5 trends in tea packaging design

«Tea nation». As a rule, this is the name of the pioneering country of tea — China, or loyal fans of Earl Gray — Great Britain. But it seems to us that the same can be said about Belarus or Russia. We have all drunk tea with raspberry jam for a long time, not only as a delicacy but also as an antiviral agent (and we did not know any coronaviruses). Everyone drinks tea for breakfast, for lunch, both at work and at home. Always on the phone to the question: «what should I buy?», we hear the answer: «something tasty for tea.» But when the tea runs out, it is akin to running out of buckwheat or sugar. This is the end of the world, who should we call, and where should we run? Now tea is almost an essential commodity. We are already silent about fanatical Englishmen who drink tea every day at 5 o’clock after the bell rings. Whatever you do, it’s five-o’clock tea. So, be so kind as to put your business aside and have a cup of hot Earl Gray. We are not gathered here to discuss the concept of tea through the times and cultures of the peoples of the world. And we will not remember where tea was first found when it began to be used as a drink, and its further evolution in world history. We’re here to find out what tea packaging design comes with. Let’s talk about trends, basic rules, and questions of what, how, and why.

TEA PACKAGING DESIGN — WHY YOU SHOULD THINK ABOUT IT

Here the situation is similar to packaging for bulk products (read this article on our blog, it is very useful and funny). In this situation, consumers behave in the same way: if they do not have a time-tested brand of tea, they will, first of all, choose my clothes. But! If you don’t give buckwheat as a gift, then tea — is quite possible to present. Therefore, it is important to understand here not only the target audience but, in principle, all positioning. Whether it’s tea for every day: richer, cheaper, as a gift, as a souvenir (from Egypt, for example), etc.

We read, ponder and conclude that the packaging should be:

• bright and attractive, like the latest promotional nutella on the shelf;
• easily recognizable as an Instagram blogger with a million subscribers;
• have a noticeable logo so that even a grandmother without glasses can see it;
• with complete information about the product: leaves, additives, country of origin, and expiration date. So that later we will not be scolded by all and sundry;
• be comfortable and not take up much space. It is necessary that she easily share the shelf with two or three other brands of tea from other brands (do not be jealous).

Packaging is one thing. But it must be combined with your identity. Therefore, you need to pay attention to your logo, colors, and other attributes. If you understand that you are objectively outdated, please contact us — we will make a candy out of you 🙂

PACKAGING AS A STARTING POINT IN THE CHOICE OF TEA PACKAGING DESIGN

The type of packaging depends on the requirements for product storage. Therefore, you can see tea on the shelves in cardboard or tin boxes, in paper packaging. Sometimes you will be lucky and you will find a rare item — tea in a glass container. The packaging itself for both tea bags and leaf tea is no different. Plus, there are always basic requirements — the ability to easily transport without loss of presentation, preservation of all nutritional characteristics (I don’t really want to drink brewed hay because someone regretted the cardboard), and also do not allow moisture and sunlight to enter the product (as if it were a very moody grubby vampire).

BOX IS A GRAY CARDINAL TEA PACKAGES

The box is the winner in the nomination for «the most functional type of packaging» and «top audience choice». The same box will later become a box for buttons or maybe even other tea! Total humiliation of the enemy, but you are great, you did your best and made it durable! No transportation and no minor mechanical damage will hinder you.

TUBE AND CYLINDER

A tube is a slightly more complex packaging for tea. Whittard tea prefers tall tubes, but there are pitfalls here too. Such packaging should look beautiful from all sides without distortions of the picture and inscriptions.

Another brand of tea — TeaBar — prefers to pack tea in a flat cylindrical package and wrap it all in a pretty label. In this case, you can collect thematic collections (Green, Ladies, Gentlemen).

GLASS CONTAINERS

Glass containers increase the cost, are impractical, poorly transported — everything is not there. But! The consumer can immediately see the appearance of the product, as well as make sure that this tea was collected by hand. Not a single leaf is damaged, and even Greenpeace will say thank you! And as a gift, it looks very stylish, for example, as the producers of T2 tea did.

TEA SETS

It’s one thing to give just a pretty box of tea, and another to give a real gift set. Assorted teas (if not the entire assortment) will make people fall in love with this brand of tea and look for it on store shelves. And if the set also includes a memorable cup or teapot, then you will deservedly win a place on the shelf with services in the kitchen or the living room. It is super important that everything is worked out in detail. Each package, each mug, and each spoon — everything should fit perfectly into the overall concept of the set and the identity of the company in general.

TEA PACKAGING DESIGN: UNUSUAL FORMS AND CREATIVE APPROACHES

The flight of the imagination of a designer who strives for convenience and beauty must succeed. Investing meaning not only in the design but also in the packaging itself will create a coherent concept and leave a very pleasant feeling for the consumer. This is exactly what you need to strive for. Surprise, experiment, think, and your valuable customers will endow you with their purchases and admiring glances.

What can you experiment with? Well, here the choice is small — a box, a sachet, or a package from a sachet. Maybe you can come up with something with a string? Or with a label?

Here are some examples:

Apparently, many brands are turning to the theme of flowers. Petal sachets, as well as sachets wrapped in a box that opens like a flower — cute, and that’s all. The main thing is stylish, fashionable, and youthful. Of course, everyone is interested in how much this will cost, but you can always make a limited collection for your business partners. It looks expensive, useful, and pleasant.

A complete orgy is going on with tea bags: origami, mountains, fish, and even portraits of politicians if you suddenly feel lonely. Everything that your imagination is capable of can be put into practice here.

Hand-made did not stay in 2012, some small manufacturers still use this kind of delivery. They are especially popular on Valentine’s Day or March 8th. If you look at the eastern countries, there is also a White Day. And most likely, some other wonderful cute holidays that will bring you a pretty penny in your pocket.

TEA PACKAGING DESIGN — WHAT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE IN COLORS?

It all depends on the type of tea: black or green, or maybe you make hibiscus, herbal, fruit, etc.

HERBAL

The easiest way, of course, is to build on the composition and depict light, multi-colored, possibly watercolor drawings. Such illustrations look very impressive on a white background while using simple clear fonts.

But you can go with another method — to make the packaging bright and colorful. The composition of the tea is still displayed, but the main element is to make a white label. Well-chosen bright colors evoke a clear association with the composition. Lavender — purple, blue — cornflowers, yellow — dandelion, etc.

FRUIT

Fruit tea designs commonly use watercolor and pencil drawings with a classic white label. Juicy, bright — like summer strawberries at grandmother’s in the village, and drawn fruits immediately speak of taste. And then there is no need to look for it in the text among ten languages.

BLACK AND GREEN

There is usually a full flight of imagination, limited only by the brand’s corporate colors. Classically, in the design of black teas, the colors red, black, blue, and brown are used, which are complemented by patterns of additives (if they are in the composition).

For green tea, you can use — surprise — shades of green. Depending on the strength, different shades of green are used — from dark olive to light green. Do you represent different colors for green tea with mint and jasmine? They also differ in reality — we are programmed to perceive and associate colors and composition.

EMOTIONS AND MOOD

As in the already noisy and irrelevant tracks, the color of the mood always clearly conveys the emotion and association of when to drink a certain tea, or what effect you expect from it. The tonic tea has green colors, the soothing tea has purple colors, and the red color will set you in a romantic mood. This idea was taken as a basis by the manufacturers of MoodGarden and Etos.

ALL COLOR PALETTE

Those who want to move away from the standards have decided to use all the colors at once. After all, no one forbids it. A splash of colors, an explosion of emotions, and the use of all known geometric elements grab attention just like a screaming child on public transport, but without the negative connotation.

As you can see, it is very difficult to make a trendy design of packaging for tea and stand out against the background of other creative solutions (a tea bag in the shape of a fish is not a joke to you), so it is better to go to professionals, for example, to us 🙂