What Harry wanted
Harry came to us knowing what he wanted The Lost Tea Company to become, but needed help in making this happen. Being at the very beginning of his start-up journey, sales, marketing and even creating the look of Lost Tea seemed a little intimidating.
Through our open, collaborative approach, we were able to demystify the process, giving space for Harry’s ideas to take shape, putting the quality and unique nature of the product at the core of the brand.
To understand what Harry needed from his brand identity, we focused on getting to know him as the founder – his passion and reason for starting the company – which really helped us to fully understand the ethos, purpose and vision of the business.
Both companies shared their expertise and feelings openly, using our Personality Led Design process.
Our conversations uncovered what Lost Tea needed to be and together we created a central thread that defined the company, its identity and ecommerce website. As a start-up founder, Harry came to Country a little spooked by the design process; but through our collaborative approach and a deeper understanding of the Myanmarese culture, we were able to bring The Lost Tea Company to life.
“On meeting Warran, the studio’s founder, and talking about how we could best present our product to the market I was impressed with his passion to not only understand me and the ethos of Lost Tea but to inspire people to love our tea and want to make it a part of their lives.”
Harry Carr Ellison, Lost Tea Company Founder
the challenge
The first and, perhaps, the greatest challenge was growing this start-up from the ground up, making sure its Burmese roots could be seen throughout the brand. This started with bringing awareness to the product as Lahpet is not commonly known around the UK. We had to find a way to create local recognition and overcome the assumption that imported teas are preferred by visiting tourists.
how
Working with local artist Matt Sewell, Country was able to bring the brand’s roots to life through it’s illustrative logo and icons homage to the welcoming nature of the Myanmarese culture and people that formed such an integral part of the company’s ethos.
Taking inspiration from Burmese temples, “Tea” is legible whether read from left to right or vertically. Matt Sewell worked with us in making the identity consistent. Using the native birds as inspiration for packaging -, the owl with connotations of luck and wisdom and the country’s national bird, the peacock – making sure we constantly acknowledged Lost Tea’s roots.
We used the website to push Lost Tea as a living brand, a place to purchase their products but also to share the stories behind the brand. Here you can find the story of the brand, recipes, the blog sharing the stories of the farmers Lost Tea works with, all supporting the eCommerce space and a list of all stockists.
“I want to create a profitable business while also helping to build a sustainable international market for Myanmar tea, both drinking and edible.”
Harry Carr Ellison, Lost Tea Company Founder
results
The Lost Tea Company is now stocked across the UK and can be found in various shops and restaurants in and around Myanmar. We’re still working with Harry and The Lost Tea Company, in helping to further develop the brand with new products on the horizon including the latest project, Ice Tea.
‘“Choose a company and people you can work with collaboratively and who also have a passion for your product.’
Harry Carr Ellison, Lost Tea Company Founder
