Twinings Pours Tea Into 'Modern Wellbeing' With 'But First, Tea'
Updated: 6 days ago
TL;DR: Twinings has launched 'But First, Tea', a long-term platform from Leo UK that repositions tea as an active wellbeing choice, leaning on creators and retail media rather than a single TV hero.
Twinings is betting that the wellbeing shift can expand when and why people drink tea. The brand has launched 'But First, Tea', a long-term platform created by Leo UK with media by Starcom, repositioning tea from passive comfort to an active wellbeing choice.
The campaign
The idea is to own 'the moment before the moment' — tea as the deliberate pause people choose. The work spans premium BVOD, out-of-home tailored to time of day, paid social, creator content, retail media and podcast host-reads, including Davina McCall's 'Begin Again'.
Supporting partners include Publicis Commerce, MHP, Splendid, Whalar and System1 — a roster that signals how much of the plan sits in creators, commerce and measurement rather than a single big ad.
Marketing Minute's read
This is a heritage brand reading the culture correctly. The anti-alcohol, pro-wellbeing shift is real, and tea is well placed to claim more daily occasions if it stops talking about comfort and starts talking about intention.
The channel mix is the tell. Leaning on creators and retail media rather than one TV hero is where FMCG brand-building money is flowing — closer to the point of purchase, with content that behaves natively in feed.
What brands should take from it
Repositioning works when it expands occasions, not just language. Twinings is trying to add reasons to reach for tea, not just a new tagline. If you are refreshing a mature brand, define the new moment you want to own — then build the channel plan around reaching people in it.
Quick FAQ
What is Twinings' 'But First, Tea' about?
A long-term platform from Leo UK repositioning tea as an active wellbeing choice, owning 'the moment before the moment', across BVOD, OOH, creators, retail media and podcasts.
Why does the channel mix matter?
Twinings leaning on creators and retail media over a single TV hero reflects where FMCG brand-building budgets are moving — closer to purchase and native to social feeds.
Twinings is doing the hard version of repositioning: expanding the occasion, not just the slogan. The wellbeing shift is a genuine gift to tea — but only if the brand gives people new reasons to reach for it. The creator-and-commerce-led plan shows where FMCG brand-building now lives. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
Successful repositioning expands when and why people buy, not just the words on the ad — and increasingly it runs through creators and commerce.
If you repositioned your brand tomorrow, what new occasion would you try to own?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: Grocery Gazette, DecisionMarketing, Performance Marketing World.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
