Rosie and Charles, made yerba mate under the name TeaTonics. Winning The Seed Fund 2015, we worked with them on a rebranding exercise, ensuring they owned a unique space in the market and stood out from the crowd.
The idea for the product came directly from the couple’s trip to South America, where the experience of sharing a mate with new friends and acquaintances became part of their daily life. We developed the proposition 'Escape the Ordinary', reflecting the ritual of drinking mate and the idea of adventuring beyond tea and coffee. Although, a helpful signpost, the name TeaTonics didn't fully reflect the uniqueness of their product; yerba mate has the kick of coffee and more antioxidants than green tea. Yuyo, a Latin American Spanish word with the double meaning of medicinal infusion and a wild plant in a well-tended garden, felt braver and far more disruptive.
Inspired by the wonderfully vibrant South American street art, and the continent’s rich botanical heritage, we commissioned the renowned artist Olaf Hajek, to create individual paintings to evoke the mood, sensation and flavour of drinking a Yuyo mate.
It has been an utter pleasure and a privilege to work with Jayne and her team. They helped us to be brave and take risks in order to create something that looks astounding and feels like the perfect expression of us, and of how it feels to drink our mate.
