Tea in Western Market
How has your research this week helped you move closer to a focused/clearer project statement?
My research helped me to find a design opportunity for Wuyi rock tea packaging. Initially, I want to create both packaging and a website to highlights the history and stories of Wuyi rock teas and promote Chinese traditional drink tea. Through the researches, I decided to narrow it down to the packaging because I have found the lack of visual identity system of Wuyi rock tea in the Western market. For example, the typography on the tea package is labeled as Chinese which non-Chinese tea drinkers can’t understand the content and information about the tea. So I would start to focus on the problem of designing a packaging that tells the story of Wuyi rock tea through the identified visual system but also considering a cultural experience to connect the story of tea with my audiences, thereby promoting Fujian tea culture and attract new tourists to my hometown.
However, through the research on the current American tea market and the export of Wuyi rock tea. I learned that in the 18th and 19th centuries, tea was the most powerful commodity, but, in America, tea had negative attributes because it was very expensive, and it was exotic, not local — coming from Asia, mainly China. They feared the products on the ships from China may be contaminated by smallpox. Even today many Americans are still worried about being contaminated by Chinese products. I also learned that tea is seen as a long, complex, and time-consuming drink in a large fast-paced America, so people prefer drinks that are less time-consuming to brew like coffee. Based on the research, I think there is definitely a big culture gap that needs to break down the fear of Chinese tea, especially now with the Asian hate issue in America, as I mentioned in my previous medium entry, the lack of knowledge about certain culture could cause misinformation between countries.
Another opportunity I saw is that current Wuyi rock tea merchants lack brand awareness, so they don’t have a good packaging design for the Western market, and people here prefer easy and less time-consuming drinks. If Wuyi rock tea is going to import to the western market with a new package, the Wuyi rock tea company needs to provide a solution for making a complicated tea brewing ritual easy for the new audience, for instance, teabags over tea leaves.
On the other hand, I am also really interested in the living label that is implemented through smart technology Augmented Reality (AR) and Near Field Communication (NFC), which create a unique way for customers to interact with a label. For example, Australian brand 19 Crimes Wine produced an app that scans QR codes to animate its labels. It creates an emotional connection with customers and taps into their values. This growing trend signals an opportunity for brands to redefine the box as a point of interaction and innovation, rather than simply a vessel for goods. This could be an inspiration for me to dive deeper into the connection between my audience and the product, creating a more unique experience to tell the story of Wuyi rock tea, maybe scanning the tea label on the package to listen to the recording of history and product of tea, which creates another opportunity for accessibility issue, creating an inclusive experience for the visually impaired group.
Overall, I want to narrow down my audience, client, and project type because I got too many insights and design opportunities for my topic, so my challenge is to intergate these issues into my topic but mainly focus on one direction. I want to introduce Wuyi rock tea to non-Chinese tea drinkers in America with a unique packaging that provides simple brewing methods and promotes Wuyi rock tea history through creating a visual identity system and interactive cultural experiences that connect with my audiences. My client would be the Wuyi rock tea company in Fujian who wants to import Wuyi rock tea into America and promote Fujian tea culture, attracting new tourists to visit Wuyi mountain.
My next step is to talk to Wuyi rock tea exports/merchants, so I can understand the challenges of exporting Wuyi rock tea and current branding and packaging opportunities.
