You imagine that a market as mature as tea is pretty stable, but over the last decade the UK tea market has experienced one of the biggest shifts in market share that I have ever seen. Back in 2012 I had the pleasure of working on the PG Tips brand. At the time it was the market leader with a market share of over 40% and Tetley and Yorkshire Tea were battling it out for the number two slot. Fast forward to today and Yorkshire Tea are the clear market leader, having doubled their share from 20% to 40% in just 8 years.
What is the story behind this incredible success story? I believe that there are six success factors that any brand can learn from.
Post by brandgym Managing Partner, Jon Goldstone.
1. Clarity of Brand Positioning
At a time when the competition were focussed on value and stood for little more than ‘cheap’ Yorkshire Tea chose to stand for ‘properness’. With clear linkage to their Yorkshire roots they have created a world ‘where everything’s done proper’ and this has been at the heart of all the decisions that the brand has made over the last decade.
2. Deliver Fresh Consistency
The “Where Everything’s’ Done Proper” campaign was delivered in partnership with Lucky Generals and first launched in 2017. Each commercial follows a consistent formula and amplifies a set of distinctive brand assets:
- Set at the Yorkshire Tea office
- A famous celebrity playing a humorous role
- Red Yorkshire tea mug
- Staff wearing Yorkshire Tea lanyards
Each commercial also brings freshness, with a different celebrity and humorous storyline:
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2017: Kaiser Chiefs serve as the office’s hold music, performing live for callers on hold, showcasing Yorkshire Tea’s commitment to quality in every aspect
- 2017: Sean Bean gives a rousing motivational speech to Yorkshire Tea employees, inspiring them to approach their work with the same seriousness as a medieval battle
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2022: Sir Patrick Stewart delivers an epic leaving speech to a departing employee, exemplifying Yorkshire Tea’s dedication to doing things properl
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2025: Sarah Lancashire plays the head of security at Yorkshire Tea’s headquarters, tasked with investigating the mystery of missing office biscuits
The latest masterpiece features Sarah Lancashire as a hard-nosed head of security investigating a serious case of biccy theft! With System 1 reporting that 65% of viewers feel ‘intensely positive’ and 93% correctly recognise the brand after just one view, it is clear that the campaign has the potential to run for many more years.
3. Focus on the Core
While PG Tips and Tetley were extending into the fast-growing fruit and herbal tea segment Yorkshire Tea stuck to its guns and continued to focus fully on traditional black tea. As the competition switched focus and resources away from black tea, Yorkshire Tea doubled down and were rewarded with consistent gains in physical and mental awareness.
4. Obsession with Product Quality
Despite high levels of commodity inflation Yorkshire Tea have resisted the temptation to go down the cost reduction path followed by its competitors and stayed fully committed to having the best quality tea in the market.
5. Steadily Build a Premium
While the competition battled out a no-win price war Yorkshire Tea cleverly offered enough value to maintain in-store feature and display but never went deep enough on promotion to undermine its ‘properness’ brand positioning. Today it sits at a c.10% premium to the other everyday tea brands. A premium that provides cash to invest in both product quality and marketing support, fuelling the growth flywheel.
6. Winning Cast and Culture
It is no coincidence that the period of success for Yorkshire Tea has coincided with a period of internal and external stability. The brand team, led by the hugely talented Dom Dwight and Ben Newbury, have remained largely unchanged. The same goes for the agency group, not only have the agencies remained constant but so have the individuals within the agencies.
Each of these success factors has a similar theme. Yorkshire Tea have a deep understanding of what drives choice and been led by the consumer; favouring quality over cost reduction, sticking with the same campaign for over seven years, focusing on black tea and not chasing fruit and herbal tea. All are lessons in the power of prioritising long-term sustainable brand building over short-term opportunistic gains.
