Have you ever picked a box of tea because you loved the packaging design – not just the flavor?
We have.
Some tea packaging designs are so eye-catching that we’re not even sad if we buy the tin of tea and don’t end up liking the flavor. A pretty tea tin makes a fantastic decoration.
Want to see what we mean?
Here are our 5 favorite tea packaging designs of all time, plus a few tips for making your perfect tea or coffee packaging design.
1. Harney & Sons
When it comes to profitable packaging solutions, Harney & Sons practically has the market cornered.
I mean, just look at these tins of tea.
They’re made of tin, so they’re recyclable. But they’re gorgeous, so they’re also reusable and up-cyclable in every way. Punch a few holes in the bottom and you’ve got a perfect seed-starting pot. Or stick your cool coin collection inside for safekeeping. Or add some flowers for an adorable flowerpot. Et cetera and so forth.
It’s no wonder these tins of tea are frequently sold out. Harney & Sons also sells loose-leaf tea inspired by Disney characters.
Which is basically a guarantee that all the Disney fans in the world will buy every single Disney + Harney & Sons tea variety just for those collectible tins.
Pure genius. And obviously, Harney & Sons is big enough to attract Disney into a partnership. Don’t worry, not all of our tea box packaging examples will be this mega-huge.
The tea shop giant also partners with the Metropolitan Museum of Art (AKA, the Met) to create these breathtaking tins.
I don’t even like pomegranate green tea and I want to buy this tin can.
2. Pukka Herbal Teas
Pukka Herbs offers delicious teas in bright, colorful packaging. You won’t find any cute tins here, but the recyclable boxes are unique and attractive.
Each box of tea creates a different illustration of the plants that go into the tea. The colors are different, too. But the same graphic design underpins them all: the Pukka logo in the almost diamond-shaped center area with art all around.
Even the individual tea bags – which are recyclable and compostable! – reflect the brand identity.
And then there’s Pukka’s gift sets. These cardboard boxes contain carefully curated blends of Pukka’s herbal teas. The fully recyclable boxes are inlaid with foil detailing. You could also reuse them as letter boxes, treasure boxes for your kids, or whatever your imagination dreams up.
We’ve never seen a prettier cardboard box. Honestly.
3. Magic Hour Teas
In a genius move, the folks behind the Magic Hour tea brand created a look that leans hard into magic-infused imagery.
I mean, the custom tea packaging design makes each product look like a bottle of magic potion. The company uses violet-glass apothecary bottles wrapped in stunning labels that match each tea type.
The branding is immaculate throughout Magic Hour’s website. From the typography on the bottles and website to the carefully curated product images, Magic Hour wins an A++ from us.
I mean… every type of tea the company offers is truly a feast for the eyes.
Any tarot-loving, oracle-reading, horoscope-believing person in the world would jump at the chance to own one of these gorgeous bottles of tea. I want to order five of them right now.
Best of all, Magic Hour sells refill bags, which means you can use your violet-glass apothecary jars over and over again. It’s the perfect marriage of functionality, beauty, and eco-friendliness.
Swoon.
4. Kettl Tea
Known for its dedication to sourcing and selling the best matcha tea, Japan-based Kettl Tea is the picture of minimalist bliss.
The company sells some of its teas in stand-up pouches. Others are available in boxes with a minimalist design that makes us feel calm and relaxed – just by looking at them.
Everything in Kettl’s branding is minimalist, which really gives the tea itself an opportunity to shine. Even the simple, circular illustrations on Kettl’s boxes evoke the treasured hot drink. I don’t know about you, but for me, Kettl’s branding sparks some serious joy.
White space acts as a frame for the tea everywhere you look: on Kettl’s website, on the product images, and on the tea label designs themselves. Because of this, Kettl makes it clear that high-quality tea is the beloved main character.
Nothing more, nothing less.
5. Tea Forté
Tea Forté offers organic tea suited to every occasion. Their loose-leaf tea canisters are unlike anything else we’ve seen. They are black with a raised diamond-pattern exterior. Does that make sense? Probably not. But we tried.
This tea box design is minimalistic but with a rich, earthy color palette. This style extends to Tea Forté’s other product packaging designs. You can get each tea in three different packaging types: canister, bag, or event box.
The three tie in together beautifully. The cream-yellow event box features a pattern that matches the canister’s unique texture. The bag of tea is silver with a simple yet colorful label that shows a teapot pouring the good stuff.
Aside from the name of the tea, the packaging is uniform among many of Tea Forté’s loose-leaf teas. This gives the brand a sense of unity (and is probably cost-effective, too).
The tea company can use the same canisters, bags, and boxes for several different products. All they have to do is print different labels.
But if you want a more colorful experience with Tea Forté, you can get that too. Just look at these pretty tea chests.
They still evoke a sense of earthy calm, but they’re a little brighter and cheerier.
Packaging ideas for your tea products
These might be our top picks for eye-pleasing tea packaging design, but they’re far from the only great designs out there. If you’re dipping your toe into the herbal and premium tea market, there’s some stiff competition.
Never fear! With the help of generative AI, you can come up with a super-cool design. If you don’t want to use an AI-designed package for ethical reasons (which we totally understand) use it as a launching point for your own, unique tea or coffee packaging design.
We went ahead and asked AI to create a tea package for ginger chamomile tea. Then, we created an Open-Ended poll to ask 30 tea drinkers what changes they’d make to the AI-generated image.
Here’s what our package design testing audience had to say:
- “I would make the ingredients look more recognizable. If it’s just ginger and chamomile, I would make those the focus on the image rather than all the other designs which makes it look all too alien.”
- “Make it simpler. Too much going on in the art of the package making my head hurt.”
- “The design [is] too busy for something that is supposed to be more calming.”
- “Nice image and looks rather exquisite… I would brighten the image a touch.”
Other respondents mentioned that the ginger looks a little off, and the font isn’t easy to read. But by and large, they liked the image.
If you were to:
- Make the design less busy
- Strengthen the presence of the chamomile and ginger
- Use a more readable font
- Lighten up the colors
…you’d be on your way to an attractive retail packaging design.
AI can help you with prototyping tea bag packaging. PickFu respondents can give you relevant feedback from your target audience. With tools like these, you can create a winning design in just a few days.
You can also create a few different models using AI, Photoshop, or your favorite graphic design tool and then split-test them in a Head-to-Head poll.
Use PickFu’s packaging evaluation poll Template to start getting feedback on your packaging design today.
FAQs
What is the best thing to put on the packaging of tea?
The best thing to put on your tea packaging design is something that appeals to your target audience. This means you must know who your audience is and what they love about tea. Is it the calm coziness of an evening cuppa? Or the bright, cheery flavors of a morning spent running around with a cup of tea cooling on the countertop?
Think about the new tea flavors and blends you’re offering. Create a few mockups and templates for labels. Next, run a few polls to see which ones click with your potential customers.
What is the best way to package tea for the environment?
Avoid plastics and choose biodegradable, compostable, or recyclable packaging instead. Especially if you sell tea in pouches rather than as loose-leaf tea. It’s easier than ever to design eco-friendly, sustainable tea packaging. Some tea companies use biodegradable boxes and wax-sealed bags without string, staples, or plastic.
Others opt to focus on recyclable, reusable bottles and tins to store loose-leaf teas. The options are endless – go find the one that fits your brand best!
What are some considerations for tea packaging design?
Tea is usually meant to be a calming ritual unless it’s meant to help bring you energy for the day. To that end, avoid package designs that are too loud and busy. Unless you know your target audience would love it, that is.
The tea-drinking crowd also tends to care about the environment. Consider maintaining package integrity while creating a sustainable, eco-friendly packaging design.
The bottom line? Know your audience.
