Ti Ora NZ Brand Launch Event at Sid at The French Cafe

 

Client: J and A Productions 

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Senior Art Director: Hayley Brown 

Designer: Cara Marx 

Landscaper: Chris Wheeler

Installation Assitants: Silvia Costandini and Paul Ny 

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J And A's new client, Ti Ora NZ, were launching their new tea brand to the NZ public. Their teas hero local botanicals Kawakawa, Manuka Leaf and Horopito. This was one of the key insights we took through into the facets of the event. 

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We were asked to design an event for their brand, celebrating New Zealand's natural botanicals and unique landscape. The focus was on a reconnection to nature and the wellbeing we feel when amongst our New Zealand Landscapes. The environment aimed to be stimulating (smell, touch, taste, sight and hearing) Their products were visually showcased as part of the table centrepiece features, and throughout the venue, including tea-infused hand soap in the bathrooms. 

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We developed the concept:

Feet on the earth

Head in the clouds

Dew on the skin

Soak it in.

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We set the scene for the event with direct mailer invites. Individually made terrariums with native plants encased in a pyramid shape relating to Ti Ora's silk teabags and their contents.

 

The venue's entrance and court yard (Sid at The French Cafe) were transformed into a lush forest scene with native ferns, palms, shrubs and grasses.  A central circular timber bar greeted guests with a choice of Ti Ora tea-infused mocktails. 

 

Guests then moved to a side room to remove their shoes. One entering the the dining area, they were greeted with bird songs and forest chatter. The ceiling was enveloped by a giant cloud installation design by Hayley Brown. At the base of each table sat a real bed of grass, scattered with heated river stones to warm the feet. On the tables lay a sliced log with hollowed out holes, filled with brass branches. The soil beneath was each individual tea flavour's loose leaves. With a hanging tea tag explaining the ingredients of the tea. This allowed guest to touch and smell the Ti Ora products in an unusual way. 

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Sid curated a 5 course meal, each focusing on the different landscapes of New Zealand. Ti Ora tea was then served with a heated hand towel infused with Ti Ora's mint tea. 

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Upon leaving, guests were given a leaving gift of a handmade mug with their logo stamped inside bottom, a bag of tea and a recipe card for the cocktail they received on arrival.