Tazo

In 1994, two guys walked into our office with a Ziploc bag of tea (we swear it was tea), and asked us to create a new brand. Soon after, Tazo was born. We grounded the brand in the history of tea, with all elements becoming the artifacts of an ancient tea culture. The name was designed to evoke the origins of tea, and the logo was reminiscent of archaic pictograms. Themed “The Reincarnation of Tea,” packaging copy engaged and rewarded the consumer while building the mystery of the brand. We created packaging for 100 product SKUs, featuring copy like “Scientists still do not fully understand the Tazo effect,” and “Shake before drinking. You might also want to do a little chant if you feel up to it.” The Tazo brand system was applied to packaging, retail merchandising, collateral, website, apparel and advertising. The brand is considered the greatest success in tea history. This success allowed its founders to sell the brand to Starbucks. And in 2009, one of them walked back into our offices with another Ziploc bag, ready to create a new tea brand.