Teavana is getting a bit of a makeover with new iced tea flavors in Starbucks shops and its biggest product campaign yet, part of the coffee chain's effort to expand its premium tea business after a plan to open hundreds of upscale Teavana tea bars worldwide failed.
Starbucks acquired the Tevana retail tea chain in late 2012. Two years later, Starbucks was opening Teavana Fine Teas + Tea Bars, a new concept for the brand, in cities including Chicago and New York and anticipated many more. Those outlets didn't catch on, however, and by early 2016 the handful of the locations Starbucks had piloted were closing, leaving just one in Seattle. (The original Teavana chain of stores continues to operate.)
Now three new flavors of Teavana Shaken Iced Tea Infusions are debuting, along with some new coffee drinks plus savory and sweet foods as Starbucks broadens its menu in its bid to appeal to more people throughout the day.
A supporting campaign from 72andSunny centers around the question "What does good feel like?" People share their answers in videos. At first, it's hard to tell it's all an ad for iced tea.
"We wanted to capture their very honest and unscripted responses," Starbucks Executive Creative Director Leanne Fremar said. The ads feature 17 people, including Medal of Honor Marine William "Kyle" Carpenter, illustrator and author Dallas Clayton, poet Cleo Wade, and Nura Afia, the beauty vlogger who wears a hijab and was named a CoverGirl brand ambassador in 2016.