Tea Association of Canada:Tea Trends
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Transcript of Tea Association of Canada:Tea Trends
“Tea is exploding in Canada,”
says Louise Roberge, president
of the Tea Association of Canada.
And that’s no exaggeration.
Recent data from Statistics
Canada and research firm
NPD Group confirm that tea
consumption among most age
categories from teenagers to
baby boomers is growing.
It’s tea’s time
u
October | November 2011 19
IT’S TEA’S TIME. “Canadians drink a lot of tea,” says Vince
Sgabellone, an account manager with NPD Group that conducted one of
the recent studies on tea consumption for the Tea Association of Canada.
“Sixty per cent of Canadians we polled say they drink hot tea at least once
a week, which is a higher number than we expected. And on average
hot tea drinkers consume approximately 6.5 cups of tea per week.”
Not only is tea consumption growing; so is the variety of teas
consumers are demanding.
Indeed, Rick Winslow of Nielsen, who has conducted extensive
research on tea, says there’s a “specialty tea movement going on whereby
consumers are bringing the out-of-home experience into their homes.”
Ron Sadler, chairman of the Tea Association of Canada and the
managing director of Twinings Canada, thinks grocery retailers are missing
out on an opportunity to jumpstart tea sales.
“Retailers should understand that tea is often an impulse purchase
so it’s important to offer something new and different to capture their
attention.
Just positioning tea in a secondary location, for instance having a
basket of tea, or a Tea-of-the-Month that includes some origin information
near the bakery aisle, can increase sales.”
A Multicultural Society with Diverse Tastes Much of Canada’s growing multicultural population originates from tea-consuming regions in
Asia, so demand for more exotic teas reflective of the countries people come from is growing.
This is the main reason specialty coffee shops are now expanding their tea selection and it’s a
good reason for retailers to do the same.
“It’s no secret that people want to be healthier and tea is a natural product. It has zero calories,
no proteins, no salt and no additives,” explains Tea Association of Canada’s Louise Roberge.
Green tea, for example, is the only hot beverage earning Health Canada’s seal of approval for
its antioxidant properties.
The facts speak for themselves, says Roberge: more consumers are turning to tea as their
hot beverage of choice.
SOUTH ASIAN
OTHER
CHINESE
FILIPINO
WEST ASIAN
KOREAN
JAPANESE
Percentage Of Immigration 2001-2006
from Traditionally Tea Drinking Countries
Source: Statistics Canada and CIBC World Markets.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
22%
32%
28%
9%
5%
4%
1%
Here are the top trends Nielsen
has identified:
> Consumers are looking for new
experiences. There’s been a big
surge in growth for specialty teas,
particularly flavoured black and
flavoured green teas.
> Growing demand for single-
serve hot beverages. The trend
began with single-serve
coffee, but now consumers
are using their single-serve
coffee machines for tea too.
The growth began in the
US, where 15 per cent of total
tea bag sales being sold today
are single serve. Keurig K-cups
are a popular choice among tea
drinkers.
> Specialty tea purchases are more
typical among wealthier, two-
member households.
> Regionally, Ontario and the
Maritimes have more traditional
tea drinkers whereas Western
Canada has an affinity for more
exotic and flavourful teas.
> Research has shown that
consumers get confused by the
large array of teas. Retailers
can minimize the confusion by
rethinking how and where they
display tea products.
TOP TEA TRENDS
u
A strong desire to Embrace Healthier Lifestyles
When Longo’s launched its Aromate
Café in 2008, it was an instant
success. The scent of on-site freshly ground
and roasted coffee beans lured consumers
to the new kiosk within its store. Today,
Longo’s has expanded its offering with its
own line of teas.
It was a smart move. Sales have been
increasing by double digits year over year,
says Mary-Ellen Schick, category manager-
grocery for Longo’s Support Center, as she
explains why Longo’s chose to add tea to its
hot beverage offerings in its Aromate Café.
“The original concept of Aromate was
to build a hot beverage destination and tea
was an important part of that right from the
beginning,” explains Mary-Ellen Schick. “We
were able to offer a very wide selection of
loose leaf teas including white, green, black,
oolong and herbal. We also have a special
Aromate Herbal Blend, which is one of our
best sellers.”
The unique focus on tea has also
been good for business in the grocery aisles.
“We have been able to develop
ongoing relationships with our customers —
they are able to find what they are looking
for, but we can also offer them a variety of
new options and choices for them to choose
from,” says Schick.
Part of Longo’s sales growth in tea has
to do with the growing recognition of tea as
a health product. Schick says consumers are
“increasingly more health conscious and as
such, people are choosing more green teas,
more herbals and single estate teas.”
As part of its marketing strategy,
Longo’s offers tea accessories such as tea
pots, strainers and gift sets with its tea and
demand for such accessories is growing.
It also offers tea tasting at its Aromate
Café and tea prep demos, conducted by
specialists trained by its tea suppliers.
A Hot & Steamy Sales Boost
RETAIL PROFILE
uSELLING TEA: A BUSINESS MODEL
The Tea Emporium opened its doors in 2001 and is launching a unique
store-within-a-store program at Loblaws’ high profile Maple Leaf Gardens location in downtown Toronto.
Owner Shabnam Weber and her business partner, Frank Weber have a passion for tea and for business. They already operate programs in many of Loblaws Toronto stores but the new program will be more of a mini Tea Emporium. “It’s a 10-by-10 tea market within the store itself, not just on the periphery,” explains Shabnam. To complete the customer experience the tea market will cross-merchandise complimentary products such as tea spices and accessories.
> Set-up in-store “tea day” demos focusing on new teas and how to prepare them.
> Partner with your tea suppliers; they’re your best source of information and
support in helping you grow sales in your tea category.
> Know consumer market trends and be prepared to adjust your in-store sales strategies to take advantage of them.
> Offer taste-testing sessions; become a “tea sommelier.” A great resource and information on tea sommelier training is the Tea Association of Canada’s web site: www.tea.ca.
> Create cross-merchandising displays by combining specialty teas from China, Kenya, and India, for example, with foods from that country or region.
> Shake-up your traditional tea display by creating shelf space in other areas of your store. For example, display specialty teas beside your sweetener aisle or create a “healthy tea” section in the natural and health foods area.
TOP TIPS TO BOOST SALES IN YOUR HOT TEA CATEGORY
A HOT COMMODITYTea is the world’s second most
popular hot beverage after water
and its popularity in North America
is surging. If you’re not promoting
tea in your store, you’re missing the
opportunity to boost sales in your
hot beverage category.
Here’s why:
> 50% of tea drinkers turn to the
retail channel to make choices on
new tea brands, new blends and
new flavours.
> Close to 60% of Canadians drink
hot tea. The under 34 age group
drink more of the new teas, such as
white, green, flavored and herbal.
> Hot tea drinkers consume 6.5 cups
per week.
> Almost 50% of tea consumed at
home is black, 29% is green and
16% is herbal.
> 20% of tea drinkers drink both
black and green teas.
> 64% of tea drinkers add a
sweetener to their tea, with honey
being the most popular followed
by sweetener substitutes such as
Stevia and Agave.