Ice teas keep going greener

In Hungary ice tea is still considered a premium beverage, with strong manufacturer brands. Because it is relatively new to the market and is easy to substitute, ice tea is vulnerable to negative periods such as the current recession. – Ice tea is a convenience product and consumers reacted to worsening economic conditions by cutting down on their consumption and by switching to cheaper ice teas – says Bálint Jencs, RAUCH Hungária Kft.’s marketing director. This led to sales dropping by a couple of percent, because of which premium brands lowered prices. Result: from the 3 key market players only Rauch kept their market position -they even managed to expand by 6 percent in value sales. Anikó Ágh, brand manager with FÁÜ Zrt. told us that 0.5-litre and 1.5-litre PET bottles are still the characteristic packaging formats of leading brands. She added that in the last few years the green tea segment managed to expand further. In 2010 Lipton Ice Tea put apple and mango green teas on the market, increasing their green tea sales by 16 percent and their market share in the segment by 2 percent. Gramex 2000 Kft.’s main profile is manufacturing private label products (but they also have their own Sconto range). Owner-managing director János Gréczi says about the PL category: – I do not see big changes. The 1.5-litre packaging unit is still dominant and green teas seem to get closer to the traditionally most popular flavours, lemon and peach. A successful manufacturer product sooner or later comes out in PL version too. Major brands are preparing for the summer season with numerous novelties. Consumers are thirsty for new flavours! Éda Pogány, communications director of Coca-Cola Hungary informed Trade magazin that this year they renew their Nestea green tea selection and their Nestea lemon black tea will have a new flavour, which is even more popular among consumers. This year RAUCH launches two innovations: the maracuja version of IceT in unique black bottle and new recipes for lemon and peach black teas, making their taste more fruity and intense. Lipton Ice Tea also appears in shops with new flavours this spring: the new Lipton Ice Tea Raspberry is expected to be a great success. As it is with categories with a premium image, brand care and unique marketing ideas are very important. The communication of RAUCH’s Nativa brand was built around the website www.lifecoach.hu. This year the company started the Nativa ambassador programme, in which the company selects 3 people every 3 months and helps them in mental and physical recreation by offering them yoga lessons, fitness programmes, restaurant dinners, cultural programmes, etc. In exchange participants share their experiences in writing on the website and on Facebook. Lipton Ice Tea will continue with their ‘Be positive!’ campaign with another TV ad featuring Hugh Jackman. They will also appear in parks, beaches and music festivals, offering special entertainment for young consumers.