08RBW9ZBX

Source: lotuspeak.com.au/read-me


4.Herbal Tea Branding
They are rich in antioxidants and come in various flavours, tastes, and purposes, including ginger, lemon, ashwagandha, and jasmine. Here, the ingredients matter most as caffeine-free options like Tulsi Ginger Turmeric and Tulsi Sweet Rose make them one of the best choices.
Their offerings include:
- Loose teas.
- Whole leaf tea bags.
- Their Gourmet Chai collection focusing on a lot of natural benefits.
Eco-friendly packaging, muslin and nature-friendly bags will act as the best option for such brand personality products.

Source: behance.net/gallery/60441305/Herbal-Garden-Tea-Packaging

Source: behance.net/gallery/101466801/Design-herbal-tea-packaging?

Source: behance.net/gallery/115898591/Packaging-Clementea?

Source: behance.net/gallery/115982051/Origin-Tea-Herbs-Tea-Packaging-Design

Source: packagingoftheworld.com/2019/03/family-tea.html

Source: packagingoftheworld.com/2019/03/family-tea.html

Source: behance.net/gallery/98739579/S-Sense-Trans-Herbe-Inc?

Source: behance.net/gallery/98739579/S-Sense-Trans-Herbe-Inc?


5.Iced Tea Branding
Ice tea is primarily focused on millennial audiences and has to look distinct compared to other carbonated drinks. Ready-to-drink tea is the most significant emerging soft drink in terms of volume growth.
The design should communicate as healthier refreshment with natural uplifting ingredients and taste. The brand should express excitement and enjoyment and unique graphics that will engage customers with natural revitalization and health.

Source: packagingoftheworld.com/2016/12/feel-it-tea.html

Source: behance.net/gallery/48498875/Nicetea-Iced-tea-packaging-design

Source: behance.net/gallery/41367435/Ice-Tea-Packaging-Nongfu-Spring

Source: behance.net/gallery/104475843/Iced-Tea-JAF-TEA?

Source: packageinspiration.com/iced-tea-packaging-for-the-coffee-bean-2013/

Source: behance.net/gallery/78917729/Suppaoria-Iced-Tea-Branding-Packaging

Source: worldbranddesign.com/cold-ice-tea-packaging/

Source: packagingoftheworld.com/2016/05/cascara-ice-tea.html


6.Oolong Tea Branding
Oolong tea is known for its semi-oxidized picked from the Camellia sinensis plant but are bruised by being shaken in baskets, which changes the oxidation process. Their branding will focus on the high lighting of the process.
Its luxury in nature will talk about brand positioning statement, and rich looking packaging will enhance classic feel and emotion of product.

Source: amazon.in/Te-Cha-Premium-Oolong-Natural-Ingredients/dp/B077J1Z32M/

Source: amazon.in/DEJA-BREW-Exotic-Mountain-Oolong/dp/B08KY3FFZR/

Source: amazon.in/Goodwyn-Oolong-Rose-Petals-Grams/dp/B00VX24PIM/

Source: amazon.in/FirstBud-Organics-Premium-Darjeeling-Oolong/dp/B076Q3CVHH/

Source: amazon.in/Kayos-Teatox-Garcinia-Cambogia-Oolong/dp/B074QM8K5Q

Source: amazon.in/Boutique-Mountain-Management-150Cups-Himalayan/dp/B08P8LFDY8/


Essential Elements of Tea branding
1.Brand Name
Brand identity must be clear and precise, and to do that, the name should be the same. Even in the tea industry, there are a variety of categories. To establish a distinct personality, one has to decide brand name, which talks about the brand type and its nature.
If it’s a healthy tea such as green tea or white tea, then the name should be health-oriented and classy, which will go along with its features.
The name should be easy to recall, short, and local language preference is given if the brand targets regional areas only.


2.Logo Design
Food industry logos play an essential role in increasing brand recall in the market. In contrast, in a competitive market, designing a professional brand logo for the tea industry is still a challenge. Hence a branding agency will always do justice with their skillset and experienced manpower one can depend on them.
A good brand logo will communicate with the world and potential customers about who you are, what kind of products/services you are into, your target audience and many more things.

Source: behance.net/gallery/71805223/MOYA-Matcha?

Source: behance.net/gallery/110563179/POEME-TEA-Logo

Source: behance.net/gallery/112546117/Harput-Harman-Tea-Logo-Packaging-Design?

Source: behance.net/gallery/103376451/Entrepot-Logo

Source: behance.net/gallery/116384339/Minerva-Artisanal-Teas

Source: packagingoftheworld.com/2015/06/vaise-fruit-tea.html

Source: behance.net/gallery/82536445/Mood-On-Brand-Identity

Source: packagingoftheworld.com/2020/04/bettys-tea.html


3.Packaging Design
As per the tea brand’s positioning, organic, herbal, healthy, premium, affordable, regular, the tea packaging design will communicate. The brand story, font style, colours, content, overall feel and emotion is essential to get in sync with the type of tea.
The health benefits, MRP, expiry, the process of making, brand evolution, USP, fssai, manufacturing date, taglines are some of the mandatory information which it should include in the packaging.


Source:https://packagingoftheworld.com/2023/09/ahmad-tea-packaging-2.html

Source:https://packagingoftheworld.com/2019/05/taitea-tea-box.html

Source:https://tealish.com/en-us/products/organic-almond-cookie-tea-sachets

Source:https://www.behance.net/gallery/55060921/TITEA-Mini-Box-Tea

4.Website Design
Do you know 93% of business decisions of purchasing will start with a search engine search of websites, and if you don’t have one, then you are selling only 7% of the market?
It is straightforward for people to reach you with a website, read up about your brand, discover what you do, and answer many questions they have on your business. It is true that if you are not available, have a website for your business, found in a search engine if you have a listing in a directory, the yellow pages will just automatically display in a Google places result.

source: bohtea.com/visit-our-tea-gardens/

source: https://www.thompsonstea.com/our-teas


5.Social Media Marketing
In this digital world, where we are less connected with other human beings. People desire and crave a human connection, so when businesses can connect with their target market, they will create loyal customers. Create a community on Facebook that will help to establish a strong relationship of trust and loyalty.
Use Instagram to post images, quotes, videos, texts and many more exciting things to do.
By conducting various quiz, contests, puzzles, games, poll, one can keep that engagement level high on social media platforms.

Source: in.pinterest.com/pin/38280665572980871/

Source: in.pinterest.com/pin/245024035955922887/

Source: in.pinterest.com/pin/522910206706284008/

Source: behance.net/gallery/9180381/Tasty-teapots-for-Curtis

Source: in.pinterest.com/pin/304837468536040108/

Source: in.pinterest.com/pin/581245895659701752/

Source: in.pinterest.com/pin/345792077644844307/

Source: in.pinterest.com/pin/256634878753549475/


CONCLUSION
Branding is not everyone’s cup of tea. It needs a lot of expertise, and the tea industry is very opportunistic, so don’t lose any chance to groom yourself. 2021 is a year of connecting people with your brand and maintaining to retain them, but how well prepared are you? Contact us today. We will help you to analyze your strengths, and our dedicated team will ensure you gain maximum benefit out of it.
Author: Megha Malik

As a passionate entrepreneur and creative brand consultant with experience of 14 years in digital, branding and packaging industry, it is my honest effort to put my experiences and knowledge of industry towards readers. A chartered accountant by degree but a marketing personality in blood has motivated her to take in designing industry as a career. With her fun-loving personality and sharp branding skills, she is a great motivational speaker on her YouTube channel, an active member in various business channels offline as well as online. Do connect me personally via my LinkedIn and I love to share my expertise with you.
Thanks for this blog.