How To Create A Tea Packaging Design That Wins On-Shelf.

While coffee might be the bigger conversation in the United States, globally, tea generates more than double the revenues. With coffee generating 102.02 billion compared to tea, which generates 207.1 billion, you can clearly see why tea is such an important part of the CPG market. Therefore, tea packaging design is critically important to a brand’s performance. 

The use of tea goes centuries farther back than coffee, and because of this, there’s more to consider for tea than a coffee packaging design. Creative tea packaging designs using the “throwback method” must look further than the industrial age or when cowboys roamed the plains. 

In fact, tea dates back to the 3rd century A.D and was used in hundreds of cultures across the globe.

With teas being an important part of Ayurveda medicine, most tea packaging designs take an eastern approach to imagery and font styles. This includes teas not as commonly used in eastern medicine, such as green tea and black tea. Is this the best idea? Maybe but it depends on your target market.

With such heavy competition and a diverse customer base, tea designs must speak to an audience that can associate the brand with their lifestyle.

In this article, we will look at tea packaging ideas and strategies used in today’s market and offer strategies for each packaging solution.

Modern Tea Packaging Design

The first important consideration is how the tea lover of today has a further understanding of premium tea and why they should drink it. No longer is black tea, just black tea. Now, modern consumers care about growing conditions, drying methods, and flavor profiles. Tea products serve multiple purposes by supporting a particular feeling and experience.

This means product packaging needs to match the tea’s feeling and experience to prepare the consumer for what’s coming. This means using the right type of tea packaging, the right colors, and on-point messaging to attract the ideal customer.

While traditional tea enthusiasts may opt for a single source tea, modern consumers may opt for a tea blend that seems both fun and innovative. This is another important consideration in tea packaging design.

Tea Packaging Options

While traditional tea packaging continues to have a powerful influence on the market, category expansion and competition create the demand for a brand to stand out. Also, innovations in tea brewing create new opportunities to market and sell teas.

Stand Up Pouch Tea Bag Packaging Design

Like coffee bags, you can now present tea in a stand-up pouch, which, like coffee beans, presents a small batch look and feel. This type of packaging is common in tea shops but is finding its way onto shelves in larger grocery stores. If your branding strategy is to resemble tea crafted by an artisan, then this type of packaging can work for your brand.

Tea Box Packaging Design

The tea box design is the most common of all marketing types. Tea box packaging is a low-cost option providing ample room for branding and messaging. While most brands take advantage of the wide space for graphic illustration, standing out in this highly competitive landscape requires a different approach.

Think of your tea packaging box as a blank canvas. Create a great design by becoming novel enough to capture the interest of your exact buyer persona.

Tea Can Packaging Design

We can at least partially thank The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf for making this type of tea packaging acceptable by the mass market. With their tin cans holding loose leaf tea, Coffee Bean exposed the west coast to a new tea package. The branding strategy of tin cans includes the idea that they keep loose tea leaves safe and are more stable than that of bags or boxes.

Now, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf uses the tin can for tea bags and loose leaf teas.

But it isn’t just the idea of loose tea leaves that sells this type of packaging. The metallic tins set the background for a creative tea label design. If you want to appear as if your tea package best maintains the quality of the tea leaf, then a tin can may be the right approach for your brand.

Single Serving Tea Packaging Designs

Like many types of food packaging, besides bulk supply, we buy or serve teas in single packages. Getting this type of packaging design is just as important as the full package design.

Tea Packet Design

The full packaging experience goes well beyond the initial opening of a tea box. The tea experience is longer than most CPG categories, so packaging needs to be strong from start to finish. A tea packet design should carry over the same quality and appeal as the outer packaging. 

Tea Bag Design

99% of tea brands miss a valuable opportunity to stand out against competitors. Both brands, big and small, use the basic white tea bag and this is a big mistake. Considering the fact that tea consumers experience the tea bag 30 times per month, doesn’t it make sense to enhance the experience a tea pouch provides?

A new tea pouch design could include a unique hanging method, provide a new bag shape, or put more than a brand name and logo on the tag. The Tea Kitchen provides a fun example of a creative tea bag design that has note cards with personalized messages. Imagine the social influence a brand would have if they took this DIY idea and turned it into a commercially available product.

How can your tea pouch packaging design impact top-line revenues and net profits?

Tea Pods

Keurig means convenience, and convenience is here to stay. Tea K cups and other tea pods will be around for as long as people keep pouring cups of coffee and tea.

Most tea pods look the same with the white packaging and colorful top. They all seem to follow the initial coffee pod designs instead of distinguishing themselves from thousands of other brands.

Why not a more neutral color pod? Can we add design elements to the side of the pod? What if messaging took an approach like beverage packaging designs where we have a joke or message under the cap? Can we include a quest at the top of the pod and the answer at the bottom?

The point is since consumers understand tea pods are not to be of the highest quality and freshest ingredients, consider ways to make your pods stand out during each pour.

Tea Packaging Design Agency

Want a best-selling tea brand? SmashBrand uses a proprietary testing process and packaging design strategy to ensure you have the best tea packaging for on-shelf performance. If you are a tea company looking for a new design or brand refresh, book a time to discuss your project with our team.