Coca-Cola enlists Dragon Rouge to create brand identity for new tea brand

The Coca-Cola Company has launched a new brand called Authentic Tea House to create a new ready-to-drink (RTD) tea brand that celebrates authentic tea flavours and their origins. The new brand tells the story of each tea, highlighting its provenance – region, brewing technique and the tea masters behind the blend.The Coca-Cola company engaged branding agency Dragon Rouge for the creation of the new brand identity, packing and key visuals.According to Pratik Thakar, director of integrated marketing communications ASEAN, The Coca-Cola Company, Singaporeans, especially busy young adults, are seeking out authentic tea flavours to help relax and refresh their minds and bodies for a quality me-time."With Authentic Tea HouseTM, we are meeting that consumer demand by giving consumers a taste of authentic tea experience anytime with the twist of a cap. We had strong products in our RTD tea portfolio already, including AyatakaTM Japanese Green Tea, which was previously under the Heaven and Earth brand. With the launch of the Authentic Tea House brand, we had the opportunity to bring Ayataka under a singular brand with other authentic teas, delivering the unified promise of delivering an authentic tea experience anytime, anywhere," he said.He added that the company deliberately maintained aspects of the Ayataka brand identity for the green tea variant as it "enjoys strong equity amongst our consumers in the region".“Tea culture is deeply engrained in almost all Asian societies, and it is normally associated with thoughtful social ritual. We wanted to translate this experience into a modern ready-to-drink brand that would appeal to tea lovers AND to a younger generation of on-the-go consumers who are looking for something more authentic,” commented Zayn Khan, CEO of Dragon Rouge in Southeast Asia.He added:Story telling is an important part of branding, so we used the story of each blend on pack to build a deeper engagement with the consumer.Launched initially in Singapore with three types of tea – Ayataka Japanese Green Tea (sugar free), Da Hong Pao Oolong Tea (sugar free) and Jin Ban Chrysanthemum Tea (low in sugar), the Authentic Tea House brand identity and packaging stands out as more premium and contemporary while paying homage to the experience of enjoying traditionally pot-brewed tea.“Authentic Tea House is just one of many beverage options that we now provide to consumers to give them a wider choice of products to suit their lifestyle and consumption preferences,” added Thakar. This new line of RTD teas also gives consumers more zero- and lower-calorie options that don’t sacrifice on taste.Most recently companies such as The Coca-Cola Company came under pressure as the local ministry, Ministry of Health, called for public opinion on proposed ad restrictions and tax on sugary beverages.While Coca-Cola Singapore said it supports MOH’s recent call for in the fight for diabetes, it has reportedly voiced its concern that the proposed ad restrictions and tax proposed by Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday is not a “good solution“, according to The Straits Times. However, calling it its shared responsibility, Coca-Cola Singapore said it does support the move towards reducing calories and sugar.While Coca-Cola did not share its views on the proposed ad restrictions when contacted by Marketing, a spokesperson from the company did say that the brand recognises the issues of diabetes and obesity in its consumers and is also looking for ways to anticipate and satisfy consumers’ desires and needs through their feedback. It added that Singaporeans request for drinks that “taste great” but contains less sugar content and fewer calories.In line with these suggestions from its consumers, the brand said it is “rethinking” its recipes to cater to the needs and wants of consumers, while continuously innovating to launch new lower or no-sugar drinks.According to the spokesperson, 60% of its portfolio in Singapore fall into the lower and no sugar categories. Last year, the soft drinks manufacturer was among the top seven beverage companies in Singapore that participated in an Industry Pledge to commit that it will not have drinks with more than 12% sugar in its portfolio of sugar-sweetened beverages by 2020. Furthermore, the brand also committed to reducing the sugar content in its overall portfolio of sugar-sweetened beverages by 10% by 2020.