One of our first product development projects was found working on Tiara Teas—a product line consisting of seven different packages and types of teas—to be marketed in supermarkets and retail venues across the country. Two sisters, owners of Magnolia and Ivy, an old-fashioned tea parlor formerly located at the Village of Baytowne Wharf in Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort, had an idea to create a brand of teas using their blends and recipes, launch the brand in their tearoom, and then take the product national. The marketing premise given to us was to extol virtuous women from the Bible and play on words like Sincerity, Honesty, Integrity, and so on.

We took a different approach to communicate the intended message by creating something memorable and clever. We invented the name Tiara Teas—a tea for the queen in everyone. We designed characters with their personalities reflected in our drawings: Drama Queen, Beauty Queen, Fashion Queen, Diva Queen, Queen of Hearts, Gossip Queen, and Meanie Queen. Each character had a different style tiara strategically placed on her head. Hence, a line of seven different teas was born—Sinceritea, Loyaltea, Integritea, Spiritualitea, Puritea, Humilitea, and Hospitalitea. This product-with-a-message packaging was creative nirvana. A dove was found in each box, symbolizing the spirit of God. The verse “Like the clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand” (Jeremiah 18:6) was also on each box. The different “queens” were juxtaposed with a virtue and a story. For example, Humilitea reads: “Beauty Queen is steeped in vanity. The mirror is her best friend, but the more she admires her reflection, the more imperfections she finds. She spends hours primping and prodding, but wonders why she feels so empty. Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but humility will make a woman beautiful. Humble your heart to see the beauty that surrounds you. Turn over a new leaf and drink from the cup of Humilitea.”