With its striking red palette, tactile packaging, and a design language inspired by Indian block printing, Raazi Tea invites American audiences to embrace a slower, more intentional ritual.
In a world that’s always rushing toward the next notification, next deadline, or next dopamine hit, Raazi Tea is offering up an opportunity to Slow the Now, which is the defining idea behind the brand identity. However, this is more than just a brand line. It’s the ethos at the heart of a thoughtful, contemporary tea company founded by Arjun Narayen and visually brought to life by Montreal-based design studio Wedge.
From the outset, Wedge saw this project not as an exercise in simply branding a product but in building a new kind of ritual. “The ambition was to create a brand that felt effortlessly authentic,” says Sarah Di Domenico, co-founder and creative director at Wedge. “In some ways, we are building a modern tradition of tea inspired by the past.”
Rooted in Arjun’s Indian heritage but designed for a modern American audience, Raazi walks a delicate line, avoiding caricature or cliché in favour of materiality, memory, and meaningful detail. This is a brand that doesn’t shout, but simmers gently and is infused with intention.
One of the key starting points was traditional Indian fabric block printing, a centuries-old craft known for its rhythmic process and handmade beauty. Wedge adopted it not only as visual inspiration but as a symbolic foundation.
“Borders and hand-drawn illustrations are craftsmanship details that imbue a sense of time,” says Sarah. “The palette, too, feels a bit sun-worn. An effect of time.”
This idea of slowing and savouring time runs through every design decision. The packaging isn’t just sustainable (there’s no plastic in sight); it’s tactile and ceremonial. Each cylindrical tube is adorned with a red fabric detail, and opening it becomes a small, deliberate moment.
“One thing we pushed for in the packaging was this idea of the seal that breaks when you open it to create a sense of ritual,” says Sarah. “Anti-fast.”
Even the creative process embraced constraint. When we created these elements, the design team said, ‘What if we had one stamp and one ink—red?'” Sarah explains. That limitation creates simplicity in our choices and richness in the brand experience. It forces you to be both restrained and expressive.
The red hue really is the star here. In a category where tea packaging is often pastel or overly decorative, Raazi’s deep, earthy red feels grounded, rich, and undeniably different.
It emerged early in the brand process (Arjun had been using a red placeholder before Wedge got involved) and was refined into a shade that pulls from Indian textiles, block prints, architecture, and even henna. “Founder knows best. This time, anyway!” Sarah laughs.
While Raazi is rich in tradition, it’s also designed for today. Wedge deliberately avoided the tired binaries of tea branding – either high-end minimalism or ornate Eastern tropes – in favour of something more nuanced. The goal was to make something you’d want to keep on your kitchen counter, meaning it had to be beautiful as well as functional.
To get there, they looked beyond food and beverage altogether. “Instead of looking at tea, we actually looked at fashion brands that bring craft into your life,” says Sarah. “Bode was a major inspiration as it’s a brand that celebrates craft and folk art, things that take time.”
Raazi’s visual language channels that same philosophy: It is expressive without being loud and crafted without being precious (a red stamp here, a hand-drawn illustration there). Each touchpoint evokes a sense of care, from the block print–inspired borders to the uncoated texture of the label. The overall effect is meditative, not minimal. It is beautiful but lived-in.
Of course, no design system can succeed without emotional resonance and for Wedge, that comes from deep collaboration with founders like Arjun. “We really believe that if someone is starting something with the passion to make it great, there must be latent greatness in their intuitions,” Sarah says. “We are translators who use design as a tool.”
In Arjun’s case, that meant tapping into his decision to leave the fast-paced world of tech to start something slower, more grounded. His vision shaped everything – from the mantra of “Slow the Now” to the way the packaging cracks open like a tiny ritual. It’s a reminder that good design doesn’t just reflect values; it can help you live them.
Now, with Raazi on shelves (and likely on more than a few Instagram-worthy countertops), Wedge’s work stands as an elegant example of what can happen when cultural heritage, strategic design, and human insight come together. This isn’t tea as a trend or tradition as an ornament. It’s about bringing meaning into the everyday, slowing the now, and making space – however small – for reflection.
