Everything you need to know about branding your tea

Is there a way to design a visually appealing and instructive label simultaneously? Getting to know your customer and the food rules in Australia is the first step.

 There's one thing that all of our clients have in common—the desire to create the perfect tea label for their company.

Although it is said not to judge a book by its cover (or, in this example, a box of tea), your consumers do just that when evaluating your product. Even if your tea is the greatest in the world, you will lose sales if your label is unattractive.

Why is this so difficult? Once you've gathered all the relevant product data (such as weight and ingredients), it's time to create an eye-catching label for your target audience.

We've prepared a list of the most important topics to focus on when establishing your brand, based on weekly talks with businesses ranging from large-scale brands to private labels and start-ups.

Once you get started, you'll realise that this procedure isn't quite as daunting as you had initially anticipated. Once the initial label is completed, it's only a question of repeating the process for all subsequent items. Look at the labels of well-known businesses to get an idea of how established firms approach labelling.

Food labelling standards in Australia must be adhered to.

The quantity of information on food labels can be deceiving, as much of it is required to meet Australian requirements. Details about your tea brand's regulations may be found in the Food Standards Code of Australia and New Zealand.

The following are some examples of mandatory label information: Ingredients Country of origin

In this case, the weight and the expiration date of the product.

There is currently no requirement for a nutrition information panel (NIP) for tea, herbs, and spices, as they are considered to have "no major nutritional value."

It's a good idea to familiarise yourself with the product labelling guidelines created by the Australian government before digging into the code. As a starting point, it's much simpler to comprehend and contains many relevant connections, such as rules on country of origin.

Making promises about health

Tea consumers are often driven by their health. Therefore, it makes sense to include health claims on your label. Ultimately, these comments can make all the difference between your product's attractiveness and that of a competitor's. Is it better to eat ginger or drink ginger tea to improve your immune system?

See Food Standards Australia New Zealand's instructions before putting these statements on your labels. Make sure your functional or medicinal teas are approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) before making health claims about them.

Disclaimers like "may aid with..." and "Always contact your healthcare expert" should be included on labels when making health claims. The health advantages of tea can also be discussed in other places, such as on the label.

Use your label to drive shoppers to your company's website, blog, in-store staff, and social media pages when you're unsure what to put on your package and what you cannot.

Claiming to be organic

To claim that tea is 100% organic, you must have at least 95% of the components be organic.

If you say that your tea is "made with organic ingredients," be sure to provide a list of those items in the ingredients section of your label (for example, organic green tea, mango fruit, organic coconut, natural peach flavouring)

The Department of Agriculture Organic Federation of Australia ACCC Australian Certified Organic are all excellent places to go for further information (ACO)

Make your consumers feel good about doing business with you.

Once you've nailed down the details, it's time to focus on the enjoyable aspects of your offerings. To get people enthused about a product, you need to show them what they may expect.

Creating aesthetically appealing labelling and outlining serving possibilities (for example, can the tea be served cooled) are ways to stand out.

Include a transparent panel in your package to allow buyers to view the tea; describe the flavour and scent; suggest the optimum time of day to serve the tea; provide brewing instructions; (e.g. breakfast, after a meal, etc.)

A premium brand image may be achieved by incorporating these design aspects into your packaging, which caters to Australia's growing gourmet food and beverage sector.

Let's pretend you've recently been to the grocery store's tea section. This is why even well-known companies like Lipton are launching premium lines to compete in this market. See our guide on the newest tea trends in Australia to better understand why this is occurring and what else is motivating tea drinkers.

When describing your goods, don't be afraid to use everyday words.

You might get carried away with too detailed wording when developing a label. It's essential to remember that most customers are in a hurry and seeking words and phrases they've already heard.

Organic Natural Herbal Fair Trade are just a few terms that people are familiar with.

No artificial flavourings Australian-made.

Caffeine-free

Vegan

Non-GMO

Pesticide-free

Preservative-free

This information should be prominently displayed on your label.

Utilise the services of a graphic designer with experience in packaging design.

A designer with experience in package design is also a good choice, as they will better understand where to put important information. While working with your designer, it's important to remember that your data must be clear and easy to understand for the end-user.

Your graphic designer should be able to recommend reputable printing providers as well. 

A Bondi Beach Tea Co., we offer the use of our in-house graphic design and printing team to save time and costs. We are a true one-stop shop when it comes to starting up your tea business. Oh, did we mention dropshipping? Yes, we can do that too.