We're all tarts here: Yorkshire Tea unveils Bakewell Brew

Yorkshire Tea has unleashed its new Cherry Bakewell Brew on the world with a “proper takeover” of the town of Bakewell in the Peak District, which is home to the pastry that dates back to the 19th century.

Part of the ‘Stir it up’ platform to promote the company’s ever-expanding range of flavoured black teas, devised by agency Lucky Generals, the takeover has resulted in the creation of a series of “engaging films” with local people, sharing moments of discovery and delight around the new brew.

Four 30-second social-first films, along with a number of shorter individual ones, will be released across social channels this week. Media has been handled by Goodstuff with social and content run by Jaywing.

In the first film, Great British Bake Off presenter Liam Charles enters Bakewell on a cake hunt in true food show style, but comes up short, finding only Bakewell brews.

On tasting the drink, he takes to the street in the follow-up films to canvass passers-by for their thoughts, which ranged from ‘A solid 9’ to two ladies proclaiming that “we are all Bakewell tarts”.

However, the show is stolen by an Australian woman who pulls up her sleeve to reveal a Yorkshire Tea tattoo. And she wasn’t even a plant: she ran over to the film crew on the day.

The takeover began with the addition of ‘Twinned with Yorkshire Tea’ on the Welcome to Bakewell sign, followed by a further takeover of one of its bakeries, The Original Bakewell Pudding Shop, where the tarts and puddings were replaced with boxes of Yorkshire Tea Cherry Bakewell Brew.

By collaborating closely with the original Bakewell shop and the wider community, Yorkshire Tea invited consumers to engage with the new product in a fun and welcoming way, genuinely rooted in the Bakewell heritage.

Signage was put up around the town and bikes decked out with branded boxes peddled around all day while walkers had boards on with messages such as, ‘Tart up your tea’ and ‘Tea with a cherry on top’.

The national broadcast of Yorkshire Tea’s exploits in Bakewell, through a partnership with Joe Media has helped deliver national reach and engagement.

Yorkshire Tea brand manager Penny Webster said: “Our Cherry Bakewell brew is a nod to a British tea-time classic, so we knew we needed to come and get the approval of the people of Bakewell before unveiling it to the nation.

“We loved being part of the town for the day and want to thank everyone who helped us make it the best launch yet. We seem to have got the thumbs up for our new brew!”

Lucky Generals creative directors Nick Bird and Lee Smith added: “Thanks to Yorkshire Tea, you can now have your cake and drink it.”