Clipper launches Shoreditch tea swap pop-up

The ethical tea brand is inviting consumers to make a fair trade for Fairtrade

To celebrate 25 years of Fairtrade, tea pioneer, Clipper, will open a one day  pop-up at Boxpark, Shoreditch where consumers can swap their usual tea for a box of the brand’s Fairtrade tea.

On 11 June consumers will be able to get their hands on a free box of Clipper in exchange for their regular tea and learn how that tea could make a difference to the lives of people on the brand’s partner tea estates.

One of the founding Fairtrade brands, Clipper actively supports 114,000 tea producers and their families annually and has contributed more than £2million to Fairtrade projects in the past five years alone. This has been spent on areas like education, healthcare and retirement to help improve the lives of workers and their families in the brand’s partner tea estates.

There will be six guest speakers on the day including Mike Gidney, chief executive at Fairtrade and Anna de la Vega, director at Urban Worm.

The experiential campaign is part of a wider ‘Act-Tea-Vism’ movement for Clipper driven by category insight that outlines the need for brands to highlight ethical credentials in a more prominent, clear way (source: Lightspeed Mintel 2019). The movement will include a dedicated microsite, out-of-home advertising campaign and social media activity.

Expected to reach an audience of approximately 7m, a series of six different adverts across 5,000 digital and static panels are currently live throughout June in outdoor and in-store locations across London and the South East. Each advert bears a simple message of how a box of tea can make a big difference.

The brand will also create content for its social media channels including fun illustrative gifs and snackable 5-minute videos that connects consumers directly with the people who pick their tea.

Rebecca Vercoe, brand controller at Clipper Teas, comments: “Our mission is to make people re-think their tea and be a force for good. You can truly be an activist by making some simple changes to your shopping basket. We’ve seen what good Fairtrade can do from paying for an ambulance to school equipment and funding creches so that mums can earn a fair wage. The tea swap pop-up will show consumers the tangible difference Fairtrade can make through a real-life experience that will hopefully stick in their minds each time they buy their tea. We’re brewing up a tea revolution!”

Global communications agency, Golin will be leading the consumer PR and social media activity while design and experiential marketing agency, Mad River, will design and create the pop-up construction.

From introducing the first Fairtrade tea to UK supermarkets 25 years ago, Clipper is now the world’s largest Fairtrade tea brand.

In addition to ethical sourcing, Clipper is also committed to minimising its impact on the environment. Not only has the brand launched the world’s first plastic free, unbleached and non-GM tea bag, it has also launched a fully recyclable tea bag envelope and 100% organic string on its string and tag tea bags.

From its home in Dorset, Clipper manufactures an extensive variety of organic and Fairtrade teas and coffees – from everyday blends to green tea and infusions. The brand has recently achieved B Corp certification in recognition of its commitment to natural, fair and organic sourcing.