Pavillion Garden - Herbal remedy?

It would seem coincidental that not long after critiquing the new Twinings rebrand we have a new herbal tea offering by the UK's leading independent coffee roaster, Mathew Algie.

The brand is called Pavillion Gardens, the reason behind the name we are told is that 'Matthew Algie Esq. first began blending tea consignments in 1864, proudly packing them for Victorian Tea Pavilions.
I have a problem with the name on a few levels. The use of 'Pavillion' is quite clearly an attempt to create instant brand provenance and the use of 'Garden' to enforce organic and natural connotations. This all feels too contrived for my liking and straight from the beginners book of branding. More importantly the name will lack brand recall by the consumer which could be disastrous.

In the previous herbal tea review I mentioned that "Clipper have made green tea more accessible, yet in what must be a strategic move, Twinings have pushed herbal tea further into occasional and cultured drinking.". Pavillion Garden has a look that isn't too distant from Clippar but emotionally it is firmly in the Twinnings camp, segregating the category even further into elitism.


There are two environments i'd like you to consider. The first is the retailer. It is here where Pavillion Gardens will have the variants lined up in their branding glory. At point of purchase I do agree that the design has a quaint yet endearing quality which will attract the consumer to the aisle. In the consumer cupboard at home  when only one variant has been purchased the design may just be a little too quirky, isolated and misunderstood.


One Darney Road, the agency behind the work, do need to be commended simply for the sheer effort in differentiating each variant with a unique illustration. They have chosen an individual teapot for each of the 10 teas rounded off with decorative foliage and wildlife that adds to the depth of 'magic'. I actually find the teapots very pretentious and would have preferred a single teapot to represent the entire brand, thereby using just the foliage and wildlife to bring the brand to life. This would have added an extra layer of consumer recognition but also allowed each variant to breath more naturally.
(assuming you have to use wildlife, this is a dangerous position to communicate to consumers, see my review of Jordans Cereal to see how you can get this very wrong).

The colours used throughout the range are soft and welcoming but I worry that they are not far enough apart. This worry is confounded by the fact that the variant roundel is small, lazy and offers no help to the consumer in navigating the range, it reminds me of a Powerpoint presentation, however harsh that may sound.

The top of the pack in general feels like an after thought. I get the impression that the agency put all their success down to the illustrative aspect of the pack. The logo doesn't fit with the style, the font is all wrong and I can't help but feel it gives the impression of being mis-registered. I would categorically never change the logo colour to match the variant, the logo holds most of the brand promise. Semiotics will tell you that colours represent emotions and connections, how can a consumer subconsciously understand what you are and what you represent when they see you as pink, orange, green, blue and even more so when off pack when it becomes black.

The packs have a theme that the logo, variant descriptor and illustration are the same tone of colour, I have noticed that some variants have had to make subtle adjustments, such as liquorice and peppermint, to accommodate the two contrasting flavours.
I mentioned on a previous post that 'A truly great execution would not have these inconsistencies'

Overall, the new brand has appeal but I would be surprised if it takes any market share from Clippar or Twinings. Consumers of Clippar will believe that Pavillion Garden is a choice alternative to Twinings and consumers of Twinings will believe that Pavillion Garden is a choice alternative to Clippar. This is what happens when you don't find a point of difference and relevant voice, you end up sitting on the fence.