San Francisco-based tonic maker Tea Crush has been rebranded as Wildwonder in a move aimed at helping the brand’s expansion into new categories, flavors and packaging formats.
Founded in 2017, Wildwonder currently has a distribution footprint of about 100 independent retail doors and about 300 office and on-premise accounts. According to founder and CEO Rosa Li, the name change reflects a new brand identity that moves beyond tea and transforms the company into a broader health and wellness beverage platform.
“Tea is definitely a key ingredient, but it’s not the hero of all the products,” Li said. “We’re really about bringing functional ingredients to the masses in a very delicious way and so the new branding is really very playful and uplifting.”
Previously marketed as a “sparkling tea tonic,” Wildwonder is now billed as a “sparkling superherb infusion” and features a new packaging design created by Olio Studio. The bottles have been increased from 12 oz. to 13.5 oz. with a larger mouth. The new products feature an increased retail price of $3.99, up from $3.49.
The brand’s existing antioxidant-infused varieties have been renamed to Ginger Lemon, Matcha Pineapple and Turmeric Pear. As well, Wildwonder has added three new flavors with added prebiotics and probiotics — Mango Turmeric, Guava Rose and Peach Ginger.
The brand has previously been available in independent retailers in Northern and Southern California and the Pacific Northwest, including Bi-Rite and Berkeley Bowl, and is set to launch in the Northern California region of Whole Foods this month, Li said. Wildwonder is also available in San Francisco Bay Area office accounts such as Facebook, Uber and Google; however, Li said that business has been impacted by the temporary shift to work from home models during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Though Wildwonder has looked to expand its team in the past year by bringing on a sales and growth manager and an operations manager, the pandemic has also delayed plans to open a fundraising round, Li said, noting that she will seek out investors once ordinary business resumes. The company previously received an investment from venture capital firm Joyance Partners.
Wildwonder will promote the rebrand through social media and digital marketing campaigns, and Li said she is also considering adding a direct-to-consumer ecommerce platform. Despite the pandemic, she said the company will continue to pursue retail expansion in the meantime even as it has become more difficult to secure meetings with buyers.
“There are new accounts being brought on even this month,” Li said. “In light of the coronavirus, I think a lot of people care more about their immunity and gut health, so the drinks are very attractive to a lot of retailers right now and we’re still pitching them. It’s just more remote now.”