Starbucks Expands Teavana into New Format and Retail Channel
Starbucks today (26 June) announced it is introducing Teavana into the USD $1.2 billion packaged tea category in US grocery stores. Teavana packaged tea sachets are now available on shelves at Walmart Stores and will begin rolling out to other grocery retailers in July.
“The launch of Teavana packaged tea in grocery is just the beginning of the journey to bring consumers some of their Teavana favourites in a new, accessible format where they purchase their groceries,” says John Culver, group president, international, channel development, and global coffee and tea. “Since our acquisition of Teavana five years ago, we have continued to build distribution outside of Starbucks stores,” he says. “We remain committed to executing our plan to increase our tea business to USD $3 billion over the next five years through Starbucks global retail, packaged tea, and ready-to-drink premium Teavana Craft Iced Teas.”
The selection of six premium tea sachets are inspired by consumers’ favourite Teavana blends:
• Youthberry: A citrus-berry white tea blend featuring mango, orange, hibiscus and rose petals.
• Peach Tranquility: Soft peach and tropical fruit with delicate herbal notes of lemon, verbena, and a chamomile finish.
• Citrus Lavender: Inspired by artisanal cocktails, this blend pairs zesty orange and sweet pineapple with lavender blossom and sage notes.
• Jade Citrus Mint: Lemon citrus notes with green tea and a refreshing spearmint finish.
• Imperial Spiced Chai: Traditional chai spices and a Chinese oolong tea base, featuring cinnamon, tropical fruit, and citrus notes.
• Earl Grey Crème: An innovative take on an English classic – creamy vanilla and soft lavender are added to black tea and oil of bergamot citrus fruit.
The Teavana packaged tea sachets have a MSRP of USD $5.99 per 1.59 ounce (45 g) container.
Seattle, Washington-based Starbucks acquired Teavana Holdings in 2013. The company sold its Tazo tea brand to consumer packaged goods giant, Unilever in 2017, to focus its tea efforts on the Teavana brand. Starbucks also announced in 2017 that it was closing mall-based Teavana stores.
