In Spring 2017, new drinks brand NOVELTEA introduced the world’s first cold-brewed, spirit-infused tea, which can be served hot, cold or as a key cocktail ingredient. Based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, entrepreneurs Vincent Efferoth and Lukas Passia set out to popularise a new beverage category, that of the alcoholic tea.
NOVELTEA launched with two products – The Tale of Earl Grey, which combines classic Earl Grey tea with British gin and The Tale of Tangier that pairs Moroccan green mint tea with white Caribbean rum. A third blend was introduced in September this year, The Tale of Oolong, a blend of Chinese Oolong tea with Scotch whisky.
To produce these unique flavours, the carefully chosen tealeaves are cold brewed for over eight hours, then blended with the complimenting spirit. The drinks are gluten-free and suitable for vegans.
Since its launch the team has successfully raised £500,000 through crowdfunding, and in just over 12 months, their revenue has grown by 320%. NOVELTEA now exports overseas as well as being stocked in over 150 stores in the UK. The unique flavours and radical combinations have led to numerous award wins and, most recently, NOVELTEA was featured on the BBC television programme Dragons’ Den.
As with any successful brand, the packaging has an important role to play in attracting attention. It needs to convey instantaneously what the product is about and encourage the consumer to look further.
With NOVELTEA, the labels are designed to tell the story of the tea’s origins in visual format on the front of the bottle, coupled with a brief description on the back. Each ‘Tale’ uses a different colour accent, which runs across all marketing materials, to help promote a strong identity and make it easier for customers to identify the different blends quickly and easily.
NOVELTEA is based and produced in the UK, and the team aims to ensure that every element of the ‘Tales’ is UK produced to help reduce their carbon footprint. Digitally printing labels also helps reduce label wastage, in line with their environmental goals.
