Case Study Dilmah

Tea is the world’s most consumed man-made beverage, and Dilmah tea is right up there among Australia’s most popular brands. Grown, processed and packaged in Sri Lanka, the single origin story of Dilmah taps into today’s consumer needs. But how do you tell a contemporary story with a brand that has been virtually untouched since the 1980s?

The Brief

Dilmah was competing for shelf space against global giants that advertised regularly – and losing ground. After years of media silence, Dilmah asked Sense to develop an advertising campaign that would effectively relaunch the brand.

But we knew that advertising alone would not solve Dilmah’s problems. Unchanged since the ‘80s, the packaging was in desperate need of an update.

The Solution

Because Dilmah is grown, processed and packaged in the one place – and all by hand – the actual tea is fresher. That’s important to tea drinkers.

Sense developed the line, Handcrafted from our garden to your cup and presented television and print concepts that emphasised the freshness of the tea.

But first, we had to update the packaging. We knew that the impact of advertising would be limited by the recessive shelf presence of the product.

In the packaging redesign, we were careful to retain important brand identifiers – such as the logo and the teal colour – while conveying the freshness of the single origin story.

The Outcome

Advertising has been fully developed with a television campaign ready to go, while the more important issue has been successfully addressed.

Dilmah now has a strong shelf presence with updated packaging that is fresh, modern and relevant to today’s consumers. The packaging and advertising are linked by the handcrafted single origin story.

The brand has evolved while maintaining its well-established visual characteristics. Market share is growing for the first time in years.

What we did:
  • BRAND POSITIONING

  • ART DIRECTION
  • PACKAGING DESIGN
  • DESIGN & RETOUCHING
  • COPYWRITING