More colourful tea bag segment

With the arrival of cooler weather, the tea season begins. This category has escaped the disruptive trends of recent times and market players don’t expect any major structural changes this season either.

“In Hungary the fruit tea category accounts for roughly half of the market, followed by herbal, black and green tea”, says Orsolya Papi, brand manager of Jacobs Douwe Egberts Hu Zrt.

.

The majority of innovations are taking place in the fruit tea category

Oszkár Laknerfi
general manager
Mokate International
Hungary

The popularity of fruit and green teas continued to grow at the expense of black tea, which has been a trend for years, says Oszkár Laknerfi, general manager of Mokate International Hungary Kft., who adds:

“What stood out a little from this usual trend last season was the quite big drop in sales of Christmas seasonal products”.

Fruit and green teas continue to gain ground at the expense of black tea — a trend that has been ongoing for years

Factors beyond price

Balázs Rádi
CEO
Herbária

In the first half of 2025 there was a 6.6% average price increase on the market, so consumers are also very price-sensitive in this category and they actively search for promotions and discounted products. The particularly strong flu epidemic in winter and spring this year boosted herbal tea sales, informs Balázs Rádi, the CEO of Herbária Zrt.

Sales of herbal teas gained momentum in virtually all channels in the first half of the year.

“However, we see stagnation in the premium tea segment, which can be attributed to two reasons. The first is the continuous rise in temperatures in recent years, with short winters and long hot summers. The other reason is the weak Hungarian economy and the decline in consumer confidence”,

he explains.

Autumn-winter flavours and an iconic gift

Jacobs Douwe Egberts caters to consumer tastes when developing the portfolios of its two brands, Pickwick and Sir Morton. It places great emphasis on fruit teas, with most of its new products appearing in this category. They have introduced spicy fruit teas to the market, dominated by apple and orange flavours, enriched with complementary tea spices, in line with the autumn weather and mood. Just like every year, the company’s limited edition Christmas gift boxes will appear on store shelves this year – their Selection tea box will also be available in 2025.

Farewell to cellophane

The shelf prices of Loyd – distributed by Mokate – haven’t changed dramatically, but the proportion of sales in promotion increased significantly. During the season almost all purchases are made in promotion, as a large part of purchases is concentrated in this half of the year. Some consumers have replaced brand loyalty with bargain hunting and remain loyal to flavours at most. This year the selection of available flavours has been expanded with cold-brew variants in the summer and cherry Loyd arrives this autumn. Plus products are no longer wrapped in cellophane and they are sold in 100% environmentally friendly paper boxes.

Beyond market trends, factors like weather or emerging outbreaks and illnesses also influence the length and intensity of the season

Classic herbs, combined fruit flavours

Last season Herbária’s success wasn’t only because of the flu. The My Favorite Teas Christmas gift box selections (which were revamped for the holiday season) and the Winter Magic product line also generated outstanding sales. Herbária offers single-component tea bag fruit teas and flavoured green teas as well. These products are also available as a mix of four different flavours in a box. In 2025 the company launched its Ice Tea range in four flavours. These products dissolve well in cold water and have a refreshing and invigorating effect in the summer heat. Plus a new fruit tea line is currently being launched: two fruit flavours have been combined in the products, with great emphasis on the packaging.