Teavana Tea Bar

Objective:

Starbucks Coffee acquired Teavana Tea in 2012 for ~620 million to lean into the 90 billion dollar global tea industry. Along with existing Teavana real estate, the company strategically envisioned an entirely new concept, the Teavana Fine Teas + Tea Bar, incorporating a premium menu of food pairings, a new mixed and blended beverage menu, and an upscale cafe setting into the Tea retail space in a way not previously done at scale. The first new concept was opened in NYC in October of 2013. Per Tea Biz (October 2013): “The tea bar will establish a new breakfast occasion that is not based on speed of service,” Howard Schultz explained. “Tea needs to be nurtured, taught and sampled. Teavana’s higher average sale ($40 per transaction) means tea bars can emphasize service and spend more time with each customer, customizing tea, for example, or demonstrating merchandise.” The objective was to design a premium retail space where customers could spend time luxuriating in the tea ritual, discover new teas and food pairings, connect with friends and also discover unique products.

Results:

As a design lead brought in to work with the retail team, Kelsey designed the new brand coming to life in the experience, directing photography, calligraphy and illustration. Kelsey also designed the Teavana Fine Teas + Tea Bar logo lockup; created the custom pattern for the brand; worked on design of Teavana retail packaging, including the collab tea with Oprah, and designed the Teavana hot beverage cup, using a custom double-wall design de-bossed with the Teavana pattern to insulate hot tea beverages, which was featured in Fast Company. The tea ritual was brought to life in retail experience in a few tactile and strategic ways. Photography was reserved for only ingredients, bringing large format tea leaves and florals to life in massive, colorful detail. Quotes and stories about tea were screenprinted on linen and backlit behind seating areas, or painted directly on the surface of the wall. Teas on display on the charcoal wall, in Japanese shou sugi ban style backdrop, were exposed in glass vessels with hand crafted typography labels attached with copper clips. In collaboration with the talented retail design team, the space truly inspired both a tea journey and education and an intimate and unique place to dine or have a tea ritual and be fully immersed in the new Teavana tea story.

To quote Tea Biz (October 2013): “By selecting only the finest premium loose leaf teas and botanicals to be sold in Teavana mall stores, Teavana has built a strong reputation among tea enthusiasts and introduced casual tea drinkers to new experiences in tea.” Wall Street welcomed the expansion, but Starbucks traded flat at $80 per share. Teavana Tea Bars were closed in 2017 when Starbucks closed all 379 of its Teavana stores, due to underperformance. Premium loose tea in mall settings may not have been a hit—but the Teavana Tea brand is still strong in the packaged CPG category, up 8% in 2021 and part of a growing 207 billion global tea industry.