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Tea has historically been at the heart of British culture, with the offer of a cuppa being a staple of hospitality. However, research shows that this may be changing, with young people exhibiting a preference for alternative drinks such as water, iced tea, and diet soda. One student, Gillie Owen aged 20, suggests tea is seen as “an old person’s drink”, and others like Layba, also aged 20, simply don’t like the taste. Typhoo Tea, one of the country’s oldest tea firms, recently collapsed due to a drop in sales, highlighting the declining affection for traditional tea. However, the company has been rescued by vape maker Supreme, whose chief executive says he is keen to develop new products under the Typhoo brand that appeal to the younger generation, such as iced tea and “healthier drinks”.
Tea sales have fallen by 4.3% compared to just two years ago, according to findings from analysts at NielsenIQ, while a recent survey by Mintel suggests that less than half of the UK population, 48%, drink tea at least once per day. The same survey also indicates that traditional tea faces “intense competition” from fruit, herbal, green, and specialty black teas. Sales of ordinary tea account for just £377m, a small fraction of the almost £1bn spent on instant coffee, which is also being challenged by the global trend in ready-to-drink coffee.
Polina Jones from NielsenIQ suggests that while people are not falling out of love with tea as such, the landscape is changing, with many more non-traditional tea options available that are attracting younger drinkers. This means that tea brands such as Twinings now offer canned sparkling tea, while brands such as Rioba kombucha have proved popular with students and young professionals buying meal deals. Jones believes that, if this trend persists, tea brands need to reinvent themselves and figure out how best to adapt to the ready-to-drink trend.
Another challenge for traditional black tea makers is that even where it is seen as a staple, the costs are rising, so people are buying in smaller and smaller volumes. Government figures show that in 1974, the average family bought around 68g, equivalent to roughly 30 tea bags, of tea per person each week, but this has fallen to 19g (around 10 teabags) per person as of 2023. This trend towards smaller volumes is likely to continue, threatening to chip away at the size of the market, especially where younger generations fail to pick up the habit as they get older
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