Not just a summer hit: ice tea all year round

By: Budai Klára Date: 2025. 06. 05. 13:28

Ice tea sales have developed well recently: in 2024 volume sales exceeded the previous year’s level by 7%, while value sales increased by 9%.

This article is available for reading in Trade magazin 2025/6-7.

Taste, innovation and inspiration

Kátai Moána
brand manager
Szentkirályi Magyarország

“In the first quarter of 2025 the expansion continued, with double-digit growth in both volume and value sales for the segment as a whole. This suggests that interest in ice tea continues to grow rapidly and the sector is on a sustained positive trajectory”,

says Moána Kátai, brand manager of Szentkirályi Magyarország.

The weights of manufacturer brands and private labels are changing dynamically, but the popularity of the latter appears to be moderating.

One of the biggest challenges for manufacturers in 2024 was the introduction of the DRS system. For the Lipton brand 2024 was the year of strawberry green tea. The new ice tea flavour quickly won the hearts of consumers. Available in 500ml and 1,500ml sizes, it is the ideal choice for busy weekdays, picnics, family lunches or get-togethers with friends. Fans of basic fruity flavours can also find their favourites in Lipton’s Zero range, which is available in a variety of sizes.

Long hot summers mean a long season

Márton Vecsei
head of soft drink brands
HELL ENERGY
Magyarország

Márton Vecsei, head of soft drink brands at HELL ENERGY Magyarország Kft. points out that the previous strong price growth trend, which was mainly driven by international brands, now seems to be subsiding.

“With spring technically gone and the weather immediately turning to summer this year too, we don’t want to leave our regular customers out in the heat. We expect demand to rise from March and enthusiasm to last until the end of September”,

adds Márton Vecsei.

This year HELL ENEREGY is expanding its ice tea range with two new sugar-free variants: Green Tea Fusion Zero and Strawberry Rooibos Zero. Plus one of last year’s favourites, the mango-pineapple ice tea is also making a comeback. The cornerstone of XIXO’s strategy is to offer a quality alternative at an affordable price, by this guaranteeing a good price-value ratio.

Although classic flavours are still the most popular, exciting new flavours keep also popping up in the summer

Citrus for summer, plum for winter

Lemon and peach flavours are responsible for the vast majority of Nestea sales.

Patrícia Peres
senior brand manager
Maspex Olympos

“In 2024 we introduced 330ml cans in these two main flavours to complement the 0.5-litre and 1.5-litre PET bottles that have been on the market for a long time. We are very proud that our winter limited edition, snowy plum, enjoys unbroken success year after year. In 2025 we focused on making the recipes for the zero-sugar versions of the lemon and peach varieties and the citrus-flavoured green tea even more delicious”,

informs Peres Patrícia, senior brand manager of Maspex Olympos Kft.

Attila Kaszás
managing director
Viwa product Europa

Viwa Product Europa Kft. entered the ice tea segment as a new player in 2024, launching its first product, an organic white tea-based drink with mango flavour and fortified with vitamins.

“We believe the key to the viability of branded products is their special content and complex composition, which in our case is provided by the added vitamins”,

underlines managing director Attila Kaszás.

In the company’s experience there is growing demand for sugar-free alternatives, so they have tailored the product selection to meet these expectations. All of their products contain vitamins C, D3 and B, and are made exclusively from organic ingredients. //

Ice tea is going strong

According to the NIQ retail index, Hungarians consumers purchased nearly 125 million litres of ice tea in the value of more than HUF 43bn between March 2024 and February 2025.

Guest writer:
Zsófia Horváth
senior analytic
insights associate
NIQ

This was a 9% increase in both value and volume compared to the same period last year. Value sales were split 87% vs. 13% between manufacturer brands and private labels – manufacturer brands continued to increase their value dominance in the category.

Black tea dominated in terms of market share by tea type, accounting for three-quarters of value sales.

Green tea ranked second, realising one-fifth of value sales.

Peach was the most popular flavour with a 25% share, followed by lemon ice teas at 22%.

Sweetened ice teas accounted for three-quarters of the market in value terms. 1.1-1.5-litre products led the market and realised nearly three-quarters value sales.

In packaging plastic was dominant, accounting for more than 90% of the market.

Volume sales climbing

In 2024 ice tea was the winner among soft drinks with a 10% increase in volume sales.

Guest writer:
Albert Szőke
senior consultant
YouGov Shopper

The volume growth was driven by the increase in basket size: while in 2023 we bought an average of 3.2 litres of ice tea at a time, in 2024 we purchased 3.5 litres. 55-56% of households continued to buy ice tea on an annual basis. The frequency of purchase was also stable at 12 times a year. Ice tea’s average price rose from HUF 212/litre in 2022 to HUF 279/litre in 2023, but then it remained at this level in 2024. Last year the discounter channel’s volume share was close to 42% and its value share was 38%. //