Tea Party with Gen Z

As I wandered around the supermarkets of Paris in search of Tata tea and its sub brands (The video below shows the hunt), I visited some of the popular supermarkets of France – Carrefour, Mono Prix, Fran Prix and Auchan.

Product placement and availability:

The only variety of Tetley tea available in the shelves of Fran Prix and Mono Prix were Tetley green tea and earl grey, though there were other tea brands available with a lot of flavours such as fruity teas and other varieties. The product was placed in either the bottom shelves or is lost in the back of the shops amongst other brands. Carrefour did not even have the brand. It was Auchan where I found four varieties of Tetley tea and 3 varieties of Tata’s other sub brand - Good earth.

The same evening, I gathered four of my multi-cultural classmates from China, France, Senegal and Austria who belonged to Generation Z and hosted a tea party for them. Here is a table which explains the various aspects observed during the event.

Criteria/ Brand	Tetley – Earl Grey	Tetley – Vert matcha Nature	Tetley – Rooibos - Vanilla	Good Earth – Moroccan Mint	Good Earth – Tropical Mango and Moringa	Good Earth – Hibiscus, Rose and sweet berries
Outward packaging (Box)	- Dark Blue and golden/ yellow details with descriptions in white - Gave an elite feeling	- Shades of green with descriptions in white - Showed it is a healthy tea	-Red and shades of yellow -Felt like a warm tea -Saharan desert related details	-Half white coloured boxes with mint leaves - Instagram handle is printed on the side	-Half white coloured boxes mango, Moringa and a picture of a humming bird - Instagram handle is printed on the side	-Half white coloured boxes with rose petals, berries and tea leaves - Instagram handle is printed on the side
Tagline	-bis morgen früh /à demain matin (See you tomorrow morning)	-envie d'une petite escapade fraîcheur (want a little cool getaway) in the internal flap which ​was not noticeable in the first glance	-Thank you for choosing Tetley	-Sensorial Blends -Green Tea -Born to be bold (at the backside)	-Sensorial Blends. -Infusion -Born to be bold (at the backside)	​-Sensorial Blends. -Infusion -Born to be bold (at the backside)
Tea bag packaging	-Naked, circular tea bags with extendable tea bag threads attached to the tea bag initially. -Pull apart rectangular paper tag which was easy to squeeze out water and hence flavour. -Felt easy to dispose as the bag became smaller when the tag was pulled apart -Teabags were made of filter paper like material	-Packed in green individual smaller square packets made of plastic believed to seal the flavours packed in regular tea bags -Long thread attached with regular square paper tag. -Teabags were made of filter paper like material	-Packed in red individual Rectangular packets made of plastic supposedly for locking the fragrance in a different plastic material than that of the Matcha tea. -Pull apart rectangular paper tag which was easy to squeeze out water and hence flavour. -Felt easy to dispose as the bag became smaller when the tag was pulled apart. -Teabags were made of filter paper like material.	-One big plastic bag which contains all the tea bags. -The tea bags are made of mesh like material. -Small thread with small square tag. -Can visibly see the ingredients of the tea and its colours	-One big plastic bag which contains all the tea bags. -The tea bags are made of mesh like material. -Small thread with small square tag. -Can visibly see the ingredients of the tea and its colours	-One big plastic bag which contains all the tea bags. -The tea bags are made of mesh like material. -Small thread with small square tag. -Can visibly see the ingredients of the tea and its colours
Number of tea bags per box	25	20	20	15	15	15
Colour of infusion	-Black infusion	-Light green	-Light red	-Mint green	-Mild orange/ yellow	-Reddish pink
Smell and Taste	-Little to no smell and tasted as if it is the dictionary definition of tea – very basic.	-Natural smell and tasted just like green tea. Very earthy. -No flavour difference between normal green tea and this flavour	-Mild vanilla smell prominent when the box is opened and also while drinking the tea. -Mild sweet taste.	-Prominent mint smell. -Fresh and refreshing feel while drinking it. -Mint flavoured	-Prominent mango smell. -Slightly sweet and fruity feel. -Mango flavoured	-Prominent hibiscus with a hint of berries smell. -Flowery and fresh feeling
Will they drink it again?	-Will not drink again	-Will not drink again	-Might drink again but not a strong preference	-Possibility of drinking again	-Crowd favourite - Yes	-Possibility of drinking again

Looking at the above table they (Gen Z) preferred to experiment with different flavours, wanted to drink colourful and healthy teas and looked for sustainable packaging.

Suggestions:

Tetley should start mentioning their social media handles as a part of their exterior packaging as that will lead to more product and brand visibility. They have entered the game of social media influencers recently (according to me is late but there is immense potential in this area to exploit still).

In conclusion, given that they have quality tea to offer and Paris being one of the major cities in the world where multiculturalism is evident and thriving, they could improve the presence of their brands, introduce more variety and increase the availability in local supermarkets that are prominent. The brand could also try to work on placement of the tea on the shelves with the respective supermarkets. This way they could stand out from competitive brands who provide similar flavours.

- An Article by Sandhya Suresh

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References:

Source of Logos - Internet

Video using - Canva.com

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