When tea is not a tea: non-Camellia sinensis ‘teas’
Purple tea from Kenya. Image: Barbarba Dufrene
Alternative plants that live in that space between Camellia sinensis and herbals/botanicals, and brewed similarly, offer enormous potential, both revenue- and health-wise. By Vladislav Vorotnikov
By strict definition, tea is a beverage made by brewing tea leaves in near-boiling water. Whether the tea is black, green, white or oolong, these leaves come from the same plant: Camellia sinensis. Technically, anything not made from this plant should not be called tea.
The history of mixing Camellia sinensis leaves with those from other plants to get new taste and aroma traces its roots to ancient times. Over the years, some additives and alternative plants have started to be consumed independently from Camellia sinensis leaves. This emerging segment is frequently referred to as ‘new teas’, and according to market players, it has a bright future.
The Covid-19 pandemic was certainly good for the herbal tea category, commented Matthew Barry, insight manager, food & beverage research with Euromonitor International, an international think tank.
“Many herbal teas have strong functional positionings that were in demand in 2020, including immune support, anxiety relief, and treatment of Covid symptoms like coughs and sore throats,” Barry said. Growth has been slower since then, but it is notable in itself that the category did not shrink in 2021 the way so many other food and beverage categories did once the pandemic eased, and people’s shopping habits started to return to normal, he added.
In recent years, yerba mate tea, one of the prominent segments of the new teas, enjoyed a strong growth in popularity, commented Amelia Quelas, president of the newly established American Yerba Mate Association (AYMA).
Up until a couple of years ago, the yerba mate business was restricted to those who brought the custom and tradition to consume it from their homelands, specifically South America, including countries like Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil, and the Middle East, and was sold in small markets and delis that catered to those communities, Quelas said.
“Slowly but steadily, a couple of companies started producing yerba mate-based carbonated drinks and entered the market through larger chains of food supply. Also, stars like Lionel Messi and teammates in the soccer world have spoken about their commitment to using yerba mate for stamina, energy and resilience,” Quelas added.
The emergence of new ‘teas’
Other types of new teas are performing similarly well. The moringa tea market, for one, has been growing steadily in the past several years, commented Clarissa Akakpo, CEO of the Accra-based moringa tea manufacturer, Aguma Tea.
“My tea business is primarily in West Africa, and there is a certain level of local knowledge that the moringa leaf is a great source of nutrients and can aid the symptoms of a variety of ailments,” Akakpo said.
In general, there used to be a perception that moringa is a tea to be consumed when sick or dealing with some form of health condition. The pandemic, however, was a game-changer for the moringa tea market.
“With the Covid-19 outbreak at the beginning of 2020, there was an increase of enquiries for moringa tea globally,” Akakpo shared, explaining that customers were looking to strengthen their immune systems and alleviate some of the symptoms. “This developed an increased general knowledge about the benefits of moringa tea,” she said, emphasizing that the impetus started by the pandemic to the moringa sector had not winded down even when the worst period ended.
Occasional reports indicated that purple tea, another type of the new tea segment, also enjoyed a rise in popularity, although it is twice the price of traditional black tea. Companies working in this niche also emphasize the health benefits of their product.
For example, Summer Tea, a prominent Kenyan purple tea manufacturer, lists high antioxidant content, weight management and improved heart health as the key benefits customers can get from consuming purple tea.
Capitalising on health habits
The Covid-19 pandemic undoubtedly boosted the popularity of at least some new teas, but there is more to it than that. As growing numbers of consumers continued to pursue healthier choices, new teas continue to come into the spotlight. Tea continues to benefit from consumers’ focus on health and wellness in a post-Covid-19 world, said Tan Heng Hong, senior food & drink analyst with Mintel, an international consultancy.
Additionally, Hong suggested that brands can deliver stronger messaging, provide more eco-friendly options, and deliver greater transparency to ensure tea’s continued relevance among sustainability-minded consumers.
In the coming years, the new teas market is poised for exceptional growth in sales, largely owing to a low-base effect. “Teas are recognised as having health benefits, and yerba mate, also has many health benefits, but because it was consumed by a much smaller population than traditional teas, it is coming a little late to the party in the US but [has staying power],” Quelas said.
With regard to herbals, Euromonitor’s Barry said there is not one specific factor behind the growth, “there are a number of things. One is simply a restlessness we find among younger consumers across many beverage categories. Younger people are abandoning sodas for waters, lagers for ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails, etc.”
According to Barry, another reason for the rising popularity of herbal tea is the interest in functionality. Herbals have done a really good job of speaking to the functional space with a wide array of targeted products, he said, adding that in his opinion, black tea has not touted its own health benefits enough. “Regular consumption of teas from Camellia sinensis is linked to all sorts of positive health benefits, yet black tea is not really thought of as a health drink.”
Akakpo also said that the moringa tea business is growing, and the demand is increasing with the rise in interest in preventative health and well-being techniques. “I have observed that consumers want to incorporate new natural remedies into their everyday diet, and moringa is one of them,” Akakpo said.
A place on the infinite shelf
New teas offer excellent opportunities for tea companies looking to diversity their product range.
“We have been gradually increasing our range of herbal infusions over the last few years for those looking to avoid caffeine as well as to increase the range of flavour profiles,” said Holly Grinstead, a marketing manager for Edinburgh-based tea company, Rare Tea Co.
“The East-to-West cultural exchange will create demand for more tea varieties and new ways to consume it. Tea can increasingly take inspiration from energy drinks and other energizing beverages as consumers look for more natural sources of energy,” Hong added.
“If you have a market where black tea has been dominant for a long time, it’s not surprising to see millennials and Gen Z instinctively want something else,” Barry explained, adding that there is a lot of room for experimentation because of all the different ingredients you can use, and consumers these days are very interested in trying new and unusual beverages.
He noted that the internet has played a key role in this. “Even the most well-stocked tea retail outlet can only have so many options, but online, you have the ‘infinite shelf’. Tea out-performs in e-commerce compared to other food and beverage categories, and I think the variety available is a key reason.” Barry explained that people only want so many kinds of peanut butter or toothpaste to choose from before it becomes too much, but when it comes to tea and herbal teas specifically, they really do seem to want a massive selection.
Market players also continuously study various options for mixing new teas in different blends.
“Business has been good for us in the value addition space,” commented Sahil Radia, CEO and co-founder of Kenyan tea manufacturer, Bahari Teas, which focuses on purple tea, among other things. “We find there’s a lot of focus on tracing the tea from farm to cup and ensuring the tea is planted and produced at optimum standards. organic, Fair Trade, non-GMO tea are even more important now, but commitment to quality and sustainable packaging is also key,” Radia added.
Social media plays an essential role in the growth of the popularity of new teas. “Some health commentators on social media platforms have shared that moringa forms part of the cuisine in India; for example, in some villages, moringa leaves are put into curries and used as a herb; this was also a common practice in many parts of West Africa where moringa leaves and stems would be used as a vegetable in soups and stews,” said Akakpo. “This conversation has led to different types of enquiries. As a result, I have had requests for whole leaf moringa.”
The product range of new teas, as well as the number of market players working in this field, is likely to keep growing for the time being.
“The yerba mate business is still in its infancy, and one of the targets of the American Yerba Mate Association is to help those companies that are already in the market, those that are interested in selling yerba mate products in the US, and also those that are ready to enter the market such as Matea, a new concept out of Boise, Idaho, which is producing a yerba mate matcha energy drink in different flavours,” Quelas indicated.
In general, analysts remain optimistic about the future of the new teas. Barry, for example, pointed to the fact that a lot of the underlying drivers boosting growth are strong and that there is little reason to believe that there will be a reversal anytime soon.
- Vladislav Vorotnikov is a Batumi, Georgia-based multimedia B2B freelance journalist writing about the tea and coffee industry since 2012.
