Magazine: Is the reign of black tea about to end?

There was a small expansion in the tea market last year and the driving force behind the growth was mainly real fruit teas, because they became available at more favourable prices, which obviously entailed an increased demand for them.

Unfortunately 2013 didn’t start this well: sales have been falling since October 2012 and according to Regina Homoki, Unilever Hungary’s junior brand manager February-March 2013 brought a 13-percent drop in sales and the decline continued in the following months too. Alíz Sipőcz, brand manager with Douwe Egberts Hungary Zrt. is of the opinion that the buying structure is undergoing changes. When the economic recession commenced people started buying less, but these days consumption is moving in the direction of cheaper products. This also means that a growing proportion of products is purchased in promotion. Hypermarkets used to be the main places of buying tea but in the last few years discounters and Hungarian-owned chains became more important than they had been before. Tea types: the proportion of black teas and flavoured black teas in sales keeps reducing, while real fruit teas and other smaller segments (e.g. leaf teas) are strengthening their positions. Helga Ruscsák, junior brand manager with Maresi Foodbroker Kft. told our magazine that consumers are increasingly health conscious, therefore the green, herbal and fruit tea segments receive more attention from shoppers. Tea bags are still the dominant format and according to Gabriella Horváth, HERBÁRIA Zrt.’s franchise and marketing manager tea sales improved in both the bag and the sachet format. Among fruit teas sales of products with fruit bits augmented one and a half times more than sales of tea bag fruit teas. In November 2012 Douwe Egberts Hungary put 6 new Sir Morton products (4 fruit teas and 2 herbal teas) on the market. This year the company updates its Pickwick flavoured black teas and real fruit teas. In September 2013 further new Sir Morton flavours and larger, innovative packaging units appear in the fruit and green tea segments. Unilever Hungary introduces three 40-tea bag Saga products this year in forest fruit, raspberry and sour cherry flavours. Natália Horváth, the company’s junior trade marketing manager told us that Saga’s three new green teas appeared in stores this August, in three (lemon, raspberry, plain) 20-tea bag versions. Herbária focuses on two key aspects in its innovation activity: ‘right consumer price’ and ‘premium quality’. The company’s Tea Garden product range has been developed recently and consists of black tea-based fruit teas. With the new tea bag products, available in 10-tea bag version in 8 flavours, Herbária targets price-sensitive consumers. In the fruit tea segment they introduced the HAPPY product line as a co-branded product. This year they expect further strengthening from HerbaKids, a fruit tea that contains herbs too and is illustrated with the ever-popular Smurfs characters. Maresi Foodbroker Kft.’s Twinings is a real premium brand that is really strong in the black tea market. Real fans drink the leaf version but tea bag is still the more popular version. In the autumn of 2012 Twinings put lemon flavoured Earl Grey on the market. Twinings selection packs have been available in stores for years – compiled not only from black teas but from fruit and herbal teas as well.