• Survey Shows Tea Topping Soda Among Adults

    NCA Coffee Drinking Trends_Illustration
    Adult Tea Drinkers Exceed Soda Drinkers in National Survey

    NEW ORLEANS, LA– The National Coffee Association’s survey of drinking trends for the first time in decades revealed the number of past-day tea drinkers is greater than adults choosing soda.

    What did you drink yesterday? is one of the National Coffee Drinking Trends questions: Soda fell to 41% behind coffee, tap water (54%) and tea (44%). Coffee topped the list with 61% of those queried. The survey engaged a nationally representative sample of about 3,000 people 18 and older. It is conducted in January and February each year.

    Coffee has often been the first choice in surveys dating to 1950. Water is subdivided into tap water 54% and bottled water (46%) for a total 100%. Past-day incidence of tea drinking was next ahead of soda, milk, juice and alcohol. The big change was in carbonated soda which fell 9 points compared to last year’s survey. Tap water is up 7 percentage points in part due to economic conditions and as the most popular soda alternate.

    Individuals 40-49 years of age are the most frequent coffee drinkers at four cups per day. The average number of previous day cups was 3.4 for past day drinkers.

    Sports, energy drinks and energy shots were consumed by 14% of respondents (totals do not sum to 100 as many respondents reported drinking several different beverages the previous day). The percent of people drinking coffee is on the rise as well as tea and hot drinks in general. Past day drinkers are predominately hot coffee drinkers (93%) with 7% drinking iced or frozen coffee. In the 2014 survey 73% of Americans reported drinking coffee in the past week and 79% in the past year.

    Also significant is the fact that 34% of coffee drinkers drank a gourmet/specialty coffee the previous day. Daily non-gourmet coffee drinking is down to 35% from last year’s 39%. Most coffee is prepared at home (85%) but 35% of previous day coffee drinkers report they purchased coffee away from home. The total exceeds 100 as many respondents drink coffee prepared at home as well as the office, restaurants and coffee shops.

    Single-serve continues its meteoric rise, 29% of previous-day coffee drinkers reported their coffee was prepared with a single-cup brewer. The study showed 15% of American households now own a single-serve brewer with 25% of those who do not have a brewer indicating they will purchase one within six months. Only 53% of those who brewed coffee at home used a drip brewer. The remaining coffee at home is prepared on an espresso machine (12%) or from instant, 12%.

    To learn more: NCA MarketResearchSeries,

    Full tabular data are also available.

    By Dan Bolton

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  • Patent Persuasion – Need to Know

    What tea professionals need to start the week —

    Single-serve lawsuits draw a line in the sand… growers of Honeybush in South Africa voice concern over rising demand… AriZona retains its position as the market leader in ready-to-drink tea in convenience stores… Numi introduces single serve tea in RealCups.

    Patent Persuasion

    Numi Organic Tea announced its new single-cup line last week, about the same time Harney & Sons Fine Teas launched their selection of single-cup teas.

    Neither company chose to partner with Keurig Green Mountain which licenses its K-Cup technology to major tea blenders including Lipton, Snapple, Bigelow, Teavana, Twinings, Tetley, Celestial Seasonings and Tazo.

    LOGO_KeurigGreenMountain_replacesGMCRTheir decision is based on economics in part. The largest brands produce K-Cups in huge quantities paying less per cup and can therefore better afford to pay Keurig Green Mountain a royalty of 6.2 cents per cup.

    There is also a principal involved, a line in the sand with KGM on one side facing a growing number of private label manufacturers including California-based Rogers Family Coffee and Toronto-based Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee. Each of these firms packages their own lines in Keurig-compatible non-licensed capsules and packs tea for companies like Republic of Tea (Rogers).

    Since its patents expired in September 2012, Green Mountain has watched its market share erode. Last year unlicensed packs grew from 7% to 14% share of the $3.1 billion single-serve market, according to data from Mintel International. Green Mountain, which once controlled 80% of the market by value, now controls 20% (with another 13% held by Keurig  manufactured Caribou, Newman’s Own and Eight O’Clock coffee).

    Starbucks has sold 2 billion K-Cups in a successful partnership with Keurig dating to 2011 and currently has a 12% share. Folgers (JM Smucker) has 12% share, according to IRI data (which counts grocery, drug store and mass market sales). Last week Starbucks renegotiated its deal with Keurig, striking terms that had prevented Keurig from partnering with other super-premium brands but gaining access to the lower end of the market for brands like Seattle’s Best. Almost immediately Peets Coffee & Tea announced it would partner with Keurig Green Mountain. Peets had previously offered its coffee only in RealCup™ Even though it now faces competition in the premium segment, Starbucks is quite confident it will be rewarded for expanding its offerings. Single-cups are the fastest growing coffee segment and many more homes are going to dump their Mr. Coffee for a pod machine.

    Keurig believes that by developing superior equipment and partnering with companies like Starbucks to insure a large assortment of licensed brands it will win back market share.

    REALCUP(TM) LOGOIn choosing to contract with Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee, Numi joins a growing number of grocery chains including Kroger and Safeway, large manufacturers such as Kraft and Mondelez International, and independent coffee roasters who believe that open competition leads to product innovation, improved quality and greater consumer value.

    On Feb. 12,  TreeHouse Foods, a multibillion-dollar private label manufacturer, filed suit against Keurig, Inc., and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (collectively known as Keurig Green Mountain) alleging they engaged in anti-competitive acts to unlawfully maintain their monopoly over the cups used in single-serve brewers. A month later The Rogers Family Co. also filed suit alleging Keurig used its monopoly power in the single-serve coffee brewer and coffee pod markets to require its distribution partners to enter into “exclusive anti-competitive agreements designed to maintain Keurig’s monopoly power by excluding competition.”

    In a release announcing the suit, TreeHouse writes that “Green Mountain has announced plans to eliminate the current lineup of K-cup brewers, which function with competitive cups, to exclude competition and force consumers to purchase higher-priced Green Mountain cups. TreeHouse’s lawsuit maintains that any supposed consumer benefits from the new technology are more than outweighed by the harm to competition and consumers by eliminating their choice and forcing them to pay higher prices for Green Mountain cups.”

    “Such an anti-competitive product redesign would force consumers to pay at least 15 percent to 25 percent more for K-Cups, would block consumers from their preferred beverages and would restrain competition,” Oak Brook, Illinois-based TreeHouse said in its complaint.

    Keurig Green Mountain Spokeswoman Suzanne DuLong responded that “We believe these claims are totally without merit, and we intend to defend these lawsuits vigorously.”

    Coffee industry leader Mother Parkers agrees with TreeHouse Foods actions to stop a Keurig® monopoly, according to the company.

    “The patents have expired; consumers have declared that they want choice,” said Bill VandenBygaart, Vice President of Business Development at Mother Parkers. “In our opinion, this action by Keurig as well as the pattern of anti-competitive activities described in the Complaint will continue to hurt the category.”

    Tea and coffee drinkers “should decide which coffee they will brew, not Keurig® or Green Mountain Coffee Roasters®,” said VandenBygaart. “We support efforts to keep the single-serve business open to competition and believe that competition will deliver a better cup of coffee or tea.”

    Numi Co-founder Ahmed Rahim was eager to enter the single-serve business, but it was paramount that the taste he so carefully crafted was present in each cup brewed from a single-serve capsule, according to a press release announcing the decision.

    “I was impressed by the taste delivered by a RealCup™ capsule,” said Rahim. “It was clear to me that the superior taste from the carefully chosen real ingredients used in Numi® Organic Tea’s blends would be found in the teacup and not left behind in the capsule.” In choosing he placed Numi on the “one for all, all for one” side of the line.

    No one wants to lose their monopoly. Keurig Green Mountain aggressively responded to the suit but the company’s decision to erect an even more formidable patent barricade is ultimately going to dampen innovation. In February KGM CEO Brian Kelley unveiled a new Keurig 2.0 brewer that will not work with non-licensed K-Cups. The patent for “intelligent extraction” which depends on a bar-code and radio-frequency ID means that owners will once again be forced to purchase Keurig coffee. It will also thwart the use of refill capsules.

    The reality is that Keurig will find it hard to convince coffee drinkers they must pay for the new brewers through a premium of as much as three times the actual cost of coffee contained in the capsule.  Kelley has promised the technology will produce a better cup of coffee, leading existing Keurig owners to upgrade. Keurig has sold 16 million brewers to date. Installing RFID technology in existing models is not practical. Adding this feature to new less expensive models drives up their cost.

    Keurig may abandon its first-generation brewers but private label capsules are here to stay, as evidenced by the rapid growth of the Hamilton Beach FlexBrew. This non-licensed $49.95 Keurig-compatible brewer in five months is already found in 11,000 outlets. It is outselling Keurig’s comparable K-10 because it not only accepts K-Cups, it accepts refillable cups, has a wire mesh basket for your own freshly ground coffee and will brew European-style filter pad coffee as well as tea pods.

    Keurig 2.0 will certainly offer more features; and with its partners likely make a better cup of coffee. It may well triumph in its niche — but not by unfairly stifling competitive innovation.

    CASE: TreeHouse Foods Inc. v. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc., 14-cv-00905, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

    Source: TreeHouse Foods

    Fast Growth RTD Tea

    While carbonated drinks remain the most widely consumed beverage in America the U.S. Beverage industry reported another year-to-year drop in volume, this time down 1.42% in convenience outlets compared to 2012. In contrast RTD tea is the fastest growing segment of the beverage category.

    SLIDES-RTD_AriZonaTea_greenteaginsengAriZona Tea was the top-selling brand in convenience last year with almost $270 million in sales. Lipton Brisk ($153 million) and Lipton PureLeaf ($125 million) trailed according to data from IRI.

    The biggest growth was Coca-Cola’s FUZE juice fortified with vitamins. Sales increased 250% to $33 million. The bottled tea category generated $1.23 billion sales in convenience outlets in 2013.

    Bottled water showed big gains as soda consumption continues to decline but ready-to-drink tea may be the ultimate victor now that the world’s major bottlers are give it a boost.

    Coca-Cola reported last month that its tea volume grew by 11% last quarter. Sales of Honest Tea are up 25% compared to 2012 and it is now a $100 million brand. FUZE tea and juice blends and Gold Peak shows solid growth as well.

    Market research firm Canadean released its Global Iced/RTD Tea Drinks Report last week noting North America had net volume growth of 74 million gallons (280 million liters). The $5.1 billion U.S. market for RTD tea is expected to increase to $5.3 billion in 2014 with projected growth rate of 6% through 2018.

     “The refreshing taste and perceived natural, healthy image of iced/RTD tea drinks will continue to generate growth and place the category in a good position to take advantage of the slowing carbonates market,” according to Canadean.

    RTD tea is not just gaining customers in the United States.

    Of the impressive 18.7 billion liters forecast to join the market between 2013 and 2018, over 15 billion liters is projected to come from Asia, with a massive contribution from China (as it overcomes its temporary setback) and Indonesia, according to Canadean. “Soft drink categories have continued with healthy double-digit growth, primarily owing to the key categories such as iced/RTD tea drinks and packaged water. The company reports that in Europe most carbonated consumption continued to occur in West Europe (primarily Benelux) in 2012. The region consumes 55% of global volumes but has lost considerable ground to Asia.

    Excessive Demand Depletes Honeybush

    Demand is depleting stocks of Honeybush, a largely wild-harvested South African bush used to make a popular herbal drink.

    SLIDES-INNO_RTD_HoneybushTeaIt has become a popular because of its sweet flavor and it is often praised for its potential health benefits. There are 23 species of Honeybush; several are used to make an herbal beverage. In 1997 the harvest was 27 metric tons but when companies like Tazo, Twinings and Stash offering Honeybush blends in their lineup demand rose to 200 metric tons.

    The challenge is supply.

    Honeybush (Cyclopia sp.) is a legume that grows only in the mountains north of South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. Honeybush is part of the fynbos biome a habitat that is under pressure similar to that experienced by Rooibos which experienced a three-fold increase in demand. The result was widespread cultivation on land farmed at the expense of other native plant species.

    Richard Cowling, of the Department of Botany at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, cautioned that steps should be taken to prevent mistakes by the Rooibos tea industry.

    “What is required is the mainstreaming of biodiversity and sustainability into the policies and practices of the Honeybush industry at this early stage of its development,” Cowling told the Flower Valley Conservation Trust. This could be done through certification championed by the local industry. Certification could ensure that sustainable veld harvesting guidelines are followed, that cultivation only takes place on old lands and that fair labor practices are met, he said.

    There is very limited commercial cultivation of Honeybush so supply has relied heavily on wild bushes. The small plantations that currently exist are only able to supply 25% of the need. Honeybush traders travel into the mountains and harvest what is to be sold. Concerns have been raised that improper harvesting has damaged the existing supply. Wildfires, droughts, and over-harvesting have now raised serious questions about the plants’ long-term survival. Beginning in the mid-2000s, supply began to drop significantly, just at a time when global demand was increasing. The supply problems pose significant challenges to blending for consistent flavor and appearance and prices have now doubled.

    Currently 15% of the Honeybush produced stays in South Africa. The rest is exported, with 85% of those exports going to the United States and Germany. Honeybush producers worry that the plant simply will not survive and work is now being done to establish nurseries and plantations to grow more Honeybush for commercial use.

    These supply concerns are coinciding with efforts by the European Union and South Africa to assist one another with protecting geographic trademarks for products including Honeybush.

    Neill Coetzee at Cape Town South Africa’s Coetzee & Coetzee (Pty) Ltd. is one such exporter. He identified five species that are commercially utilized. Two are slow growing and mainly wild harvested, he writes.

    One species, Cyclopia longifolia, is “a new kid on the block and showing big commercialization prospects,” according to Coetzee. “This tea is very similar to Cyclopia intermedia (the original honeybush) but grows well in cultivation,” writes Coetzee whose firm trades in natural and organic ingredients, medicinal plants, herbal teas, Rooibos and Honeybush.

    Small quantities of Honeybush are grown on lands from Mosselbay to Oudsthoorn (the eastern sides of the Western Cape province) and on the western side of the Eastern Cape province (Joubertina to Kareedouw). There are two Rooibos plantations situated near Honeybush producers but most Rooibos is grown 200 miles away in the Cederberg Mountains near Clanwilliam, considered the heart of Rooibos cultivation.

    Learn more: South African Broadcasting Corporation

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    Tea Biz serves a core audience of beverage professionals in the belief that insightful journalism informs business decision making. Tea Biz reports what matters along the entire supply chain, emphasizing trustworthy sources and sound market research while discarding fluff and ignoring puffery.

    Tea Biz posts are available to use in your company newsletter or website. Purchase reprint and distribution rights for single articles or commission original content.  Click here for details.

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    Dan Bolton

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  • Popular Tea Brands Exceed Threshold for Pesticide Residue

    The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) aired an exclusive report backed by laboratory findings showing several popular tea brands contain pesticide residue exceeding the government mandated threshold.

    Test results from the CBC’s Marketplace Consumer Watchdog Blog can be viewed here.

    Responses from tea companies tested in the report can be viewed here.

    LOGO_Marketplace_ConsumerWatchdog

    Authorities stressed that minute traces of residue found in samples of Lipton, Tetley, Twinings and other popular brands were not a health risk.

    “Health Canada reviewed the information provided by Marketplace and for the pesticides bifenthrin, imidacloprid, acetamiprid, chlorfenapyr, pyridaben, acephate, dicofol and monocrotophos determined that consumption of tea containing the residues listed does not pose a health risk based on the level of residues reported, expected frequency of exposure and contribution to overall diet. Moreover, a person would have to consume approximately 75 cups of tea per day over their entire lifetime to elicit an adverse health effect,” a spokesperson wrote to the CBC in a statement.

    Canada’s Food Inspection Authority (CFIA) previously disclosed concerns about pesticide residue in 2009 and again in 2011 following tests of tea. Marketplace commissioned testing through an accredited lab to see if the teas exceeding Canada’s allowable limits were still in violation. In several instances that was the case.

    Eight of the 10 brands sampled from grocery shelves in Toronto contained multiple chemicals and one brand contained residues from 22 different pesticides. Traces point to the use of endosulfan and monocrotophos, both banned by the United States and Canada as well as China and the European Union.

    Brands purchased at grocers including Loblaws included Uncle Lee’s Legends of China, King Cole and Signal tea. Only Red Rose came back free of pesticide residues.

    Environmental lawyer David Boyd told Marketplace “the presence of so many pesticides on a single product and so many products that exceed the maximum residue limits for pesticides, suggests that we’re seeing very poor agricultural practices in countries, which poses risk to the environment where these products are being grown; which pose risk to the farm workers who are growing these crops, and ultimately pose risk to the Canadians who are consuming these products.”

    “The whole point of pesticides is that they’re chemically and biologically active in parts per million or parts per billion,” Boyd told the CBC. “Pesticides can have adverse effects at what are seemingly very small concentrations,” he said.

    According to Boyd, these results “should raise a red flag for the regulators whose job is to protect the health and safety of Canadians in our environment.”

    Here is a statement from the Tea Association of Canada:

    “In Canada, the Tea Association continues to work with the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) as well as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Group (IGG) on Tea, which is spearheading an agreement to harmonize pesticide standards, making tea production safer for consumers and protecting the livelihoods of millions of smallholder producers worldwide.

    Consumers should continue to consume and enjoy the many varieties of tea for its health promoting and protective effects as well as its delicious taste. “There is now an overwhelming body of research from around the world indicating that drinking tea benefits human health,” says Dr. Carol Greenwood, Professor of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto and a Senior Scientist at the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest.”

    Source: CBC

    See: Uncovering the Truth: Is Tea Full of Pesticides?

    China Tightens Pesticide Use in Tea Gardens

    STiR Tea & Coffee International

    Last November the Chinese Food and Drug Administration proposed a major revision to its food safety laws that will likely be approved by China’s congress late this year.

    14i2_ChinaPesticides_QualifiedTeaResidueChange
    Pesticide residue has steadily declined in China’s tea leaves

    This is a high-priority initiative motivated by recent food safety scandals, according to the U.S.-China Health Products Association. It will clarify government oversight, increase regulatory obligations for food manufacturers and distributors; enhance controls over food products and increase penalties for non-compliance. Individuals sentenced for imprisonment will not be allowed to engage in food manufacturing or distribution in his/her lifetime. During the past three years more than 2,000 people have been prosecuted for food safety-related crimes in China.

    The amendments continue a sweeping reform of the country’s food safety standards following a national scandal in 2008 involving melamine-tainted infant formula. That breech led to the execution of violators to make the point China was serious. Enactment will further efforts to curb pesticide use in tea gardens

    By 2005 93.1% of tea products already had attained or exceed the Green Food standard, according to a presentation by Mao Limin, then chairman of the Zhejiang Tea Industry Chamber of Commerce. Limin told delegates at the 2011 North American Tea Conference that random inspection of tea had reached 100% at government owned gardens. In addition 267,000 acres (108,000 ha) of organic tea plantations had been certified organic and pesticide free.

    The Green Food standard permits chemical pesticides and fertilizers but mandates residue levels meet export standards. The European Union and Japan set the highest thresholds but all trading partners have Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs). Organic certification in China is under the IFOAM rules with annual re-certification. Organic teas for export must comply with rules established by certifying bodies such as Swiss-based IMO, the British Soil Association, the USDA’s National Organic Program and JAS Japan.

    Every pesticide approved for use has a required safe harvest interval, which is the time lapse between application of pesticides and harvest. In China preference is given to pesticides that are not easily dissolved in water. This reduces the portion that actually gets into the liquor. Most chemicals biodegrade leaving residue trapped in the spent leaf.

    14i2_ChinaPesticides_QualifiedTeaExportResidue
    Use of dangerous pesticides has fallen over phase out.

    “It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that there are pesticides used in commercial tea production, and that third-world countries are using some illegal ones, which are probably cheaper,” writes Austin Hodge, founder of Seven Cups Fine Chinese Tea in Tucson, Ariz.

    “The boney finger always gets pointed at China, the great polluter, with pollution in Beijing as bad as when I was a kid in Los Angeles. It can all be explained in three words: cheap prices, commodity, and quantity. For the most part, bugs come in the summer. In the tropics, however, bugs are omnipresent. It’s always summer. It provides for a long growing season and an abundant yield. It is a broader truth that if you want cheap tea and cheap food, pesticides come along with the price,” he wrote in in a T Ching post last May.

    In April 2012 Greenpeace issued a report: Pesticides: Hidden Ingredients in Chinese Tea following an investigation that showed chemical residue from pesticide. The organization sent samples purchased from well-known tea companies to an accredited third-party laboratory that found residues of various types on all 18 of the samples submitted. A total of 29 different pesticides were detected, several known to cause harm. Six samples contained more than 10 different pesticides. Twelve samples showed traces of banned pesticides including methomyul, endosulfan and fenvalerate which are known to impair fertility, harm unborn children and cause heritable genetic damage.

    14i2_ChinaPesticides_QualifiedTeaProductsa
    Inspections show greater compliance over time.

    What the report did not state is that most of the residue was within established standards.

    “If you take the considerable trouble of comparing the Greenpeace data with EU pesticide limits for the 28 chemicals mentioned then 5 of the 18 teas accused actually fall below the MRL limits for all 28 and two teas exceed by a trace level of 1 mg/kg on two chemicals,” writes Nigel Melican, founder of TeaCraft, a widely acclaimed British tea consultancy. He goes on to say: “This leaves 11 teas non-compliant for  one  or  more  pesticides, were they to be sold in the EU.”

    The sampled teas were from local Chinese vendors and not subject to more stringent export rules.

    “Nowhere in the report does Greenpeace China suggest that the non-compliant teas are representative of China teas presented for export – but commentators in the USA and UK have erroneously and immediately jumped to this conclusion,” he writes.

    More troubling is the CBC investigation of tea for sale in Canada.

    Source: STiR Tea & Coffee Industry International, March-April 2014.

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    Tea Biz serves a core audience of beverage professionals in the belief that insightful journalism informs business decision making. Tea Biz reports what matters along the entire supply chain, emphasizing trustworthy sources and sound market research while discarding fluff and ignoring puffery.

    Tea Biz posts are available to use in your company newsletter or website. Purchase reprint and distribution rights for single articles or commission original content.  Click here for details.

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    Dan Bolton

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  • Pimp My Tea

    China’s CNTV assigned a reporter to visit Los Angeles last week to describe the tea industry in America.

    The serious video report, hilariously but aptly titled Pimp My Tea, includes an interview with International Tea Importer (ITI, Inc.) and Chado Tea Room Founder Devan Shah, a visit to the American Tea Room in Beverly Hills and conversations with tea drinkers.

    In America “the tea is infused with all sorts of interesting flavors” explains the reporter as the camera pans pouches labeled Macaroon (cacao bits, rooibos, coconut, licorice) and Toasted Fig (pu-erh, figs, dandelion roots, coconut flakes and fennel) or Brioche, advertised as “aromatic as a French patisserie” with almonds, cinnamon and safflower blossoms.

    To a purist, concoctions like Chamomile Lemon and Dry Desert lime seem quite ordinary beside Carrot Curry and Beef Cabbage, Spinach Chive and Broccoli Cilantro “tea.” The blends described above no doubt appear to the Chinese exactly like the garish, gaudy and extravagant embellishments gangbangers use to transform 1970s caddies, a vintage Ford Fairlane or Lincoln Continental into pimpmobiles.

    The Chinese treasure several blends such as Jasmine green tea but for the most part consumers there seem content with tea processed much as it was a 1000 years ago. In America the blends featured in most shops were developed within a few months of launch. They appear and disappear with the season.

    Source: CNTV Culture Express

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    Dan Bolton

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  • More Holiday Tea Trends

    Last week I talked about teaware and accessory trends for 2014 and how that could affect the holiday retail market. This week I look more closely at the tea side (with a brief foray into related products) and some interesting sales strategies.

    There are hundreds of sources of specialty tea in the marketplace in standalone retail tea shops, in grocery and gourmet food markets, in online tea shops. Tea enthusiasts are not hesitant to explore the spectrum and seek out new and unique lines. When it comes to the holidays, however, the landscape shifts a bit.

    Retailers need to consider that the holiday buyer is often NOT the tea-interested party, but rather a loved one looking to find a great gift. It is important to make it easy for these shoppers to find the perfect gifts to suit their needs. This is where packaging, positioning and marketing will be even more important.

    Tea Packaging/Marketing

    DavidsTea Tea TreeDAVIDsTEA went all-in on the holiday packaging this year. There are mugs with Fair Isle sweater patterns, holiday tea collections in stylish boxes, and even tree ornaments that arrive full of tea. They have combined this effort with strategic email communications that present a handful of their most visually appealing products with quick links to purchase. They have already sold out of their “24 Days of Tea” Advent calendar. Creative packaging catches eyes and sales.

    Single box gift sets offer convenience and suggest to a customer that they are purchasing something that has a seal of approval from a tea expert. Harney & Sons Fine Teas, for example, knows their market and emphasizes “tradition,” creating a holiday gift offering that highlights a well-loved tea blend along with an infuser mug and gourmet jam. Teavana takes a similar approach with their 12 Holidays of Tea set. Emphasize your experience and knowledge of what tea lovers want.

    The best products don’t make a business successful if customers don’t know you have them. In your store and in your online presence, make sure you are helping customers find what they need. Storefront sellers have become adept at product placement, using visual cues to draw attention. Online sellers must do the same. Companies like Tay Tea are exercising good practice in creating a separate page on their site where their “holiday gifts” are listed together. There is nothing particularly “holiday” about the items, but by grouping them and promoting them in this way, they are highlighting existing products as having gift potential.

    An Add On about Add-Ons

    Matcha Mint Julep Lip Balm PicAs you think about your tea collections and creative ways to group and sell products, it is also useful to consider add-on products. We often see tea tins combined with teaware or accessories. But how about something different? Companies like iHeartTeas and Glenburn Tea Direct are creating tea cosmetics and bath and body products.

    Books are another useful add-on item for visual appeal. You could display fictional offerings, like Laura Childs’ tea shop mysteries, non-fiction like Mary Lou Heiss and Robert Heiss’s “The Story of Tea” or Sarah Rose’s “For All the Tea in China,” or perhaps essays like “A Tea Reader: Living Life One Cup at a Time” by one of your favorite Tea Biz writers. (wink wink)

    Okay, tea retailers, what are your holiday plans to catch attention and make sales this season?

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