Twinings Wants to Own the Moment With 'But First, Tea'

Twinings wants a cup of tea to be the first move before every big one.

The brand has launched "But First, Tea," a long-term campaign that sees tea as an active wellbeing choice, with Leo UK leading the final creative.

The work features the Twinings range, from Sleep, Glow, Digest and Moment of Calm infusions to the Sparkling Tea collection, with each variety tied to a different occasion.

The brand says it brings more new buyers into tea than any other brand, and more under-35s buy Twinings than any other.

The campaign follows the summer "GenTea" work, which found that almost half of Gen Z reach for tea instead of alcohol when they need "Dutch courage."

"We believe tea has a key role to play in a world where people are looking for simple, positive ways to invest in their wellbeing," said Gill Close, marketing director at Twinings UK & Ireland.

She added that the campaign is "about reminding people of the simple difference tea can make and giving them more reasons to choose it throughout their day."

Twinings Takes the Opening Slot

In the hero spot, a woman is interrupted by her two dogs, eager to go for a walk. 

After an intense staredown, the woman obliges, but not without having a cup of tea first. 

The scene cuts to the woman happily running with her two dogs out in the park, emphasizing the importance of having had that cup of Twinings tea, as it set her mood.

The campaign extends beyond video ads.

For one weekend in October, a billboard in London’s White City will show real customer stories picked from more than 12,000 submissions.

Studio La Plage, the production arm of MHP Group, led that creative execution.

Meanwhile, launch activity also spans TV, paid social, creator content, retail media and shopper activation.

More notably, it also includes premium broadcaster video on demand around entertainment, drama and sport.

There will also be host-read integrations of Twinings on Davina McCall’s Begin Again podcast, and playful out-of-home creative tailored to different times of day.

Lastly, the brand also refreshed premium packaging across its Green Tea and Infusions range.

Individual string and tag teabags carry notes inspired by everyday tea rituals, which brings the brand identity into the product itself.

A Pause Worth Paying For

Growth in UK tea sits with fruit and herbal varieties.

A Mintel and Cicada report, cited by Speciality Food magazine, valued UK fruit and herbal tea at £139 million, up 14% year on year.

A Sounds Profitable and Sound Insights study of 5,033 UK adults, released in May 2026, found that 43% listen to an ad-supported podcast every month.

Among podcast listeners, 44% said they bought something after hearing a podcast ad.

Twinings matched a fast-growing product segment with a channel where listeners act on what they hear.

Those pursuing a similar strategy should look at these three moves from the campaign:

• Assign each product a moment: Sleep, Glow, Digest, and Moment of Calm each give shoppers separate occasions to enjoy tea. 
• Place the message where trust already exists: Host-read spots on Begin Again lend a presenter’s voice to the pitch, which suits a channel where listeners report buying after an ad.
• Invite buyers to write the proof: Choosing stories from more than 12,000 submissions gives the billboard real voices and the brand a library of material for future cuts.

Brands considering a similar repositioning should ask which daily moment their product can own first.

Our Take: Does 'But First, Tea' Borrow Too Much From Coffee?

The phrase Twinings is riffing on already has a famous owner, and it sits on mugs and tote bags as "but first, coffee."

We're sure the brand knows that, and yet we read the line as a shortcut into a ritual millions of people already say before work.

However, the tea brand still faces a challenge. 

Coffee has owned that line for years, and tea, whose audience is growing but nowhere near its competition in the morning drink category, still has much to prove. 

We would watch whether customers don't just start saying the tea version, but actually replace their beans with tea bags.

To us, those are the clear indicators of this campaign's success. 

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