Tea and Ready-to-Drink Tea in the U.S., 4th Edition
Tea continues to be a star in the U.S. beverage market. Bolstered by consumers’ thirst for tea’s variety of flavors and healthy qualities, tea has shown resilience in the economic downturn. The category has experienced solid growth in the last year, with double digit gains from refrigerated tea. Ready-to-drink tea in general has been especially strong, particularly in natural food stores and convenience stores. And all teas are hot in foodservice. This report takes a comprehensive look at the retail market for packaged tea in the U.S., with reference to foodservice tea trends for additional perspective. The report examines the factors driving growth in the category. Readers will learn about critical merger and acquisition activity that is changing the distribution landscape for niche organic brands; the diverse range of tea offerings; teas’ functional benefits and the regulatory challenge in promoting them; the embrace of tea by fast food giants, coffeehouses, specialty retailers and tea rooms; trends in new product claims; purchasing patterns,demographics and psychographics of the tea consumer; and the new ways in which tea marketers are connecting with customers, including through social media and apps.
This report examines the U.S. market for ready-to-drink (RTD) tea, leaf (bagged and loose) tea, refrigerated tea and instant tea. The report segments and quantifies the market by channel and product type, providing historical sales figures and projections through 2016. The report examines market drivers and trends, retail sales-tracking data from SymphonyIRI and SPINSscan, new product trends based on data from Datamonitor’s Product Launch Analytics, and national consumer survey data from Experian Simmons data, as well as a proprietary consumer survey on beverage and tea trends conducted by Packaged Facts. The report thoroughly maps out the competitive situation at the marketer and brand levels, with detailed profiles of AriZona, Bigelow, Celestial Seasonings, Coca-Cola (Gold Peak, Honest Tea and Nestea), Lipton (from Unilever and the Pepsi Lipton Partnership), McDonald’s sweet tea, Nestea, Snapple, Starbuck’s Tazo, Teavana, Turkey Hill and others.
Scope of Report
Retail channels covered include supermarkets and grocery stores, convenience stores, supercenters/mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs, drugstores, gourmet/specialty food stores, supplement chains, direct-sales channels including catalogs and Internet, and alternative channels such as department stores, kitchenware stores and bookstores. Foodservice channels include restaurants, coffeehouses, tea rooms and tea retailers, cafés and bars, and other foodservice establishments.
This report examines the U.S. market for ready-to-drink (RTD) tea, leaf (bagged and loose) tea, refrigerated tea and instant tea. The report segments and quantifies the market by channel and product type, providing historical sales figures and projections through 2016. The report examines market drivers and trends, retail sales-tracking data from SymphonyIRI and SPINSscan, new product trends based on data from Datamonitor’s Product Launch Analytics, and national consumer survey data from Experian Simmons data, as well as a proprietary consumer survey on beverage and tea trends conducted by Packaged Facts. The report thoroughly maps out the competitive situation at the marketer and brand levels, with detailed profiles of AriZona, Bigelow, Celestial Seasonings, Coca-Cola (Gold Peak, Honest Tea and Nestea), Lipton (from Unilever and the Pepsi Lipton Partnership), McDonald’s sweet tea, Nestea, Snapple, Starbuck’s Tazo, Teavana, Turkey Hill and others.
Scope of Report
Retail channels covered include supermarkets and grocery stores, convenience stores, supercenters/mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs, drugstores, gourmet/specialty food stores, supplement chains, direct-sales channels including catalogs and Internet, and alternative channels such as department stores, kitchenware stores and bookstores. Foodservice channels include restaurants, coffeehouses, tea rooms and tea retailers, cafés and bars, and other foodservice establishments.
CHAPTER 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY
Scope of Report
Report Methodology
Varieties of Tea
MARKET TRENDS
Tea Grow Despite Tough Economy
Tea Sales Grow in Multiple Categories, Channels
Tea Is Good For You, But Be Careful How You Say That
All’s Fair in the Tea Trade
Merger Mania
K-Cup Craze
How Sweet It Is For Foodservice
THE MARKETERS
The Power of Tea Concentrated Among A Few
Many Big Players in Foodservice
Tea Retailers Take Center Stag
NEW PRODUCT TRENDS
Tea Leads All Beverages in Innovation
“Natural” the top Claim, but a Mainstay Drops Down the List
Marketers Emphasize Functional Benefits
Kombucha Creates a Stir
New Products from Celebri-Teas
Foodservice Chains Bet Big on Tea
CONSUMER TRENDS
Tea Remains a Consumer Favorite
Purchasing Patterns Emerge
APPENDIX I ABC
ABC
CHAPTER 2 MARKET TRENDS
RETAIL MARKET SIZE AND COMPOSITION
Retail Tea Sales Rise to $6.5 billion
Table U.S. Retail Sales of Tea, 2007-2011
A Multi-Channel Champion
Table Share of U.S. Retail Sales of Packaged Tea by Channel, 2011
SymphonyIRI-Tracked Sales Show Solid Growth
Table IRI-Tracked Sales of Tea, Overall and By Segment, 2011
Natural Foods Channel Going
Table Sales of Leaf and RTD Tea Products in Natural Supermarket Channel, 2009-2011
Medicinal Tea Leads the Leaf Tea Category
Table Sales of Leaf Tea in the Natural Supermarket Channel, 2009-2011
Tea Remains One of the Beverage Industry’s Bright Spots
Table Beverage Dollar Sales and Market Share by Category, 2011
Table Fastest Growing Beverage Categories, 2011
FOODSERVICE COMPOSITION
House Wine of the South Spurs Foodservice Growth
“Money in a Cup”
Foodservice Fast Facts
Vending a Key Tea Channel
Fast-Growing Tea Companies
TEA BEHAVIORS
Packaged Facts Studies Confirm Variety of Tea Consumed, and Single-Serve Purchase Behavior
Table Tea drinkers, by types of tea purchased, 2011
MARKET DYNAMICS
FDA Cracks Down
Health Studies Abound
Fair Trade Shows Big Jump
Tea Companies Marry and Divorce
Single Cup Platforms Become New Growth Drivers for Established Brands
Tea Marketers Get Creative
Tea 2.0
LOOKING AHEAD
More Tea Sales on the Horizon
Table Projected U.S. Retail Sales of Tea, 2011-2016
APPENDIX I ABC
ABC
CHAPTER 3 THE MARKETERS
COMPETITIVE OVERVIEW - PACKAGED GOODS
A Handful of Marketers Dominate
Table Top Marketers Of Tea at Food, Drug and Mass Merchandisers, 2010-11
Lipton Has Leaf Tea in the Bag
Table Top Marketers and Brands of Bags/Loose Tea by IRI-tracked Sales and Volume, 2011
RTD marketers forge ahead
Table Top Marketers and Brands of RTD Tea by IRI-tracked Sales and Volume, 2011
Instant Provides Little Gratification
Table Top Marketers and Brands of Instant Tea by IRI-tracked Sales and Volume, 2011
Refrigerated Tea Makes a Case for Itself
Table Top Marketers and Brands of Refrigerated Tea by IRI-tracked Sales and Volume, 2011
COMPETITIVE OVERVIEW - FOODSERVICE
Many Foodservice Tea Suppliers
COMPETITIVE OVERVIEW - TEAROOMS AND SPECIALTY STORES
A Highly Fragmented Market
The Teavana IPO
Table Teavana’s product mix, 2009-2011
The Marketing of Teavana
APPENDIX I ABC
ABC
CHAPTER 4 BRAND PROFILES
ARIZONA (ARIZONA BEVERAGE CO.)
A Leader in RTD
Growing and Sought After
Capitalizing on a legendary golf drink
Caught in an Immigration Controversy
AriZona Expands its Packaging Options
A Straightforward Strategy
BIGELOW TEA (R.C. BIGELOW, INC.)
A Constant Contender
Partnering with The Great One
Healthy Introductions Abound
CELESTIAL SEASONINGS (THE HAIN CELESTIAL GROUP)
Herbal Leader Experiences Solid Growth
Celestial Seasonings and K-Cups
Couponing, In-store and Social Media
GOLD PEAK (THE COCA-COLA COMPANY)
Pushing for More Share
New Packaging and Delivery Systems Drive Growth
LIPTON (UNILEVER AND PEPSICO)
Despite Weak Sales, Lipton Still Dominates
How Pepsi-Lipton Segments the RTD Market
Brisk Takes on the Year’s Biggest Audience
Partnering with Green Lantern and Stickybits
New Products Make a Splash
NESTEA (COCA-COLA AND NESTLÉ)
Slipping Sales in RTD
Nestea Emphasizes Online
RED DIAMOND
Rising Star in Refrigerated Tea
SNAPPLE (DR. PEPPER SNAPPLE GROUP)
A Turnaround Story
The Northeast is Snapple’s Stronghold
The Importance of Packaging
Capitalizing on TV Tie-Ins
TURKEY HILL
The Big Chilled
TWININGS
By Appointment of Her Majesty
APPENDIX I ABC
ABC
CHAPTER 5 NEW PRODUCT TRENDS
OVERVIEW
Tea - The Place to Be [or, more plainly: Tea Product Launches Pace All Categories]
Table Number of U.S. Non-Alcoholic Beverage Product Reports/SKUs, 2011
Tea Begins Rebound from Recessionary Lows
Table Number of U.S. Tea Product Introductions: Reports and SKUs, 2007-2011
What’s in a Claim?
Table Top Marketing Claims/Package Tags for U.S. Tea Product Introductions, 10 years vs. 1 year trend
Packed Full of Flavors
Table Top Flavors in U.S. Tea Product Introductions, 10 years vs. 1 year trend
Same Players Introduce New Products
Table Top Companies in U.S. Tea Product Introductions, 2001-2011
Table Top Companies in U.S. Tea Product Introductions, 2011
PACKAGED GOODS TRENDS
Functional Benefits Popular in New Tea
Coca-Cola’s “Teavolution of Water”
The Curious Case of Kombucha
Bigelow’s Healthy Offerings
Could’ve Had a V8
Tulsi Touches Down
Celebrities Jump on the Tea Bandwagon
My Country Tis of Tea
NEW PRODUCT TRENDS IN FOODSERVICE
The Big Chains Emphasize Tea
Starbucks Gets Bigger
Teavana Unveils New Teas for the 2010-11 Season
Popeyes Gets Sweet
Other New Products Debut in Foodservice
NOTABLE PRODUCTS AT THE WORLD TEA EXPO
2011 World Tea Expo Best New Product Award Winners
APPENDIX I ABC
ABC
SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY
Scope of Report
Report Methodology
Varieties of Tea
MARKET TRENDS
Tea Grow Despite Tough Economy
Tea Sales Grow in Multiple Categories, Channels
Tea Is Good For You, But Be Careful How You Say That
All’s Fair in the Tea Trade
Merger Mania
K-Cup Craze
How Sweet It Is For Foodservice
THE MARKETERS
The Power of Tea Concentrated Among A Few
Many Big Players in Foodservice
Tea Retailers Take Center Stag
NEW PRODUCT TRENDS
Tea Leads All Beverages in Innovation
“Natural” the top Claim, but a Mainstay Drops Down the List
Marketers Emphasize Functional Benefits
Kombucha Creates a Stir
New Products from Celebri-Teas
Foodservice Chains Bet Big on Tea
CONSUMER TRENDS
Tea Remains a Consumer Favorite
Purchasing Patterns Emerge
APPENDIX I ABC
ABC
CHAPTER 2 MARKET TRENDS
RETAIL MARKET SIZE AND COMPOSITION
Retail Tea Sales Rise to $6.5 billion
Table U.S. Retail Sales of Tea, 2007-2011
A Multi-Channel Champion
Table Share of U.S. Retail Sales of Packaged Tea by Channel, 2011
SymphonyIRI-Tracked Sales Show Solid Growth
Table IRI-Tracked Sales of Tea, Overall and By Segment, 2011
Natural Foods Channel Going
Table Sales of Leaf and RTD Tea Products in Natural Supermarket Channel, 2009-2011
Medicinal Tea Leads the Leaf Tea Category
Table Sales of Leaf Tea in the Natural Supermarket Channel, 2009-2011
Tea Remains One of the Beverage Industry’s Bright Spots
Table Beverage Dollar Sales and Market Share by Category, 2011
Table Fastest Growing Beverage Categories, 2011
FOODSERVICE COMPOSITION
House Wine of the South Spurs Foodservice Growth
“Money in a Cup”
Foodservice Fast Facts
Vending a Key Tea Channel
Fast-Growing Tea Companies
TEA BEHAVIORS
Packaged Facts Studies Confirm Variety of Tea Consumed, and Single-Serve Purchase Behavior
Table Tea drinkers, by types of tea purchased, 2011
MARKET DYNAMICS
FDA Cracks Down
Health Studies Abound
Fair Trade Shows Big Jump
Tea Companies Marry and Divorce
Single Cup Platforms Become New Growth Drivers for Established Brands
Tea Marketers Get Creative
Tea 2.0
LOOKING AHEAD
More Tea Sales on the Horizon
Table Projected U.S. Retail Sales of Tea, 2011-2016
APPENDIX I ABC
ABC
CHAPTER 3 THE MARKETERS
COMPETITIVE OVERVIEW - PACKAGED GOODS
A Handful of Marketers Dominate
Table Top Marketers Of Tea at Food, Drug and Mass Merchandisers, 2010-11
Lipton Has Leaf Tea in the Bag
Table Top Marketers and Brands of Bags/Loose Tea by IRI-tracked Sales and Volume, 2011
RTD marketers forge ahead
Table Top Marketers and Brands of RTD Tea by IRI-tracked Sales and Volume, 2011
Instant Provides Little Gratification
Table Top Marketers and Brands of Instant Tea by IRI-tracked Sales and Volume, 2011
Refrigerated Tea Makes a Case for Itself
Table Top Marketers and Brands of Refrigerated Tea by IRI-tracked Sales and Volume, 2011
COMPETITIVE OVERVIEW - FOODSERVICE
Many Foodservice Tea Suppliers
COMPETITIVE OVERVIEW - TEAROOMS AND SPECIALTY STORES
A Highly Fragmented Market
The Teavana IPO
Table Teavana’s product mix, 2009-2011
The Marketing of Teavana
APPENDIX I ABC
ABC
CHAPTER 4 BRAND PROFILES
ARIZONA (ARIZONA BEVERAGE CO.)
A Leader in RTD
Growing and Sought After
Capitalizing on a legendary golf drink
Caught in an Immigration Controversy
AriZona Expands its Packaging Options
A Straightforward Strategy
BIGELOW TEA (R.C. BIGELOW, INC.)
A Constant Contender
Partnering with The Great One
Healthy Introductions Abound
CELESTIAL SEASONINGS (THE HAIN CELESTIAL GROUP)
Herbal Leader Experiences Solid Growth
Celestial Seasonings and K-Cups
Couponing, In-store and Social Media
GOLD PEAK (THE COCA-COLA COMPANY)
Pushing for More Share
New Packaging and Delivery Systems Drive Growth
LIPTON (UNILEVER AND PEPSICO)
Despite Weak Sales, Lipton Still Dominates
How Pepsi-Lipton Segments the RTD Market
Brisk Takes on the Year’s Biggest Audience
Partnering with Green Lantern and Stickybits
New Products Make a Splash
NESTEA (COCA-COLA AND NESTLÉ)
Slipping Sales in RTD
Nestea Emphasizes Online
RED DIAMOND
Rising Star in Refrigerated Tea
SNAPPLE (DR. PEPPER SNAPPLE GROUP)
A Turnaround Story
The Northeast is Snapple’s Stronghold
The Importance of Packaging
Capitalizing on TV Tie-Ins
TURKEY HILL
The Big Chilled
TWININGS
By Appointment of Her Majesty
APPENDIX I ABC
ABC
CHAPTER 5 NEW PRODUCT TRENDS
OVERVIEW
Tea - The Place to Be [or, more plainly: Tea Product Launches Pace All Categories]
Table Number of U.S. Non-Alcoholic Beverage Product Reports/SKUs, 2011
Tea Begins Rebound from Recessionary Lows
Table Number of U.S. Tea Product Introductions: Reports and SKUs, 2007-2011
What’s in a Claim?
Table Top Marketing Claims/Package Tags for U.S. Tea Product Introductions, 10 years vs. 1 year trend
Packed Full of Flavors
Table Top Flavors in U.S. Tea Product Introductions, 10 years vs. 1 year trend
Same Players Introduce New Products
Table Top Companies in U.S. Tea Product Introductions, 2001-2011
Table Top Companies in U.S. Tea Product Introductions, 2011
PACKAGED GOODS TRENDS
Functional Benefits Popular in New Tea
Coca-Cola’s “Teavolution of Water”
The Curious Case of Kombucha
Bigelow’s Healthy Offerings
Could’ve Had a V8
Tulsi Touches Down
Celebrities Jump on the Tea Bandwagon
My Country Tis of Tea
NEW PRODUCT TRENDS IN FOODSERVICE
The Big Chains Emphasize Tea
Starbucks Gets Bigger
Teavana Unveils New Teas for the 2010-11 Season
Popeyes Gets Sweet
Other New Products Debut in Foodservice
NOTABLE PRODUCTS AT THE WORLD TEA EXPO
2011 World Tea Expo Best New Product Award Winners
APPENDIX I ABC
ABC
