The London Tea Merchant

Brand Development + Brand Design + Marketing Strategy + Monthly Marketing

The Client

The London Tea Merchant is a British-born, American-raised tea company headquartered in the heart of the midwest, St. Louis. Family-owned and operated, they create exclusive loose-leaf tea blends from the brilliant hands and mind of owner and in-house tea sommelier Jackie. Whether you’re new to tea, an avid enthusiast, or somewhere in-between, The London Tea Merchant will provide the best loose-leaf tea on the market, carefully curated and blended in-house, to ensure every sip is indulgent, memorable, and just what you were looking for.

The Project

What originally started as a brick-and-mortar tea room (The London Tea Room), The London Tea Merchant was launched in 2015 to meet the demands of an expanding loose-leaf tea business. In 2023, they approached HALCON, intending to expand The London Tea Merchant’s brand awareness and e-commerce sales beyond the St. Louis region, as well as settle brand confusion that resulted in the launch of the e-commerce business.

To define The London Tea Merchant as an entity affiliated yet separate from their tea room, we built a comprehensive brand guide that defined The London Tea Merchant's brand, positioning, mission, and strategy. Through research, analysis, interviews, and industry-level insights, we provided clarification and direction for the brand across all channels, including social media, and a forthcoming website launch in spring 2024 to reflect the new brand.

Utilizing the insights from the brand guide, our team created and launched a 2024 marketing plan including an overhauled social media strategy, branded photo and video shoots, and a new email campaign to gain, nurture, and track brand awareness, leads, and conversions.

The Results

A comprehensive, unique brand strategy built upon a foundation of industry-specific research and key stakeholder insights:

Competitor & Audience Analysis
Positioning Statement & Analysis
Mission, Vision & Purpose Statement
Audience-Specific Core Messaging
Audience Journey & Brand Story
Refined Visual Branding

A 2024 marketing strategy that:

Educates and empowers both new and seasoned tea lovers to elevate their tea experience
Provides clear calls to action for more conversions
Incorporates a consistent, cohesive color palette and tone of voice for instant brand recognition
Communicates key differentiators to build trust and awareness of the brand

By the Numbers:

1.2K % increase in Facebook reach
900% increase in non-followers engaged on Instagram
Email open rates performing 30% above the industry average

Email Marketing

Our email marketing approach centers around crafting messages that resonate with LTM's distinctive brand voice and visuals. This strategy has yielded impressive results over the past year:

Total Email Clicks: 2,941
Revenue Generation: Our emails have consistently contributed to LTM's revenue stream.
Proactive Planning: HALCON has excelled in anticipating sale dates, market trends, and timely information, ensuring that our emails not only inform but also drive profits for LTM.

Performance Metrics:

Deliverability Rate: 99.4%
Open Rate: 51.2% (Industry Average for Food and Beverage: 18.59%)
Click Rate: 2.5% (Industry Average for Food and Beverage: 2.0%)
Total Clicks: 2,941
Unsubscribe Rate: 0.3%

These metrics demonstrate our email strategy's effectiveness in engaging the audience and driving actions that contribute to LTM's business goals.

Our social media strategy aimed to amplify LTM's online presence and foster greater engagement across platforms.

Instagram:

Reach: Increased by 786%
Impressions: Increased by 1046%
Profile Views: Increased by 316%
Website Clicks: Increased by 143%
Engagement: Increased by 927%

Facebook:

Reach: Increased by 1655%
Total Page Views: Increased by 79%
Impressions: Increased by 1256%

Through targeted content and strategic engagement, we've significantly expanded LTM’s reach and interaction on social media, driving more traffic and potential customers to their website.

The partnership between London Tea Merchant and HALCON has proven to be highly successful. Our strategic approach to email marketing and social media has increased engagement and reach and contributed to the bottom line by driving revenue. These results underscore the effectiveness of our tailored strategies and proactive planning in the digital marketing landscape.

Social Media