By Daniel Woolfson 26 April 2022
The brand debuted in tea bags in 2018 but has now been given a complete reimagining Tea Rex, the fresh fruit tea brand, is looking to re-enter the mults after a complete reimagination. The brand, which debuted in 2018 with a range of bagged fresh teas which required a disposable strainer, was relaunched quietly online last year in a new sustainable tube format, which comes with a metal reusable strainer. It was now looking to re-enter the supermarkets, its founder Andrew Walker told The Grocer.
When it first attempted to secure long-term space in the mults, it made headlines with stunts such as besieging Sainsbury’s Merton store with an army of inflatable dinosaurs and completing a successful £8,000 funding round. However it faced issues such as “the simplicity of the product – the sachet just wasn’t easy enough to use”, said Walker. ”And then there was the [packaging] sustainability angle,” said Walker. “We put the business in flight mode and went back to the drawing board.”
The brand’s new tubes are made with sugar cane and offer 10 servings, with a shelf life of up to a year unopened. Compared to the brand’s original bags, which needed to be kept in supermarket chillers, the tubes are ambient – meaning they could be ranged in typical tea fixtures, said Walker. Since quietly hitting the market last year online, the brand had sold the equivalent of 900,000 cups of tea. “Our business has completely changed,” he added. “We now get 180 comments a day on Facebook. In a year we have gone to making just under a quarter of a million.”
It has updated the range to include five flavours: Lemon & Ginger, Lemon, Ginger & Turmeric, Rhubarb & Ginger, Earl Grey, and Roibos & Blood Orange.
“We are now starting those conversations [with retailers],” he said. “We’re always going to have a challenge because in tea there are such huge incumbents. But our DTC play now gives us the data so go back to the likes of Tesco and say this is an incremental audience and add incremental value to the category. We’ve done a year and proven the model online.”
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Please note:
-This code will not work with other promotions / discounts
- 1 use per customer
We’re working on a programme to reward out community with sharing TEA REX far and wide to friends and family… watch this space!]]>
WOW - 4 years in the making ... with the same mission to make fruit tea taste as good as it smells.
Today I’m insanely proud to launch our fully printed recyclable tubes made of sugar cane not fossil fuels. Each blend has a colourful screw cap, rather than flick lid to both reduce our packaging foot print and make it even easier to use.
This landmark moment is down to the most RAWRSOME support which has helped us to sell over 500,000 cups of our fresh infusions.
We remain restless to continue perfecting our flavours and making packaging better for the planet… so keep watching this space.
Huge thanks & stay RAWRSOME
Andrew
Founder
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This phrase was bandied around a lot when I used to work in advertising and always resonated, but as a brand Founder it has come to mean a lot more.
I’m incredibly fortunate, I had 10 years cutting my teeth in an amazing industry - making ideas happen with marketing. Turning sketches into newspapers adverts, bringing scripts to TV screens and digital doodles to your Facebook page. Making things happen for clients wanting to get their message out in the world. The work is something to be proud of, but it is the people that really make it. There is no the industry on earth where such a brilliant, bizarre and bonkers group of eclectic people combine to create great stuff every day…it’s their job. I loved it. But the downside of the marketing world for me was that it was ‘for clients’… you were not taking your own ideas forward and hence not getting the real rewards for your ideas.
At this point it’s worth mentioning: I’m dislexic, dizlezic…dyslexic. Umm, who on earth decided to spell it this way! Because I have struggled to express myself through written words, I have instead relied on creative thinking to develop an idea and then ‘doing’ to deliver it…. With a view to playing to my strengths, I’ve always held an ambition to create an opportunity to make ideas happen. I wanted to build a business with creative culture and the buzz of an agency, but with a product I owned.
So, I saved up, left a safe and comfortable job and launched my own challenger brand to take over the world! It’s taken two and a half years, but I have invented a product and a built brand that is now listed in Sainsbury’s. This has been achieved through a lot of ‘doing’, just giving it a go… along with a bucket load grit and determination. For example – I won a place at the BBC Good Food Show after entering six sachets that were made in my home kitchen which led to having to make 4000 by hand two months later. I have pitched to retailers first thing on a Monday morning, without having a meeting booked, which in turn got TEA REX listed… and this brings me on to the stunt at Sainsbury’s Colliers Wood last weekend where we unleashed 20 8ft2 TEA REXs.
I wanted to use the way we launched our game-changing colourful infusions to bring attention to the wealth of creative careers open to young people with dyslexia. This launch with Sainsbury’s Taste of the Future is momentous for TEA REX, what better time to shine a light on a message that can resonate with young people who may need that extra confidence boost. There can be some trepidation about entering the world of work for those who struggle with written work at school, so I wanted to offer this an internship to local school or college leaver who could do with mentorship and experience in the real world. The startup world is ideal for people buzzing with big creative ideas, a sleeves rolled up attitude and those willing to learn on their feet and I’d like to offer one person a paid internship with TEA REX at this huge time for us.
HOW TO APPLY
In a one minute video, on any format, either via social media or an online download, let me know why you’d like to get your sleeves rolled up and work for TEA REX what you would bring to the startup.
CONTACT
DETAILS
Internship: 2-4 week paid internship
Location: Live locally enough to be able to travel to Raynes Park and Islington
NOTE
No PowerPoints
No PDFs
No CVs
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Wow, that sounds good.
Taking this shot (above) outside our first supermarket store is a real rite of passage for any drinks startup. In the midst of a huge push to get this listing live it was an amazing moment to stop and take it all in. Fruit infusions can taste as good as they smell and it has been brilliant to have Sainsbury’s backing this new, fresh category.
We're part of the first 'Taste of the Future' bay driven by the Future Brands team at Sainsbury's HQ. They spotted us at a YFoods event last March, back when Tea Rex was still a chilled product, and, in a very open, positive discussion, their feedback was that an ambient product might make all the difference. They actively followed us on our journey over the next few months and when we cracked our final version, which did not need to be chilled, things ramped up quickly.
69 stores. 12 weeks. If customers love us, we’ll stay…
… so, if you’re near a store please pick up a pack and help keep us local to you and achieve a longer term listing. We've uploaded a nifty store locator here
50,000 cups drunk this month… Bring on the 500,000!
Over and out.
Andrew
Andrew Walker launched his new business, TEA REX, at the BBC Good Food Show in November 2016 and the company have already been recognised for their work.
The world’s first 100% fresh single serving fruit and root tea, TEA REX, have won two Great Taste awards, a Quality Food Award and were also shortlisted for a World Food Innovations Award.
A Great Taste Award was given for the Wakey Wakey Rise & Rawr tea - a cup of zingy lemon, fresh root turmeric and ginger tea. A second award was for the Rawrsome Berry Time tea, which features blackberries, blueberries and raspberries as well as ginger root and lemon.
The business also won the Small Producer of the Year Award in the Quality Food Awards’ drinks category. Judges said they were impressed by the “passion, drive and love” that went into the business. As part of the award, Andrew will have the opportunity to work with the Co-op to supply the community retailer.
Founder, Andrew, said about his company:
“In a rapidly growing fruit and herbal tea market, with an increased consumer demand for wellness-focused natural products, there is a game-changing opportunity to create a new category in fresh infusions. Fresh ingredients like turmeric, lemon and ginger have been brewed as revitalising remedies for 1000’s of years.
However, dehydrated fruit teas on sale today just don’t ever taste as good as they smell. This is because drying and over-processing has compromised natural goodness and flavours. Think - when was the last time you had powdered egg or milk? So why are we still drinking dried fruit tea?
We’re on a mission to change this by inventing a fresh alterative which delivers the most nutritionally dense and flavoursome cuppa in the category.”
Alumnus Andrew graduated from Loughborough in 2006 with a degree in Industrial Design and Technology.
Congratulations to Andrew and the team on their success.
Check out the feature piece here:
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"The current drinks market is full of a whole host of new brand launches with innovation as a key selling point. However, when you look a little closer, beyond the label, genuine innovation is few and far between. The brands that really stand apart combine both new product thinking and great brand delivery – here are a couple of examples:
TAPPED birch water harvests nutrient rich water by literally tapping trees for 15mins per bottle. This is a new process in the market, but what makes this the complete product, is their unique round drinks bottle to emulate a birch trunk. Simply obvious, yet highly effective.
Another category owning brand just by virtue of their clever name, is ‘PHIZZ’ with their effervescent rehydration tablets. Previously you have had to hold your nose while you drank these dissolved tablets as they are a means to ending a hangover or upset stomach. In short PHIZZ tastes good, but also look tasteful. They are a lifestyle product, not just a lifesaver. This innovative positioning opens up whole new market for consumers looking for healthy hydration on the go.
There are a lot (a lot) of options to get your coffee fix out there in a cold format. Jimmy’s Iced Coffee really kicked this off bringing a great tasting beverage to the masses. Since then the market has been flooded by products which have a factional difference, but the new coffee sodas from guys at Sandows really standout. Fizzy, cold, spiced (or citrus) coffee in a can? Wacky yes, but a totally original taste wrapped in a well-designed stubby beer tin – surprisingly refreshing all round.
In the fruit tea market consumers have accepted that a fruity cuppa smells great, but tastes of dishwater. This is simply because when you dehydrate ingredients you lose flavour… when was the last time you had powdered egg or milk? The solution is simple – go fresh. To go against the beige bag status quo we have invented a new format and delivery method to bring this to market. But, as with the brands above, it is only when you combine the innovation into a brand which intrigues and engages consumers, will it turn in a real category game changer."
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TEA REX, a forward-thinking fresh fruit and root infusion tea brand:
https://www.welltodoglobal.com/discover-tea-rex/
Introducing TEA REX by the Free From Fairy:
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You can find our WAKEY WAKEY and BERRY TIME blends in the chiller section near the yogurt and milk drinks...
In the next few months there will be plenty of news to announce, including more places for you to buy our RAWESOME fresh fruit and root infusions from.
]]>For one month only, we have a pop up at the fabulous Sourced Market in London St Pancras station. Come find us right under the main departure boards, bringing fresh hot fruit infusions to cold commuters.
We are open from 07:00 to 10:30 every weekday morning, selling hot cups and packs to take to your home or office.
Big love to Sourced Market for hosting us, they have a brilliant store and it's definitely worth checking out... after a cup of hot Lemon, Ginger and Turmeric of course.
Lot's of exciting news coming in the next few months, so as the old saying goes... watch this space.
Team TEA REX
]]>TEA REX has been shortlisted for ‘Best New Brand or Business’ in the World Innovation Food Awards. This nomination follows winning the 2016 BBC Good Food Show Award and being listed by Speciality Food Magazine as one top faces to look out for in 2017.
"In such an over described under flavoured marketplace our brand is our main weapon to cut through and stand out, so it’s great to get recognised for making the right noises." said founder Andrew Walker
Andrew / Founder
]]>Just under 10 months ago from launching at the BBC Good Food Show it was announced on Tuesday that TEA REX has won two Great Taste Awards. This is a massive milestone for us in our journey to creating a new fresh fruit infusion category. We’ve gone from making every sachet by hand in our kitchen to being backed and produced by one of the UK’s largest and most innovative manufactures. We see Great Taste as the Oscars of the food world and it’s a mark we are very proud to add to very pack from now on.Lots to do, but for now I’ll leave you with the comments from the judging panel:
WAKEY WAKEY RISE AND RAWR
"Wow what delivery of concept! Great theatre at the table! A clean infusion, refreshing and zingy. Slightly sharp and a little acidic. A bold blend that delivers a punch for sure. Good balance of turmeric."
Andrew / Founder
TEA REX – RIP RAWRING BERRY TIME
"Exciting concept! Rhubarb pink in colour once infused. Very fresh, clean pure and alive, complementary partners. Whilst delicious, the soft and delicate flavours would benefit from extra depth of flavour."
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