The famous Shakespeare quote is, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by
any other name would still smell as sweet." This may be true but when it comes
to tea names, capturing the essence of the blend and adding a touch of romance
is helpful to the customer and good marketing.
Tea blends have long carried fanciful names and the myths spun around them have
added to their popularity. For example Earl Grey sounds much more regal than
"Bergamot Blend." When it comes to buying and selling bulk tea blends, you can
create your own signature teas by either simply renaming a pre-blended tea to
suit your own business occasion or by devising your own blend recipe.
So often a proprietor will get requests for a tea of a fanciful name that is not
known to them. A bit of research can reveal it is actually a simple blend of
tea, flavor and inclusions, such as fruit or flower petals that may be carried
by many vendors but under different monikers from retailer to retailer. One may
call it "Mango Tea" while another calls it "Midnight Mango Madness." These
fantasy names can create some confusion when trying to source a particular tea
but they go a long way when it comes to selling a tea. Doesn't the latter sound
more exciting?
Consumers are known to respond to pleasing packaging and cool names. They want
to buy into a bit of the fantasy, romance and fun. Perhaps there is also a touch
of the placebo effect in a creative name. A "Peace of Mind Blend" may be
soothing to the sipper not just because it contains camellia sinensis, mint or
chamomile, but perhaps the power of suggestion?
If you are considering creating a special blend, work with your bulk tea vendors
to choose a blend that will suit your concept or teas you can blend easily
yourself. In doing so can you create a brand identity with your own line of
creatively named teas. With such diversity in the realm of tea, almost anything
is possible. Just remember making health claims of any kind is tricky business
and closely watched these days by the FDA - a wise tea person will steer
clear!