Ato Gaido officially launches its first licensed tea shop in City Walk 2, Eastwood City, providing the community with a unique artisan tea experience fueled by storytelling and character design.
At Ato Gaido Eastwood, customers step into the brand’s story world. Each drink is inspired by original tea-inspired characters called the Gaidos. Guests can explore character-based menus, a collection of functional beverages, such as collagen-infused drinks and gut-healthy milk tea, and artisan teas.
Ato Gaido was founded by three Gen Z sisters, Guia, Gail, and Guen Landicho. It began as an artisan tea brand targeted toward young creatives, just like them.
“We started getting into artisan tea from a young age. Our family started to drink tea for wellness, and we discovered different kinds of tea and were always surrounded by different varieties,” said Guia Landicho, co-founder. “Tea is a colorful beverage. From just one plant and six types, you get thousands of styles and varieties. I’ve always wanted to start my own tea brand, but I wanted to find a way to make it different. My sister Guen is an illustrator, animator, and character designer, and my sister Gail is a children’s story writer, while I was studying creative entrepreneurship at that time. So, we teamed up to create a brand centered around a storybook fantasy world inspired by tea. We were inspired by childhood shows and books, and we wanted to create a brand that made an emotional connection through a story world.”
The fantasy world became known as Gaidopia, and in that world live anthropomorphic tea characters called the Gaidos. Each Gaido’s personality and design are inspired by a tea from their collection.
“We created 12 original characters. For example, we have Matchan, inspired by matcha. She’s trendy and cool. She has a little cute green bob haircut. She represents our matcha products.” Guia said, showing a little chibi drawing of Matchan.
“As we grew, we realized we could make a stronger impact by expanding into IP licensing. This allows us to share our brand and mission with partners who also want to create meaningful, youth-focused spaces and products,” said Guia.
Ato Gaido is also inspired by the science of cute.
“While designing our brand, we discovered scientific studies about baby schema, or cute features. And we learned that looking at cute things increases our in-the-moment happiness and makes us more resilient in the long run. It may help alleviate mental stress and support mental health,” said Guia.
Behind Ato Gaido’s cute aesthetic is a serious mission to provide communities with fun and healthy beverage options.
“All the beverages served at Ato Gaido are drinks that I also drink and enjoy myself,” said Guia. “One of my favorite offerings is our Skin Glow White Tea Latte, which is a collagen-infused drink made with 100% pure white tea, lavender, and plant-based milk. When I drink this, I feel like I found a treasure trove of skin health gold.”
Collagen-infused beverages are a growing category in wellness. Collagen is known for supporting skin elasticity as well as joint and bone health. It’s been increasingly popular among those in search of firmer, more radiant skin.
“White tea is the most natural tea type, it only goes through two steps: withering and drying, and is known for its high antioxidant content,” said Guia. “Lavender is a calming herb that is also rich in antioxidants. So, the antioxidants in white tea and lavender, combined with our collagen infusion, make this drink feel like a superhero for skin health.”
“We’re very proud of our first licensed tea shop, and we’re glad to work with partners who care about our mission as much as we do,” she said. “From our own experience, having a healthy relationship with wellness builds confidence and a sense of security. We hope this space allows young people and families to feel empowered by providing them with fun, healthy options.”
