Typhoo Tea on repositioning themselves end to end as a purpose lead brand

Typhoo Tea is a household name in the UK, but was also a brand in near terminal decline.  A matter of months ago they brought in a whole new leadership team and a new mission- to become the ‘Tony’s Chocolonely of Tea’.  Fully repositioning themselves end to end as a purpose lead brand with an ambitious goal to eradicate sexual violence against women in the tea supply chain.

Tomorrow Brands managing partner and The Marketing Society Member Ruth Fittock sat down with Typhoo Marketing Director Holly Rix to hear more about this exciting journey and the principles they use within the business-

Progress over perfection 

And patience too, know that you are committed to your mission and are going to see it through even if the results aren’t instant.  It might be messy, it might be hectic, but as long as it’s moving forward, you’re progressing, it’s ok.  Perfection doesn’t exist, you have to have some tolerance for things not going as you expected.

Move quickly

Progress also means moving quickly.  To move fast you have to put decision making at the centre of the business and empower the team to move quickly.  With a mission centric business that actually becomes easy as rather than as ‘is this on brand’ they can ask ‘is this on mission’.  

Finding the right people to be on the journey with you

In small, fast moving teams you are only as strong as your weakest link- but these sorts of businesses are not for everyone, it’s fast paced, not for the faint of heart- you can’t teach it, it’s an attitude you either have or you don’t. 

The challenges of communicating ‘purpose’ 

Talking about gender based violence isn’t going to be easy or liked by everyone- it’s uncomfortable, especially when you are enjoying a cosy cup of tea.  It’s a hard thing, but it’s also the right thing.  Finding the light side is also hard, but it comes from the progress, or disconnecting from the mission completely and talking about the tea- but it’s hard to find the balance.

Care wildly

If you want to work for a challenger brand, especially a purpose lead challenger brand, it all comes down to how much you care, it really is what drives the team. We love the Bloom & Wild brand positioning of ‘care wildly’- because people do care, and consumers care too and they care with where they spend their money.  When you care, it shows.

Expect the best

You have to believe in better- expect the best, from your team, your retailer partners, with the work you are producing, with consumers- it’s a bit of manifesting, but it’s all about the work you do to prepare- garbage in, garbage out, or if you put in the best preparation you’ll get the best out.    

Check out the whole episode, here: