With 100 million cups drunk each day, tea is the nation’s hot beverage of choice (ITC), but as shoppers pay closer attention to their weekly spend, how best to maximise the opportunities in tea?
With the current economic environment, value is a key deciding factor on what to buy, matched by the need for any spend to deliver on taste and quality.
Everyday black with decaf remains the tea of choice for most households, with the top three tea brands accounting for over 61% of total sales, it is here that the majority of price promotions have maximum benefit. All Tata Consumer tea brands will be featuring price promotions during the Autumn months.
“A well-timed promotion is good for the brand and the retailer and a valuable tool to demonstrate value to shoppers,” comments Dan Adams, Senior Category Development Manager for Tata Consumer Products.
Even outside promotion, tea is a good value offering, and with more households buying Tetley than any other tea brand (Kantar June 2023), Tetley is a good value brand to offer. Awareness and familiarity of the brand helps attract browsers’ interest to other areas at fixture like green and herbals.
Spreading the message of superior taste, Tetley and its sister brands Good Earth and teapigs are taking to the streets this year with its biggest sampling campaign to date, geared to reach multiple thousands of shoppers across the three brands.
“It’s about reaching the right audiences with the right products and surprising them with something they may not have considered for some time. Reappraising tea and the variety available to meet all tastes and budgets will help reignite interest in the category,” adds Adams.
Original black teas are the mainstay of tea accounting for 72% of sales. Tetley Original is a strong everyday black tea buy and a mix of pack sizes here to cater to different shopper missions is sensible.
Decaf remains a key opportunity, currently it accounts for 9.4% of category sales in the mults and 9.1% in total market, both up just slightly 0.3% yoy (Nielsen). Making sure decaf is prominently shown and the decaf selection is carefully curated on the basis of taste, will help sales and repeat purchase.
“Having a portfolio of teas to suit tea occasions and having teapigs now fully integrated into the portfolio means Tata Consumer is much easier to do business with. The breadth of its portfolio also enables it to give and honest appraisal of the best mix of teas to maximise sales,” says Adams.
“With smaller stores in particular, our advice is not to overstretch the offering, focusing on a core range with the right mix of pack sizes in the most shopped sectors of original black and decaf will attract both regular top up shoppers, and those making small changes to how they shop as they work to manage household budgets.”
For the heartland brand of Tetley, the combination of value and quality from a trusted brand encourages exploration of teas, and Tetley is making changes to enhance consumer appeal in terms of taste and its environmental credentials.
In addition to value and assurance of taste there has been a major shift in consumer attitudes in tea linked to sustainability and ethical sourcing.
In a Tetley study of 200 adults Tetley found that although demand for everyday sustainable switches is on the up, a third admit to abandoning ‘eco products’ and reverting back to ‘standard versions’ over time.
The study found that biodegradable products are making their way into British homes, in 2021 29% had bought biodegradable bin bags and nearly a quarter made the switch to plant-based tea bags.
Media attention to the need to dispose of everyday items like tea bags more sustainably has sustained shopper interest in plant-based tea bags.
With multi million pounds of investment, Tetley has made a giant leap forward on its sustainable journey with the roll out of plant-based tea bags and the introduction of the most significant change to its pack format in 30 years.
Rolling out to major customers now and available to convenience this autumn, Tetley has introduced a new carton pack to replace its softpack packaging for its black tea range, Tetley Original; decaf; Extra Strong and Gold.
With the transition, Tetley will hit a major milestone of 97% of its packaging being reusable, recyclable or compostable in line with its commitment to the UK Plastics Pact to achieve 100% by 2025.
The compact design is around 25% smaller than competitive packs, meaning more efficient transportation and use of shelf-space in store; ease of like for like replacement; plus of course saving space in home cupboards. The tea bags themselves are made from plant-based materials which after use can be sent for composting via kerbside food collection by councils for disposal.
On completion of the roll-out of biodegradable bags 270 tons of non -biodegradable plastic will have been removed from its tea bag production. Once the transition of all softpack packaging to the new carton format is complete, Tetley will have removed 34.6 million pieces of non-recyclable multi-layer laminate from its waste stream.
Adele Ward, Clipper Teas Marketing Director at Ecotone UK, comments: “Wellness is a trend which is continuing to have an impact within tea. Part of this is rising interest in decaf – of which we know that a growing number of Brits are looking to cut back on caffeine, with almost a third being wary about their caffeine consumption (CSA).”
Clipper uses the natural CO2 decaffeination method, rid of the nasty chemicals which many mainstream tea makers still – including using chemical solvents to strip caffeine from their teas.
“Ethics and sustainability remain ongoing trends among consumers. It’s been reported food industry-wide that the impact of the cost-of-living crisis is causing consumers to trade down to less sustainable products,” adds Ward. “But this is less proving less prevalent within tea with 50% of consumers happy to pay more for a tea that is ethically and sustainably made (CSA).”
Organic tea is prevalent growth factor, too. It has delivered +9.3% value growth compared to non-organic at +7.7% and has increased in volume by +24.3% compared to non-organic which has declined -2.6.% (Kantar).
Within infusions, Clipper is outperforming the category YOY at 81.6% increase in value sales, and +66.5% increase in volume (IRI). Clipper mainstream black tea has increased its penetration on last year, by 8.4% (Kantar), driven by consumers who are trying to do the right thing. Shoppers are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of ethics and sustainability in the tea category, which is reflected in the consistent performance of the organic and Fairtrade tea segments.
“With organic tea in heightening demand, there is ample opportunity for the overall category,” says Ward. We’re soon launching a new campaign dedicated to Clipper’s distinctive proposition in the market, and the benefits of organic tea for the protection of global biodiversity. By innovating in natural and sustainable teas, we can bring more people into the category.”
Gary Winslade, UK Business Development Manager, Ahmad Tea, comments: “Right now, loose leaf black tea is having a revival, with sales set to soar over the next few years. Not only does loose leaf tap into growing demand for premium & natural tea, but it also has a lower carbon footprint than teabags and offers more freshness and intensity of flavour.
“It’s about elevating the experience and taking tea drinkers on a journey, with taste and provenance at the forefront. “
Ahmad Tea is seeing rising demand for its herbal and green tea infusions, with blends such as Rooibos & Cinnamon and Camomile & Lemongrass selling well.
“With the health & wellness boom showing no sign of slowing, right now decaf tea is making a comeback. In fact, the market is set to soar over the next few years as shoppers look for easy swaps to support a healthy lifestyle,” adds Winslade.
“Our Decaf range has been carefully curated to meet this demand. Featuring four varieties – Decaffeinated Pure Black Tea, Decaffeinated Pure Green Tea, Decaffeinated Earl Grey and Decaffeinated Indulgent Selection – the range offers the signature flavour consumers expect from Ahmad Tea, just without the caffeine. Black tea and Earl Grey have won Great Taste Awards.”
Lesley Parker, Brand Controller for Cafédirect at distributor RH Amar, comments: “With sales topping £18.5 million in retail over the last year, distribution has now reached 90% of the market (IRI), and recent launches adding a further £364k at the till during the first half of 2023, Cafédirect has been causing an even bigger stir this year with the launch of new recyclable packaging, a new brand vision, new products, and a new campaign that will reassure consumers they really are making a difference when they choose Cafédirect.
“Famous for working directly with farmer cooperatives around the world for more than 30 years with the aim of improving smallholder farmer livelihoods, Cafédirect is already popular with a wide group of shoppers who love that they’re getting great coffee that also has a purpose.”
The Cafédirect family of products has a new look and feel as part of a brand revitalisation programme for 2023. An evolved logo now gives the brand an even more distinctive and characterful presence on shelf, whilst a move to recyclable polyethylene across the brand’s Blends and Single Origins pouches – coupled with new 100% premium recycled tin across its instant range – means that 99% of its packaging became recyclable from April.
With an aim of being instantly recognisable as the coffee brand that’s better for everyone, a high impact marketing campaign from this spring has been playing out across social and digital channels, alongside a new look website.
“Featuring our new ‘Better for Everyone’ strapline and logo, which will also appear on all packs alongside an infinity coffee bean and coffee cup logo, our aim is to communicate how we are making a positive impact on the world,” explains Parker. “As a result, shoppers can be reassured that our coffee not only tastes great but also that we are doing good by sourcing our coffee direct from our growers who are guaranteed a fair price.”
As well as rolling out a new look across its existing range of Single Origin and Blended beans, decaf, instant, and roast & ground, Cafédirect is introducing new ranges to its line-up.
Available now, the new blended range of roast & ground coffees includes Empower, Restore and Thrive, all at an RRP of £4.45.
Also available now, a range of new freeze dried, single origin instant coffees will allow coffee lovers to enjoy the Cafédirect roast & ground taste in an easy to prepare format, available in Decaf Machu Picchu, Machu Picchu, and Mayan Gold variants (RRP: £4.50). As well as featuring colour-coded lids featuring Cafédirect’s infinity coffee bean and coffee cup logo, under-lid inserts will feature QR codes to help shoppers discover more about their favourite Cafédirect coffees, as well as encouraging them to try the instant range’s roast & ground siblings.
“Both new ranges are aimed at appealing to the wide range of shoppers who are looking for something both different, meaningful, but always enjoyable, from their coffee purchasing choices,” explains Parker.
Now a top three growth brand in roast & ground, Cafédirect added more than £450k to the category last year (IRI) and is going for further growth this year.
And with an average selling price point that is more than 14% higher than a year ago, the brand is clearly continuing to attract discerning shoppers who understand the brand’s ethical and premium proposition.
“This is one of the real strengths of the Cafédirect brand,” explains Parker, “It’s why sales of our single origin beans are up by 14% in the last year, whilst Mayan Gold alone is up by 29%.
“And it’s why we feel confident that, with the launch of a new look, new campaign and a range of exciting new products that go beyond a standard transaction with the shopper, we will help to grow sales of Cafédirect through our partner retailers and wholesalers even further in 2023.”
Kenco, the £134 million coffee brand, is expanding and diversifying its well-loved speciality range with two new plant-based coffees: Kenco Plant-Based Oat and Almond Latte. Aiming to drive incremental category growth by appealing to a younger shopper, the new launch addresses the need for a great tasting, plant-based frothy coffee to be enjoyed at home.
The demand for plant-based options continues to grow in popularity, with one in five consumers choosing alternative milks in cafés, and one in three consumers now choosing milk alternatives to enjoy at home. Consumers are seeking coffee-shop quality products that enable them to re-create plant-based, frothy lattes within the comfort of their own home.
Additionally, the convenient sachet format means shoppers can also enjoy these lattes on the go, creating a convenient, cost-effective alternative to coffee shop favourites – offering another opportunity for retailers to maximise sales.
Kenco Plant-Based Lattes are low-fat and low-sugar recipes, ensuring they are HFSS compliant.
Roberto De Felice, Marketing Director UK & I at Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE), comments: “We have identified that there is a big opportunity to deliver premium plant-based coffee moments to consumers at home.
With our innovation, we are set to recruit younger shoppers to the category and drive incremental sales for retailers with both our Oat and Almond variants. We are committed to innovating in line with current trends and can’t wait to offer a quality product designed for the modern-day coffee drinker.”
Kenco Plant-Based follows the brand’s hero launch, Kenco Gold Indulgence, which has launched in celebration of the brand’s 100th year. In addition to the new launches, Kenco is honouring the occasion with a year of unmissable campaigns, in-store activations and competitions including investing in a substantial £6.4m TV ad that will run across TV, YouTube and Meta in order to reach 96% of coffee-drinking adults. Ueshima Coffee Company, Japan’s no.1 coffee brand, has announced new products, including a Fairtrade decaf and three new speciality coffee beans.
The new product line-up continues the brand’s commitment to delivering exceptional tasting coffee. The new range includes a Fairtrade decaf, for coffee enthusiasts who seek the unparalleled taste of Ueshima without the caffeine. Plus, a trio of new specialty beans, sourced from Kenya and Mexico through the NKG Bloom initiative, promising to excite coffee lovers with refined tastes.
Kirsty Pavely, Marketing Controller Ueshima, UCC comments: “We are thrilled to unveil our latest specialty and decaf coffees, crafted with the same passion and dedication that has made Ueshima Coffee Company a beloved brand in Japan and beyond. We’re thrilled that some of our newly launched products – Ueshima Decaf and Kenya – have already been so well received, receiving Great Taste Awards this summer, and we can’t wait to showcase them to foodservice operators.”
Amy Burgess, Senior Trade Communications Manager at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), comments: “The ready-to-drink (RTD) chilled coffee sector is a key driver of growth within soft drinks, now worth £280.5m and up 15.5% in value over the past 12 months (Nielsen) – adding an extra £37.6m in value over the last year (Nielsen). And the segment is still in volume growth, demonstrating that more shoppers are buying RTD coffee more often (Nielsen).”
RTD chilled coffee is incredibly diverse, in terms of flavours, formats and caffeine intensity – and brands continue to innovate. That means the segment is constantly increasing its appeal to more consumers on more occasions.
Costa Coffee’s RTD range is outperforming the segment by some margin, up 59.4% in value (Nielsen) and up 47.5% in volume (Nielsen). This success can be put down to the widespread popularity of Costa Coffee, the nation’s favourite coffee shop for the last 13 years, and the quality of what’s inside the can. It is also one of the only full ranges in the segment to be 100% HFSS-compliant.
Featuring Lattes, Flat Whites and Frappés, the range caters to a broad variety of different tastes and occasions, and offers a choice of low intensity, medium intensity and high intensity, where distinct audience groups have an option on the various different levels of caffeine, coffee flavour and sweetness.
Emma House, Commercial Planning Manager at Cocoa Canopy, comments: “The hot chocolate category is seeing strong year on year growth, and we’ve noticed that younger shoppers are seeking barista quality drinks at home.
As well as this, consumers are on the lookout for affordable indulgence, which Cocoa Canopy’s 225g packs deliver. The versatility of its drinking chocolate means sales are up in summer months too, as it can be enjoyed over ice.
“Retailers should be stocking products that cater to all consumers and offer something different, Cocoa Canopy offer vegan friendly drinking chocolate blends, and we are the only drinking chocolate brand in the UK to craft unique drinking chocolate beads as opposed to powder,” adds House. “Our 225g packs offer approximately 7 servings, making it an item consumers will add to their weekly/bi-weekly shop like they would with tea or coffee.”
Cocoa Canopy’s bestselling blends include Rich Dark, ‘Milk & Dark’ and Smooth Milk 225g packs. The Salted Caramel variety is also proving more popular as consumers’ familiarity with this flavour combination grows.
Rebekha White, Brand Manager at Aimia Foods (manufacturers of Horlicks), comments: “We have seen some very encouraging and positive results for the Horlicks brand over the last year, with recent data revealing that buyers are up a notable +10% with penetration also up by +9.2% (Kantar).”
In 2023, Aimia Foods has invested in shopper marketing and PR to drive purchase and trial of the Horlicks range, and to attract new buyers across different age groups. This includes the launch of Horlicks’ “Love the Taste” campaign, which was introduced in stores from the middle of June and featured an on-pack ‘money-back guarantee’ for consumers. The campaign features across Original, Instant and Chocolate Horlicks variants on new 400g format jars and was supported by instore media and POS.
This launch followed hot on the heels of Horlicks’ overarching brand campaign “find your happy place”, which launched in spring and introduces new drinking occasions, encouraging consumers to take a moment and relax in their happy place. The campaign was supported by proximity media – digital out of home and mobile platforms.
Responding to the rising health and wellness trend, the Horlicks Healthy range of specifically-formulated wellness boosting shakes was launched in 2022, demonstrating the ability of the Horlicks brand to successfully stretch into new categories.
We have an ageing population, largely wanting to stay active and enjoy their life but lacking the right products for them – Horlicks Healthy was developed to plug this gap.
Retaining the signature creamy and malty Horlicks flavour that has been loved by families for 150 years, the Horlicks Healthy shake range contains a blend of carefully selected vitamins, minerals and functional ingredients, alongside 15-20g protein per serving to make nourishment enjoyable.
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