In his presentation, Carman Allison, NielsenIQ, said that optimism around the consumers’ personal financial situation is lagging, especially in North America and EU markets, despite the rate of inflation slowing across the globe. He explained that this has created financial polarization, noting, “it’s about the haves and the haves less.”

Allison said that in a recent consumer survey (conducted over the summer), Nielsen observed a shift from cautious to conscious consumption. “Heading into 2025, the state of consumers is determined, with three types of consumers [emerging]: resilient, vigilante and intentional. Consumers are spending in a more strategic way — they prioritize at-home, planning and waste-avoidant spending.”

This behaviour, Allison said, has ‘redefined discount’. “Consumers have embraced (and expect) a broader value from the concept of ‘discount’,” which is impacting buying behaviour across the board, not just in food, beverage (coffee and tea included) and other CPG products.

In their presentations, both Shabnam Weber, president of the Tea and Herbal Association of Canada (THAC), which organized and hosted this year’s NATC, and Peter Goggi, president of the Tea Association of the USA, discussed how health and wellness are driving components for consumers’ purchases.

“Consumers are searching for authenticity and community. People are disillusioned, particularly those ages 16-25,” said Weber, “but what’s hot is wellness and it spans all demographics.”

And while this should greatly benefit tea, it has competition from other ‘healthy beverages’. “Humans don’t ‘drink more’ during day, that is, they do not increase the number of beverages they drink in a day,” said Goggi, “they are swapping out one beverage for another, not adding.”

One strong opportunity for tea is in foodservice. “Globally, tea as an away-from-home beverage has a significant share,” said Margot Swindall of Technomic, but tea has an opportunity to further expand its share. She said cold/iced/frozen teas are growing in both Canada and US. “Hot tea is more often used as a pick-me-up while iced tea tends to serve as a meal companion and thirst-quencher (especially in the US).”

Swindall highlighted the top global foodservice consumer markets for tea for both hot and cold/iced tea in her presentation:

Hot Tea

1. Russia (47%)
2. India (43%)
3. Chile (37%)
4. Indonesia (37%)
5. Malaysia (36%)

Cold Tea

1. Philippines (52%)
2. Indonesia (45%)
3. Malaysia (44%)
4. S. (41%)
5. Thailand (39%)

Swindall said that tea meets other beverages head on in creativity and format extension on the global foodservice stage (in terms of functionality, healthy indulgence, etc.), and consumers are willing to experiment with tea (flavours and formats) — all of which enhances tea’s ability to grow its share in the foodservice channel.

“Foodservice is the playground for tea trial, experimentation and innovation,” Swindall stressed. So not taking advantage of this ‘under tapped’ market would be quite a missed opportunity.

• Vanessa L Facenda, editor, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.
  Keep in touch via email: vanessa@bellpublishing.com Twitter: @TCTradeJournal or LinkedIn: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal

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The workshops and education sessions began with the all-day Tea Business Incubator on 18 March (a Tea Primer for true beginners was held on the 17^th), which is for anyone interested in starting a tea business or who wants more insights into the tea industry. Jeff Fuchs, founder, Puerh Procurer, opened the conference and trade show component on the 19^th with a keynote speech that discussed the history of tea, its evolution through time and cultures, and current challenges facing the tea industry. Concurrent sessions included Promotion of Tea: A Global Perspective, Clone Wars: Ten Tea Cultivars You Should Know, Driving Data Purity Through Traceability, Assamica Producers’ Collaboration, How to Navigate and Profit with Tea in E-Commerce, Essential Insights for Success in the Ready to Drink Market, Adapting to Adaptogens, and Flavoring 101: Exploring its Place in the Tea Industry. Panel discussions included Conscious Commerce: Empowering Customers Through Responsible Sourcing, Identifying Issues in Sustainability & Traceability in Tea, and Implementing Sustainability & Traceability in Tea.

Participation in the various lectures was high. I attended two of the panel discussions on sustainability, and both had large audiences who were actively engaged, taking notes, and asking questions — with the majority being first-time attendees. When asked what sustainability in tea means by one new participant, Shabnam Webber, president of the Tea and Herbal Association of Canada, noting that the tea industry is 5,000 years old, summed it up nicely saying, “We are all stewards passing through the tea industry and stewardship requires you to care about tea in order to pass it on to the next generation.”

Most education session participants with whom I spoke, found this year’s roster to be some of the strongest WTE has offered to date, noting there were diverse in content, valuable, and beneficial.

The exhibition component, which had a strong number of exhibitors and attendees, remains the weaker segment of WTE. There was a lot of turnover in terms of exhibitors from the 2023 show to this year’s show, with only a handful being repeats. There was a large pavilion of producers from China, as well as producers from Japan, India, Nepal, Vietnam and Sri Lanka (including the Sri Lanka Tea Board), among others. There were also multiple accessory exhibitors, that is, those looking to sell teapots, teaware, loose leaf tea strainers, travel mugs, etc. Brands (some of which also wholesale/private label) included SerendipiTea, Harney & Sons, Wild Orchard and Moosa, a new herbal/botanical brand, which is marketing dried fruits, herbs and spices from the Andes. The blends are placed in cups/mugs and then water is added, and rather than removing the items after steeping, the fruits, herbs and spices are designed to be eaten.

Some have said this will be their last year exhibiting – but will attend as a visitor next year – as there is no ROI given the expense of exhibiting. “The show is not generating enough potential new business for us and the leads we do have are not strong.” Multiple exhibitors echoed that sentiment. One new exhibitor, selling tea shop accessories, decided to exhibit because she was told there would be a lot of tea shop owners attending. By the second day, she shared that there had been little interest in her products but said they “were having fun.” Other exhibitors said they have typically attended WTE to connect with their customers in person, but most are no longer attending the expo.

World Tea Expo was again co-located with the Bar & Restaurant Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center. While the co-location offers increased foot traffic, energy and excitement, all exhibitors I spoke with said the joint show has not provided any benefit to them as there has been no interest from Bar & Restaurant Show attendees in tea for their businesses. In fact, the presence of the Bar & Restaurant Show negatively impacted WTE’s education segment this year as it ‘took over WTE’s space.’ That is, WTE participants interested in the lectures, after picking up their badges in the front of the South Hall, rather than going to the second floor, which has been the standard for many years, had to exit the building in the front where they had entered, go to the side of the South Hall to catch a golf cart to take them to the back of the building. The signage was not clear so the process was confusing, and honestly, convoluted. To walk the exhibition floor when it opened at 12pm, attendees could catch the golf cart back to the front or walk from the back of the hall.

Exhibitors and attendees (myself included) agree that where World Tea Expo really shines, its strength, are the workshops and education sessions/lectures. The tea industry needs WTE to not only survive, but to also grow and flourish, as it is, for the most part, the only B2B tea event in North America. Hopefully, as the show continues to evolve post-pandemic and under the ownership of Questex, a ‘happy medium’ can be found where both attendees and exhibitors can benefit.

• Vanessa L Facenda, editor, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.
  Keep in touch via email: vanessa@bellpublishing.com Twitter: @TCTradeJournal or LinkedIn: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal

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The 2023 Gold Medal Tea Awards and the Sustainability Awards will be announced at the Chairman’s Dinner (T&CTJ will provide a list of winners and a review of the NATC after the event concludes). The Gold Medal Tea Awards celebrate teas from key producing countries, while the Sustainability Awards honour sustainability-focused projects and initiatives taking place at origin. Sustainability is definitely the theme of the week as the results of the second tea sustainability survey – Firsd Tea 2023 Sustainability Perspectives – have been tabulated and the results are now available.

Just a quick reminder, earlier this year, T&CTJ, in partnership with Firsd Tea, the US subsidiary of Zhejiang Tea Group, conducted a follow up to our late 2021/early 2022 tea sustainability survey. [For every completed response, a contribution was donated to 1% for the Planet, an international organisation whose members contribute at least 1% of their annual sales to environmental causes.] The original survey aimed to understand how professionals within tea and related industries (coffee, cocoa, wine) currently view sustainability efforts within the sector and their outlooks for the future. The survey picks up from our last one, exploring the following topics in depth:

• Progress on sustainability factors
• Worries about climate change
• Organic certification
• Current state and the future

We hope that this study offers insight into how the tea industry sees sustainability and encourages more investigation into opportunities for achieving a more sustainable tea sector.

I will not detail the full survey findings in this space but will touch upon a few. The survey revealed that most respondents now have an improved outlook on progress made in sustainability in the last ten years. They also view present-day efforts more favourably and predict an increased improvement trajectory in the next 10 years.

Furthermore, a majority of respondents in tea and related industries still agree that Organic Certification is the most important standard to consumers (84% in 2022 vs. 88% in 2023). However, the survey finds that now Non-GMO Certification is more important to consumers (58% in 2022 vs.81% in 2023) than Fair Trade (68% in 2022 and 2023).

To access the full report, Firsd Tea 2023 Sustainability Perspectives, click here.

If you have any questions or comments about the 2023 sustainability survey, please do not hesitate to contact me as we (T&CTJ and Firsd Tea) would welcome the feedback.

• Vanessa L Facenda, editor, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.
  Keep in touch via email: vanessa@bellpublishing.com Twitter: @TCTradeJournal or LinkedIn: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal

The post And the (tea sustainability) survey says… appeared first on Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.

In the Western world, black tea is still the most consumed tea beverage, particularly by older demographics. However, consumption levels remain substantially below production, resulting in a market where black tea has become highly undervalued. There needs to be significant changes within the industry, including a substantial expansion of the consumer base, to increase the value and create a sustainable market for black tea.

Low prices pose significant challenges to sustainability

“Black tea is hugely undervalued, it is being sold for barely the cost of production, and that is on a good day — it is usually below the cost of production,” said Shabnam Weber, president, Tea and Herbal Association of Canada. “Brands are placing a higher value on their green tea products, even in circumstances where both their black and green tea haven’t been blended with any other products and are in similar packaging.”

Although there has been an elevated interest in other teas and infusions, black tea remains the category sustaining most of the tea industry in the Western world. “When we are talking about wanting fair pricing and sustainability, we cannot get there without black tea,” said Weber. “To obtain these goals, there needs to be more money in the pot so that it can be distributed across the supply chain.”

Image: Vahdam Tea

Peter Goggi, president, Tea Association of the USA, agreed, emphasising that the price of tea is not sustainable, making it increasingly difficult for farmers to survive. “There is way too much tea in the world, and there are only two ways to take care of that: either increase consumption or reduce the amount of tea that is produced,” he said. Reducing production levels will profoundly impact those countries that depend on tea as a primary industry. However, increasing consumption levels is a complex task.

“In the USA, we are still undeveloped in terms of the number of people drinking tea,” said Goggi. “85 percent of people drink tea, but not every other day, so it’s about converting that daily consumption into reality.” When it comes to consumption levels at origin, there is also room for growth. Countries like China and Kenya have little to zero consumption of black tea. South America, which includes several coffee-consuming countries, is another market that black tea could potentially tap into.

Increasing the overall quality and, in turn, the value of black tea is another way to help drive the product’s price up. “The specialty tea arena has demonstrated that consumers are willing to pay for tea, and so, there is no doubt that we need to raise the overall quality of tea being sold and, in turn, charge for it,” said Goggi. One of the side benefits of focusing on quality is that it naturally reduces the quantity of tea produced as the producers will not be plucking as far down the bush.

In the US, black tea remains the most common beverage, with iced being the most popular American preparation method. “Covid helped the overall tea market in the United States; it is valued, practically by millennials, Gen Z and Gen Xers as a destressor,” said Goggi. “People were drinking more tea at home, and this trend seems to be continuing, the growth of hot tea in the United States is happening.” In addition, the wellness trend has helped to accelerate the growth of black tea in the American market, with consumers gravitating towards the beverage for its taste and health properties.

“We are still very much a black tea-drinking nation, and rank in the top five tea consuming countries, per capita,” said Sharon Hall, chief executive of the UK Tea & Infusions Association (UKTIA). “But the percentage of black tea consumption is decreasing, with standard black tea accounting for 50 percent of the category. Seventy-four percent of the UK nation reported drinking some form of black tea during the day, with 40 percent drinking a cup several times a day. The key drivers for black tea in the UK are taste and, for the 18-29 demographic, the desire for a warm beverage. However, an increasing proportion of the population is shifting towards other warm drinks, with 55% reporting drinking green tea and 47 percent drinking herbal infusions. True tea sales value fell by over 6.0 percent to £578 million (2021 vs 2020), however, decaffeinated tea did continue to grow in value (1.3 percent) to almost £68.5 million.

“Over the past few years, particularly across the pandemic, we’ve witnessed increasing interest in products prioritising both planetary and human health. Ethics and the environment are high up on consumers’ agendas, supporting a rise in demand for organic and Fairtrade products,” shared Adele Ward, Clipper Teas marketing director, which is owned by Ecotone, UK. “We are also seeing a significant increase in demand for our Organic Decaffeinated Black Tea, which uses the natural CO2 process for decaffeination.”

Image: TAZO Tea

The need for innovation

Black teas remain a huge part of Vadham India’s overall portfolio because traditional tea consumption has always been dominant in the black tea category across India and other geographies. Vahdam has seen a growth of 5-10 percent in its black tea sales across all channels. “There’s been a change in outlook toward the consumption of tea, a growing prominence of black teas in cafés and QSRs, and a change in leisure drink habits across age groups leaning towards tea,” said Bala Sarda, founder and CEO of Vahdam Tea. “This has resulted in a higher demand for black tea worldwide.”

Continual innovation in the black tea category is critical, shared Sarda, to respond to the changing pattern of consumers actively seeking more from their beverages, whether it’s wellness, flavour, or newer formats, like lattes. “Vahdam’s formulations and format innovations have repositioned black tea as a preferred wellness beverage for the new-age millennials and Gen Z consumers, who are looking for an alternative that is contemporary yet clean, stylish yet sustainable and healthy yet high-fashion,” he said.

Health perceptions are skewed towards green

The continued interest in health and wellness has helped drive the demand for tea; in fact, it remains one of the critical drivers for consuming green tea in the Western world. However, one of the challenges in Canada, shared Weber, is that there remains a disconnect between black tea and its health benefits. “Every time we survey people’s perception of the health of the tea, black tea always ranks at the very bottom,” said Weber. “Canadians are quicker to associate the benefits of flavonoids with herbal teas before black tea. So, there’s a huge disconnect that’s happening, there is no question that green tea has had a head start, but the fact that the herbals are outranking black tea is shocking.”

Although the USA has been good about sharing the tea and health message, more needs to occur to help drive the consumption levels. “We need human studies to demonstrate an improvement of health in the population,” said Goggi. “That is the holy grail to get that structure/function claim; then we could state claims like drinking tea helps you to prevent cancer.”

Image: teapigs

However, these messages may fail to connect with the younger generations.

“Cardiovascular health, metabolic, and bone health, which are all significant benefits that black tea provides. However, I’m not sure that the younger generation is really in that headspace at the moment,” said Hall. “We must find ways to fit black tea into their lifestyle and understand how it will work for them.” Potential messages that could connect with the younger generations suggested Hall, are hydration, specifically as a pre- or post-exercise beverage, and highlighting how black tea can be consumed as an alternative to alcohol.

“As a category, black tea declined by 5.6 percent versus two years ago. Despite this, organic and Fairtrade tea is up by 0.3, in line with positive changes to consumer habits,” said Ward. “We’re confident that tea will remain a staple for years to come, not only for its taste but for its link to taking a break — especially in line with younger consumers who are increasingly prioritising wellness. As a brand, we’re always looking for ways we can bring new younger consumers to the category by offering this, alongside our fun identity.”

This includes increasing focus on black tea promotions through traditional and social media channels to drive demand and increase consumer awareness. “I don’t know if that is because the tea market has become dominated by black tea for decades that we’ve kind of taken it for granted, thinking people will always drink it,” said Weber. “You can’t take it for granted; you must celebrate the goodness of black tea.”

The reality is that black tea is competing with a growing number of beverages, making it increasingly challenging to draw younger demographics towards this beverage, which is in desperate need of a facelift. However, failing to connect with younger demographics places the black tea sector at risk of disappearing. Attracting and maintaining the interest of the younger consumer is essential to both drive demand and enable the market to increase the price (and in turn the value) of black tea. “The positioning of black tea as a culturally important part of our lifestyle is essential to have a sustainable industry; this includes getting millennials to drink black tea so that they encourage the tea-drinking habit in the next generation, alpha,” said Hall. “Otherwise, we’re not going to create a new generation of tea consumers.”

• Anne-Marie Hardie is a freelance writer, professor and speaker based in Barrie, Ontario. She may be reached at: annemariehardie1@gmail.com.

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The tea industry has routinely offered online training, but associations, schools and businesses have taken their virtual efforts to new levels amid the Covid-19 pandemic. For example, the Tea and Herbal Association of Canada offered a “Tea and Health” webinar earlier this week. The UK Tea Academy’s “classroom” is currently closed, and all courses and events have been postponed, but it announced a new online Tea Foundation Course, which is (oddly) taking place on 12 April — Easter Sunday. For more information, or to register, email: info@ukteaacademy.com.

The US-based Specialty Tea Institute (STI) is offering a variety of events to educate and connect with tea enthusiasts. It held its first “Virtual Tea Party” on 31 March, with guests joining via Zoom. This week, in addition to hosting another Virtual Tea Party, STI conducted several webinars such as “Update on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) Response” and “Working Directly with Growers – How Pandemics & Climate Change Are Affecting Tea Trade,” which was held in conjunction with the European Tea Society. The presenter was Elyse Petersen, founder of Tealet, a transparent supply chain for independent tea producers to share information and do efficient trade with the international tea market.

Elyse is also launching the world’s 1st Virtual Tea Festival, which takes place today (9 April) from 11am to 4pm PDT on Tealet’s Facebook page. Presenters will host livestreams and “attendees” are invited – for free – to watch, ask questions and engage with other viewers. Presentations will include tea lectures, tea performances such as ceremonies, tea video screenings, and music performances. A portion of the festival will be dedicated to an interactive tea-drinking session where tea lovers from all over the world will drink tea together and talk in Zoom rooms. “This is a non-commercial event meant to be a fun place for tea lovers to gather,” said Elyse.

For more information, or to participate in the Virtual Tea Festival, visit: (www.facebook.com/Tealet).

So, enjoy a cuppa of your favourite brew while partaking in one of the many virtual tea events being offered to help tea professionals and tea enthusiasts feel engaged and connected while we remain socially distanced.

• Vanessa L. Facenda, editor Tea & Coffee Trade Journal. She may be contacted via vanessa@bellpublishing.com.

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