Yuyo is planning to change the way the UK enjoys hot drinks. Founders Rosie and Charles were inspired by their experiences of drinking yerba mate, a South American herbal infusion, while travelling the continent together.
Originally operating as Teatonics, Rosie and Charles used a Start Up Loan to help fund a drastic rebrand and Yuyo was born.
Rosie talks to us about how to rebrand a business and why rebranding has helped take their business to the next level.
What is Yuyo and what makes it stand out?
Yuyo is a range of organic infusions derived from the yerba plant and inspired by yerba mate. We combine the loose leaf yerba herb with a mix of other flavours to create a unique, hand crafted blend. Charles is a biochemist so he’s taken on the role of head blender.
Sitting in between the market for tea and coffee, Yuyo is totally unique – we are all about escaping the ordinary. Yuyo is packed full of anti-oxidants and has a kick to match coffee.
Why did you rebrand?
We originally decided on Teatonics as yerba mate isn’t commonly known and so we wanted to align it to something people found familiar.
It didn’t feel like our product was being understood. This was a product that we’d been inspired to start by amazing experiences in South America – it’s unique. So, we decided it was time for a change.
The main idea behind our rebrand was all about being bold and Yuyo was designed as a statement of intent.
We took our ideas for the new look of our branding from photos taken on our travels – we wanted our image to represent the reality of Yuyo’s story. This helped our product stand out and catch the eye of consumers as well as retailers.
How did you plan your rebrand?
We wanted our product to represent the sights, sounds and experiences we gained in South America. So we approached an artist to help bring our ideas to life – all original artwork was painted by Olaf Hajek. He used the photos we took and turned them into the amazing visuals we use on our packaging today.
The new, brighter aesthetic really encapsulated the feel of our brand. We then began looking into non-traditional packaging and colouring in order to stand out from the traditional, monochrome styles of tea and coffee packaging.
It was also very important to communicate to Tea Tonic’s existing customers via our newsletter and social media channels that the product would still be the one they loved, even if the packaging looked different. This really helped develop even more of a buzz around Yuyo’s launch.
What has been the best thing about rebranding and now being Yuyo?
Rebranding has really helped us create a clear identity for our business and our products. Our new design and packaging highlights the organic and natural elements of our business which has helped hugely with marketing the product.
Most of all, we both now feel that Yuyo better expresses what we are as a brand and that the outside image truly matches the inside feel of the drink.
Undertaking this transformation has allowed us to reach what we had initially hoped for in terms of the visuals, with bright colours and bold imagery representing Yuyo perfectly.
What challenges did you face when rebranding?
The biggest challenge we faced when rebranding was the cost of packaging and developing all the communications and marketing material required for Yuyo’s launch.
This is where the Start Up Loan was transformative as initially we had not realised the sheer cost of printing the new visuals. The nature of our colourful and non-standard packaging meant a period of trial and error which can be costly for small businesses like ours.
What are your tips for any other business owners looking to rebrand?
You’re not stuck with what you started with. We were so fortunate that we got a chance to right some wrongs and get a second chance at getting it right. Unfortunately, how it looks matters and no matter how great the product is on the inside, the outside has to match.
Although a gamble, we have successfully achieved what we set out to do and we are now receiving lots more attention and positive feedback from customers, retailers and online buyers. Bold branding has created the change we needed for greater success! We’ve even been stocked in major retailers like Planet Organic.
What’s next for your business?
We hope to further expand our range, continue gaining exposure and business across the UK.
We recently also took part in UK Trade and Investment’s Export Savvy which funded some research trips and helped build links in potential export markets. Rebranding has opened up lots of new exciting avenues for us to pursue and we hope to grow Yuyo to its full potential.
Yuyo worked with The Collaborators on the rebrand.
