Pyramid tea bags

Brand revitalisation

ITCM helped Unilever in the design and launch of the innovative PG Tips pyramid tea bag. This was in response to market pressures that called for a new and novel packaging solution for their product. ITCM supported brainstorming sessions to come up with the product design, ensuring that manufacturability was considered for the new package. This was followed by the design and development of a patented, high speed manufacturing process, including the ultra-fast tea bag machine and the equipment for what was then the novel and brand new ‘caddy’ carton format. The patent has been honoured in the British Library Book “Inventing the 20th Century” as one of the top 100 global inventions of the last 100 years!

The new pyramid tea bag for PG Tips was unveiled by Unilever in 1996. The new bag design delivered real consumer benefits by allowing more ‘room to move’ for the tea, enabling a more thorough and faster infusion. In 1960, the makers of PG Tips introduced the first tea bag. Three decades later, the new pyramid design provided an excellent opportunity to remain at the fore of tea bag technology. A major marketing campaign was undertaken by Unilever, proclaiming the pyramid tea bag the ‘8th Wonder of the World’, and in short time PG Tips was again the market leader for tea in the UK.

Product evolution

With the success of PG Tips further packaging formats and sizes have been demanded. ITCM continues to support the evolution of the product and have integrated new features such as string and tag to open the product up to new markets and applications. These are especially famous through their Lipton brand. ITCM has also designed and built production lines to create larger count packages for the out-of-home sectors. Throughout the lifecycle of the product we have provided excellent aftermarket and continuous improvement support and are committed to helping our customer secure ongoing growth in their chosen markets.