Easing Homesickness Globally with an Unusual Tea Collection for Remitly
Bottling the flavours of home while earning AI Overview visibility through an unexpected tea collection.
We launched a limited-edition tea collection for Remitly inspired by iconic comfort foods from around the world (British fish & chips, Mexican tacos, German bauernbrot and Indian mithai) designed as a playful, sensory antidote to expat homesickness. Backed by a global survey of 3,100 migrants that identified food as one of the top emotional triggers of missing home, the campaign secured nearly 50 pieces of coverage across 14 countries, amplified through partnerships with niche social-media influencers specialising in expat life. It also earned Remitly a spot in Google’s AI Overviews for “tea for homesickness”.
What we did
Brand Campaign
Creative Testing
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Pieces of coverage
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Countries we secured coverage in
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Brand mentions
The challenge
A core audience for Remitly is expats and while the brand already helps them stay financially connected to loved ones back home, homesickness is a challenge that goes far beyond money. Remitly’s own global survey found that nine in ten expats regularly feel homesick, making it one of the most universal emotional experiences of living abroad. The challenge was how to move beyond the transactional side of the brand and find a genuinely creative way to acknowledge and ease that feeling, meeting expats where the emotional need is greatest, not just where their money moves.
Our approach
We launched a global survey of over 3,000 expats to uncover the biggest triggers of homesickness, discovering how 54% find food and drink among the things they miss most. Knowing a familiar taste is often all it takes to feel close to home, we needed a universal vessel to carry those flavours. Rice and potatoes were considered, but tea (the world’s second-most consumed drink after water) was the clear choice. Partnering with Unusual Services, we created a tea collection reinterpreting iconic comfort foods from Remitly’s key markets, amplified through niche expat social-media creators.
The impact
The campaign secured 49 pieces of coverage across 14 countries, including linked pickup in Infobae, NOW Toronto, Falstaff, 65 Y Mas and Krone, reaching an estimated 564m audience with 4.49m views. It also earned strong AI Overview visibility for “tea for homesickness” and drew broadcast interest in the UK.
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