Tetley
Brewing up a connection.
Summary
With a drop off in tea drinking across the UK, Tetley needed to find a way to reconnect with the nation. Kicking off by defining their essence as ‘Care’, we developed a full rebrand built on the belief that making tea is about more than a drink – it’s an act of connection. This inspired an identity overhaul featuring a new ‘joined up’ word mark, deliciously welcoming photography, and an update across all masterbrand assets that made Tetley that little bit warmer.
Britain loves tea.
Challenge
Brits love their tea – drinking around 100 million cups of tea a day (UKTIA). The opportunity for Tetley was to encourage more people to choose tea as their beverage of choice; appreciate the consistency and quality of the Tetley blend; and to recognise the value of a trusted, well-crafted brand.
Before
After
Consumer truth
It’s not about the tea. It’s about what making the tea means.
The act of making tea for someone is an act of service. It’s how we welcome people into our homes, it’s how we prepare for a quality catch up and it’s how we show somebody some support. It says I’m here for you. It says let’s gossip. It says you’ve got this.
I loved finding the balance between breathing new life into an ageing brand while respecting its distinctive assets. Ben Mansfield, Associate Creative Director
Tea has always been there for us and Tetley has been there longer than most.
Brand truth
Since 1837, Tetley has been there for you. It’s been there to welcome you. To relax you. To comfort and console you. Since 1837, Tetley has been mastering the art of tea; pouring expertise, love and devotion into every cup. Since 1837, Tetley has been the heart of tea.
Strategy
Tetley exists to pour care into the world.
To build a bond between brand and buyer, we defined Tetley’s brand essence as ‘Care’. Then, based on this territory, we crafted a positioning ladder: Because we’ve been masters of tea since 1837, we’ve poured care into crafting a quality cuppa, so you can show you care for each other.
Quality connections.
Concept
Sharing a moment over a cuppa is about much more than the tea. It’s about taking time. To listen, to laugh, to chat. From your bestie to your brother, we invite you to press pause, stir a little love into the everyday and enjoy a good cuppa in good company. This concept of ‘Connection’ flowed across all our decisions on identity development.
Crafting connection in every asset.
Craft
We imbued our creative concept into every Tetley asset. We collaborated with lettering artist Oli Frape to craft the new ‘joined up’ wordmark, brought back the brand’s much-loved mascot, identified a single, warmer masterbrand blue and shot a set of warm and welcoming serves with photographer with Marc Haydon.
Results
Tetley tops the charts.
In a category where consumption is gradually declining, Tetley has remained a resilient and relevant choice for millions of tea drinkers. It continues to be one of the UK’s most recognisable tea brands, built on decades of trust and quality in every sip.
In their words
Epoch demonstrated a deep understanding of the need to modernise the Tetley brand while thoughtfully preserving its rich heritage. Apoorva Goyal, Tetley Senior Brand Manager
