Often tea companies wish to fit into a perceived consumer lifestyle (beautiful woman having a Zen moment on a sunny morning) or they try to make their packaging feel like it belongs in the category aka "category camouflage”. By creating a radical, thoroughly modern departure for Helps® we stand off the shelf of sameness and attract new people to the brand and to functional teas themselves. Everyone suffers from the ailments Helps® alleviate, being gender neutral and function forward is important. 

The corresponding graphic sachet labels create curiosity with each steep. The idea being to get others to ask “what is it you’re drinking?” And have our tea drinker explain it for us.

The copy is a breath of fresh air for the category. Brevity and a nod to the ways Americans refer to taboo ailments, Helps® quickly demonstrates empathy without pretense. While infographic instructions show fast relief is afoot.

Each Helps® tea design pattern has a cross symbol as it’s foundation evoking it’s functional, positive, health benefit. The design pattern themselves are vibrant and kinetic, expressing the active/functional nature of each tea variety. The patterns themselves allow for each tea box to be an accessory to the moment. It’s not the kind of box that needs to be put away tight after use. It can sit on the counter for days looking beautiful.

Working with the existing packaging structure and die lines, we created new design, copy, tea sachets, a trade show booth and sales sheets to effectively sell the newly designed teas to mainstream and natural retailers across the country.

Helps® launched in March 2016 at Natural Products Expo West with high praise from prospective buyers and will hit shelves Summer 2016.

Functional teas are vertically oriented. Helps® was horizontal. By shifting to a vertical orientation, creating a stand-out design and empathic copy, Helps® will now tackle the American mainstream and natural grocers and retailers with gusto.