About Pukka Herbs
Organic. Ethical. Sustainable.
Pukka Herbs is a 100% organic Herbal Tea (& holistic supplement) brand based in the UK.
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Founded in 2001 by Tim Westwall (current CEO) and Sebastian Pole, the brand was fostered with an inspiring vision to connect people with the power of herbs
(Pukka, 2017).
This vision instilled the company with an ethical, values-based ethos which has become an integral part of the brand's identity today.
Watch the Video:
(PukkaHerbs, 2018)
"Not just a growing business, but a growing movement."
The Story of Pukka:
Current Marketing Strategy
Thriving and Growing
Currently ranked 2nd among its main rivals (Owler, 2015), Pukka Herbs is maintaining a competitive edge through some highly successful strategies. The brand adopts a through-the-line, integrated approach to marketing (Sami, 2014), making heavy use of social media in addition to more traditional methods.
(ExerionMedia, 2018)
In a recent campaign, Pukka combined traditional billboard advertising with the innovative data-driven techniques of HelloLondon, enabling them to specifically target people likely to have an interest in ethical products and healthy lifestyle (ExterionMedia, 2018).
Neil Fox, Marketing Director at Pukka, said: “Our mission is to connect as many people as possible to the wonder and beauty of plants and by showing how their power can help everyone to live healthier, happier lives. Creating a whole set of creative executions in the London Underground is an ideal way to inspire people about these incredible organic herbal teas and wellbeing supplements, as well as our commitment to ethical and sustainable business.” (ibid)
Social Media
(Owler, 2015)
In addition to Pukka’s successful utilisation of social media, their website, designed with strong brand-aesthetic, provides consumers with a wide range of themed content, including a wellbeing section dedicated to ‘Pukka Stories’, Wellbeing articles, recipes, blog, and an e-commerce shop (PukkaHerbs, n.d.).
Growth Opportunities
(Ayub, 2018)
Pukka has an estimated annual revenue of £30 M (Butler, 2017), and in 2016 the brand saw a 32% annual revenue increase (Mattinson, 2016), in line with their annual 30% growth over the past 10 years (Searle, 2016).
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In 2016, Pukka was acquired by large multinational Unilever. Their investment demonstrates a market shift towards ethical, sustainable and upmarket products (Chu, 2017). Indeed, in general the ‘wellness’ industry is booming, at an estimated $3.7 Trillion worldwide worth and growing (EDK+CO, 2018), and consumers are choosing to invest in both physical and mental wellbeing (Dunn, 2018), through engaging with products which symbolise self-care (such as Pukka).
(Ayub, 2018)
(Turner, 2016)
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(Ayub, 2018)
However, despite strong revenue growth, Pukka has seen significant losses over the past two years (reducing from £233,000 losses in 2016 to a more manageable £24,000 during the transition to Unilever). Co-Founder Sebastian Pole commented that the company did not expect to be profitable at this time, as these losses are due to substantial investment in marketing and distributions, which are part of Pukka’s 5-year expansion plan (Butler, 2017).
Pukka’s acquisition by Unilever is also part of their growth plan to achieve sustained reach as a global brand (Pukka, 2017).
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Pukka already operates a strong, integrated marketing approach, leveraging its ‘ethical ethos’ as a tool to enhance brand equity, and deploying this successfully across multiple channels including website and social media.
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However, as the brand builds its global presence, novel and innovative strategies are required to increase brand awareness, influence new customer value creation and contribute towards building a loyal consumer-base of brand advocates. Head of Tea at Unilever Mick van Ettinger, commenting on Pukka, stated that it is the fastest-growing organic tea brand in the world, and noted that it offered a "beautiful growth opportunity” (Butler, 2017)
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The two initiatives presented here are designed to provide a platform to enhance Pukka’s ability to fulfil its growth potential in the near future.
SMART Objectives
TIME FRAME: 3 MONTHS
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Deliver Brand Engagement and Reach: demonstrated by App downloads at 17,500 (25% of current Instagram followers)
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Increase Brand Awareness: through 20% rise in Instagram following (to 84,000) and 20,000 visits to the Pukka Pop-Up.
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Raise Brand Advocacy and UGC: demonstrated through a 15% rise in prevalence of #pukka hashtag (up to 207,000 tags) and generating 25,000 social media responses to the #PukkaHouse pop-up.
The Campaign
Initiatives
Target Audience
