“Thinking outside the box” becomes“re-thinking the box’s outside” when it comes to cutting-edge tea packaging.Savvy manufacturers and retailers have realized great design draws thecustomer’s eye, even before they’re aware of the quality of the product within.A recent Tea Journey article described must-have packagingdesign as “bright and edgy,” as well as using compostable and/or biodegradablematerials.
At June’s World Tea Expo, innovativepackaging was on full display. One of Asia’s biggest packaging companies, Tianhui, showed off vividly colored, biodegradable kraft cardboard containersin multiple sizes, and Overseas Sales Manager Evelyn Que described them as a“hot seller” to U.S. customers. Tianhui has also innovated attractive cottonpaper standup pouches and uses linen jute to create a striking drawstring bagfor gifting tea cans.
As tea consumption rises globally,designers worldwide are showcasing their skills on prototype packaging. Soon MoKang’s “teashirt” bags hanging in a box “closet” made waves in 2011, and stilllook fresh now. The Swedbrand Group, a packaging company founded in Hong Kong by two Swedishnationals, blogged about “The Most Creative Tea Packaging Designs” and includedthe unusual shapes and slightly vintage-looking graphics of The Image Group forTabi Tea, designer Magali Pagnier’s “Fleurs de Tilleul” packaging that openslike a blossom, and designer Sara Walsh’s design for glass jars topped by corksand boasting retro-style graphics.
Japanese company Ginza Jukkoku/Awatsuji Design’s elegant packaging features brush-stroked images on white backgroundspaired with modern shapes in boxes, bags, and canisters, while Lance Han ofTaiwan-Dot Design Co.’s design for the Chosen Tea 1869 series evokes two mountains nestling next to each other. This Awatsuji Design utilizes a silk ribbon theme.
Caitlin Jordan, writing for canva.com,has 50 “insanely creative” suggestions for designing packaging of multipleforms of food items, with examples illustrating each. (Included is the iconic“teashirt” mentioned above.) The suggestions range from “think about theexperience,” to “tell a story,” to “include a tactile experience.”
“There should be no hesitation to pushyour product’s package to the max,” Jordan writes. “It can be functional,purposeful, entertaining, or just outright bizarre, but one thing’s for sure:The more creative and inspiring your packaging is, the more likely the productis to sell.”
Gift Packaging from Classic toContemporary
The four subsidiary companies of China’sBaoshan Changninghong Tea Industry Group were represented at the World Tea Expo by not only its range of green,black and puer teas, but also by some of its stunning, classic packaging.Exquisite designs decorate the enclosures of puer cakes, resembling plates asthey are displayed on wooden stands. The gift boxes and jars that contain“Precious Changninghong Tea,” “Zen of Old Dragon,” “Dragon of Lancang River,”and “Classical Aroma,” among others, are treasures worthy of the teas theycontain.
Gift packaging must meet higherfreshness and safety standards, but this isn’t a deterrent to inspired designby companies such as innovepackaging.com, whose tea gift boxes with satin ribbon handles and metal tea tubes forcanisters are both eye-catching and practical.
Yunnan Sourcing makes a gorgeous drawer-style box for brick puer called “YunnanBeauties.”
One main takeaway: The familiar canbecome boring. Packaging is an essential aspect of marketing, and byre-thinking box, canister, bag, and gift packaging, you take the first step toreinvigorate your sales by making the customer stop, take notice — and maybeeven find the eye candy irresistible.
Source:Tea Journey