Brits have always been famous for their tea and 2015 is no different. Tastes may have moved away from traditional mugs to the popular ‘upmarket‘ herbal drinks, but the sector is still thriving even within a dwindling grocery market.
Twinings tea is a particular household favourite, with 2015 marking its 309th year of business.
The brand has redesigned itself with a “massive strategic design project with BrandOpus”, according to Heather Hartridge, Marketing Director at the traditional tea retailer.
“BrandOps has partnered with us strategically and creatively to redefine consumers’ perceptions of Premium Tea through designs that reflect the evocative world of Twinings tea in an accessible yet ever stylish way”.
The company‘s range of classic blends have been redesigned to encompass a more contemporary approach.
Twinings also invested £10m in a campaign back in February to appeal as an ‘everyday brand‘. The campaign entitled, ‘Get You Back to You‘ aims to present the tea brand as an influential, fundamental part of everyday life.
The retailer is part of Associated British Foods, a diversified international food, ingredients and retail group. The company sells both Twinings and Ovaltine hot beverage brands internationally, in more than 100 countries.
Twinings‘ current sales are estimated at around £107m, closing in on traditional PG Tip‘s £149m.
Upmarket tea brands, with the help of strong marketing campaigns, are appealing to younger, health conscious generations.
Though Twinings‘ individual teabags can come in 27p more than the average price of tea, this does not seem to be putting consumers off. In particular green, apple and mango teas are pushing the company‘s sales.
In ABF‘s 2014 report, the group highlighted the importance of knowing your customer. The company found that Americans favoured, “multiple tea products in their pantry”, something Twinings targeted with, “a multi-million dollar investment in advertising and product sampling together with a programme to educate the US retail trade in how to optimise K-cup sales”.
In contrast, Twining‘s new modern yet traditionalist approach in the UK has assisted it in delivering strong revenue growth, with ABF achieving record market shares in each of its four tea markets.
