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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Shabnam Weber, president, Tea and Herbal Association, set the tone of the event, with an inspiring PowerPoint that highlighted positive world events from the past 18 months. She shared that although the agenda was not a lengthy one, she hoped it pinpointed the subjects of value to the community. The overall sentiment of the event was both positive and proactive, as attendees from across the globe logged into these insightful conversations.

The first topic on the agenda was an analysis of the complex environment of logistics and shipping. The pandemic was the catalyst behind what is currently happening in shipping and logistics, stated Bruce Rodgers, executive director, Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association (CIFFA) executive director; however, what was once a ripple effect is now a full out tsunami. Global trade is 5% higher than it was prior to the pandemic, ports are fully congested, and there are empty containers in areas where they don’t need them, and in China, where they need the empty containers, they are not available. “There is only so much available capacity,” stated Rodgers. “The carriers are currently operating at 33% capacity, with labour remaining a huge concern across the globe.”

Both Canada and Australia are looking into anti-competition practices and the potential impact that the carrier monopoly has had on the logistical challenges that the globe is currently facing. While actions like bringing jobs back into the United States and an exploration of near shoring opportunities and sourcing flexibility may help alleviate some of this strain. Rodgers emphasised that the situation remains unpredictable,with many different players and challenges to contend for. Advocacy and education, two of the pillars of CIFFA, are two ways that the tea industry can become involved in addressing these challenges.

“The tea industry saw large growth in 2020, the pandemic served tea well, but today we find ourselves in another foreign place, we are not pre-pandemic, nor are we are pandemic, but we can also not state that we are post pandemic,” said Weber, as she introduced the next speaker, Carman Allison, vice president of sales, consumers intelligence, Nielsen IQ. Allison explored the role of tea in the past 18 months, while forecasting how the industry could continue to respond to evolving consumers’ needs. The pandemic has resulted in new purchasing behaviours, including an expansion of eCommerce and a focus on food. Approximately 70% of Canadians are either reducing their spending or being cautious; it is an uncertain economic climate with escalating costs and high debt loads. However, new growth areas are food and Ecommerce, two sectors where tea fits in nicely.

The final talk of the event involved two speakers, Benjamin Kayatz, environmental impact assessment specialist, Soil and More, and Dr Tim Bond, founder, Tea and Herbal Solutions, where they both explored the complex topic of the carbon footprint of tea. They shared that one of the challenges with determining the carbon footprint of tea, is that there is not one clear path to cultivating and processing tea. Fertiliser, machine harvesting, the withering process, and bio residue can all increase greenhouse gas emissions at the farm level. Carbon footprint is highly site-dependent, with both climate and yield having an impact. When it comes to reducing the carbon footprint, there is not a one size fits all solution, instead, It is about identifying your hotspots and then apply actions to reduce emissions, including carbon sequestration solutions and opting for less carbon intensive tools, including solar and electric solutions.

Overall, the two-hour event left the audience with a deeper understanding of the critical areas impacting the industry and insights on actions that the industry can take to Level Up.

• Long-time T&CTJ contributor, 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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