Twinings

OVERVIEW

Founded in 1706 in London, Twinings grew from a single shop into international tea experts with a reputation for providing consumers the finest flavored teas.

In recent years, the English tea giant faced challenges connecting with North American consumers. Even as tea blends grew popular among the public as artisan experiences, the Twinings’ brand, with over 200 flavors, had difficulty gaining adoption and growth in proportion to this market growth. The entrance of trend-driven competitors pushed out many of the company’s tea flavors from retail store shelves, and Twinings’ packaging design and overall retail presence not only made it confusing for customers to identify flavors but also left consumers with the impression of Twinings as “stodgy” and “old.”

With all these factors in play, how could Twinings bridge these challenges and create better engagement and sales among consumers?

HOW WE PARTNERED TOGETHER

Bailey worked closely with Twinings throughout a comprehensive research and analysis process. We used the insight gained to inform our rebranding and implementation strategy for Twinings:

Clearly define Twinings’ market segments. Bailey found that customers don’t view Twinings as 200-plus tea varieties, but by what specific tea products appeal to their unique tastes and personal experiences. We did further research to define and segment the customers of each tea variety. We learned their unique preferences and what imagery and experiences needed to be communicated to attract them to a specific tea blend. Once defined, we then designed a package identity system across the hundreds of tea varieties that removed any visual confusion between tea flavors—enabling tea connoisseurs to easily find the exact tea preference or experience they desire.

Create deep brand segmentation across packaging to allow each tea variety to engage a specific-but-obsessed audience. As artisan tea preferences can be so intricate, Bailey’s research into photography and package design for each variety made sure even the smallest detail, like the type of tea cups used with a particular tea, was precise and made the tea experience feel authentic.

Such design and detail was also extended through all consumer touch points (point of sale, B2B, tea bag packing, etc.) to create an experience that appealed to a very discerning tea drinker.

Leverage Twinings e-commerce to create the ultimate brand experience. What the globe is to an adventure traveler, Twinings’ website became for artisan tea explorers. Bailey rebranded and rebuilt the Twinings website to become the place where avid tea drinkers come to see, explore and order all of Twinings’ flavors (many they may not find in stores). Through the website, Twinings is able to have a deeper, interactive and more profitable relationship with tea lovers.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT

Twinings' transformed into a brand better able to engage with its audience, especially through its e-commerce platform, which went from sales of less than six figures in annual revenue to multiple millions. The e-commerce platform has become a major part of its business, solidifying its relationship with consumers and re-establishing Twinings as a leader in its category.

Twinings is the fastest-growing tea brand in the U.S.