Tea is the most consumed beverage after water & has got a nearly 5000 years of history. Tea is a way of life in Great Britain. Following Portuguese Princess Catherine’s introduction of tea in 1660 AD, Brits slowly developed their love affair with this wonderful beverage. Eventually it became the national beverage in the country. Tea also provided Brits refreshment, health, stimulation and relaxation to build a massive empire all the world. Now, Tea mass market is dominated by large multinational players like Unilever, Tata, Sara Lee etc. The owner of No 2 British brand, PG Tips is considering quitting the tea business as the traditional cuppa is shunned by a generation of consumers raised on coffee and fashionable herbal tea (Correctly called as “Tisanes / Herbal Infusions”).

Unilever pointed to a slump in sales of black tea as it raised the “for sale” sign over a portfolio of brands that includes Lipton, Brooke Bond and Pukka Herbs.

Still 100 million cups supped every day. But Brits are increasingly drinking coffee in their tea breaks, with 95 million cups downed every day, according to the British Coffee Association. This must be due to emerging service sector / coffee house concept which consumers can enjoy a cup of coffee on the go.

Unilever’s chief executive, Mr. Alan Jope, said traditional tea drinkers were a dying breed, with drinkers of black tea “getting older and consuming less and starting to fall over”. He said traditional “builder’s tea” drinkers were “not into experimenting and trying new products”.

Young consumers, however, are “experience-seeking”, explained Jope of a market shift that has caused the standard cuppa to fall out of favour in developed markets while upmarket brews, which promise everything from a good night’s sleep to an energy boost cash in on the demand for “wellness” products.

View Point

a. Black tea is also healthy as green and oolong teas even though there are some minor deviations. But traditional British black tea is consumed with sugar and milk. If you can consume pure black tea, it has also got Theaflavins and Thearubigins which are anti-oxidants in nature. The effect of these is quite similar to 6 catechins available in green and white teas.

b. Herbal infusion marketers are trying to position their herbs over tea. But tea is truly special more than any other beverage in the world: http://www.teawithnipun.com/2018/10/14/why-tea-is-so-special/

c. China is the birthplace of tea, but while the traditional British tea culture is declining in Europe, it is emerging in the far east since younger generation has started appreciate western culture. So isn’t Unilever having a direction here ?

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References

1. Original Post: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jan/30/pg-tips-and-lipton-tea-poised-for-sale-as-young-people-switch-to-coffee