AstitvaStart free

Tagline ideas · Food and beverage

How to write a tagline for a food and beverage startup

Chai, the way the thela makes it.
Thela, our sample food and beverage brand
Find my positioning freeSee the formulas

Three formulas, three lines

Every tagline below was written for Thela, which makes ready-to-drink masala chai. Try all three formulas for your own startup, then keep the strongest.

Formula 1 · The outcome
Chai, the way the thela makes it.

What the customer gets, in a few words.

7 words

Formula 2 · The contrast
Street-side taste, sealed fresh.

What you do that the usual option does not.

4 words

Formula 3 · The promise
Real masala. Nothing to hide.

A short commitment you keep every time.

5 words

The competitor swap test

Put a competitor's name in front of your line. If it still makes sense, it is not yours yet.

Fails the test
“Refreshing taste”

Any food and beverage company could say this.

Brand A: Refreshing tasteYour rival: Refreshing tasteAny startup: Refreshing taste

Also weak: “Delicious and healthy”

Passes the test
“Chai, the way the thela makes it.”

Specific to what Thela does, so a competitor could not borrow it without changing their product.

See it with the logo

A tagline lives under or beside the logo, never inside it. Here is Thela's line on light, dark and on the bottle label.

ThelaChai, the way the thela makes it.
ON THE BOTTLE LABELChai, the way the thela makes it.Thela
ThelaChai, the way the thela makes it.
ThelaChai, the way the thela makes it.

Check it before you print it

3 to 7words, short enough for one line under the logo
0buzzwords like innovative, seamless or next-gen
5customers should say back what you do after reading it
1line for years. Do not change it every campaign.
Tip

Beverage shelves are crowded with blue and silver energy cans. Warm colours stand out. Your tagline is where you say the opposite out loud.

Questions

What makes a good tagline for a food and beverage startup?

It says something only you can say, in three to seven words. For example: "Chai, the way the thela makes it."

What is the competitor swap test?

Put a competitor's name in front of your tagline. If it still works, your tagline is too generic.

Should a tagline go in my logo?

Keep it as a separate line under or beside the logo, so the logo still works on its own at small sizes.

Can Astitva write my tagline?

Astitva writes your positioning and tone of voice from a short brief, so the tagline, logo and deck all say the same thing. New accounts get 50 free credits.

Start with positioning, the tagline follows

Astitva writes your positioning and tone of voice from a short brief, so your tagline, logo and pitch deck all say the same thing.

Start free with 50 credits