Madame Flavour is a tea and tisane company based in Australia. It was established by Corinne Noyes in 2007 after she found a market gap for high-quality loose leaf tea. Teas for the different blends are sourced from Sri Lanka, India and China, and combined with locallygrown native Australian herbs. The blends are inspired by Noyes' travels to Cuba, France, America, China, Sri Lanka and Norway. Noyes continues her role in the company as Head Tea Blender.
Packaging
The brand is female-focused, and boxes of tea bags also include letters or colouring-in sheets which have built rapport between Noyes and her customers. When the tea blends were first launched in supermarkets, Noyes hand-signed 1000 of the enclosed letters. The letters have garnered 20,000 letters replying to the company. The teas are available in loose leaf or contained within gauze pyramid-shaped teabags, or infuser pods. The teabags are made from a corn starch derivative, and are green plant certified and biodegradable.
Blends
In 2011, the teas included Signature Blend, Grey De Luxe, Sultry Chai, Green, Jasmine and Pear and White with Rose. That same year, Mint Lavender Tisane was added to the range. The caffeine-free blend combines peppermint, spearmint, lavender and peppermint gum leaves. It was inspired by Noyes' rainforest property in South Gippsland. In 2012, the brand changed to a smaller, cheaper 18 pack with new tea versions Special Blend 18 and Grey de Luxe 18. In 2015, the tea range was expanded with "Tea Treats", which was billed as the first dessert-inspired tea range in Australian supermarkets. The single-origin blends included Orange Choc Ceylon, Caramel Oolong and Mint Choc Rooibos. In Winter 2016, Madame Flavour launched new tea blends, Blood OrangeFruit Tea, Ginger Masala Chai and Green Jasmine Pear.
In February 2008, Noyes presented to a major supermarket chain, and by July that year, the range was being sold in 700 supermarkets. In 2012, the tea blends were sold in over 1200 supermarkets, and in 2015, this increased to over 1800 supermarkets including major chains Coles, Woolworths and New Zealand'sCountdown. Madame Flavour teas are served on Virgin Australia flights and in Crown and Metropole hotels. The company produces 15 million bags of tea in up to 60 different varieties each year. As of 2016, Madame Flavour was close to achieving sales of $5 million AUD. In 2017, the teas were available in supermarkets across New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Location
The business was originally founded from Noyes' home in Highett in 2007. In 2011, Noyes and husband Matt and daughter Sienna moved to Gippsland, with the business relocating to a commercial building elsewhere in Highett. The business now operates from Brighton.
Marketing, awards and campaigns
In 2011, Noyes was a Victorian finalist in the Telstra Business Women's awards. In 2012, the infuser pods were a finalist in the Beverages category of the Food Magazine Awards. A "Let beautiful happen" branding campaign by Nourish Brands was a finalist in the 2013 Melbourne Design Awards in the Advertising-Print category. In 2014, Madame Flavour supported the Fish CreekTea Cosy Festival. Noyes spoke on 'conscious marketing' and product values, at the ADMA Global Forum in August 2015. In 2016, the brand worked with Smiling Mind to create a three-minute tea-infusion meditation ritual. The app-based ritual is focused on fostering mindfulness.
