STiR coffee and tea magazine

STiR coffee and tea 15 estimated at 140,000 tons per year. Thus, Lipton's capacities will make it possible to supply more than 10% of the market. The list of other leading players includes "May" (brands "Maisky," Curtis, Richard) and "Orimi" (Greenfield, Tess) According to Ramaz Chanturia, head of Roschaikofe, the demand for tea in Russia is steadily growing, which could create conditions for expanding production by leading local players. Analysts believe an interest in leading local players may be related to signing long-term contracts with leading Russian retail chains to produce tea under private labels. As Chanturia also believes in the face of declining purchasing power in Russia, pri- vate-label tea is becoming more in demand due to its low price. In general, the Russian tea market was able to withstand the consequences of the current crisis in Russia. Official market sta- tistics also confirm this. According to NielsenIQ, last year, tea sales in Russia in volume terms decreased by 5.7% (of these, sales of loose-leaf tea decreased by 6.6%, and tea bags - by 3.6%) although they grew by 12.3% in value year-on-year basis to RUB 210 billion ($2,56 billion), which became mainly due to a signifi- cant rise of tea prices (up to 20%) in Russia in 2022. Tea bags account for 69% of sales in volume terms. 93% of the market accounts for domestic producers. Generally, the Russian tea market is characterized by strong traditional consumer preferences. Black tea is the most popular variety in Russia, occupying about 80% of the market. The main problem of the Russian market is its dependence on imported raw materials: the main suppliers are India, China, Kenya, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia. In Russia, only a few climatic zones are suitable for tea plantings. There are plantations in the Krasnodar Territory and Adygea, but they cannot meet the do- mestic demand. There is also the ever-growing interest in non-standard types of tea, which are becoming an alternative to sweet, carbonated drinks or bottled iced tea with added sugar. Since the 2010s, tea consumption in Russia has been declin- ing. Domestic consumption has decreased by almost 100,000 metric tons over the past 10-15 years. In coffee, in 2020, the research company Euromonitor International estimated the Russian coffee market (beans and ground) at 62.9 billion rubles. The top five brands were Jockey (owned by the Orimi group), with a share of almost 14%; Nes- presso, with 12%; Paulig, with 12%; Lavazza and Nescafe Dolce Gusto, each with a share of 5.5%. There is no data for 2021 and 2022 from the company. The Grand NN coffee factory is one of Russia's largest instant coffee producers. NielsenIQ, according to which, over the year (until May 2023), the overall range has decreased by approximately 12.4% to 9.360 units in the tea market. For the year to May 2023, tea sales fell 5.8% in volume and grew 8.7% in value year-on-year. In total cash sales of hot drinks, tea accounts for 35.2%, instant, and natural coffee - 48.5% and 14%, respectively, and cocoa - 2.3%. Starbucks finally left Russia on May 23, while a local rapper, Timati businessman Anton Pinsky, and the Sindika company acquired its local assets. The deal amounted to about 500 million rubles, according to Anton Pinsky. The partners have launched a new coffee chain on the for- mer Starbucks sites in Russia under the Stars Coffee brand. According to Pinsky, the new chain managed to "qualitatively improve the product" and expand the range. Anton Pinsky said, "The coffee was softer because Star- bucks had a problem with dark roasting, which made the drinks bitter. And they weren't doing well with food because all 30,000 cafes worldwide offered the same thing. In this sense, our hands are free; we have added variety and raised the price to the level of inflation correction. Previously, the average bill was around 430 rubles; ours became 580, but this happened due to the ex- pansion of the assortment. In terms of profit and turnover, we now have things going much better," In March 2022, Nestle announced that it was suspending investments in Russia and refusing advertising in the country. However, it denied closing its Russian enterprises, including the factory in Timashevsk. It was later announced that the company would produce and sell only essential goods in Russia, such as baby or medical nutrition. At the same time, coffee production did not stop. The Russian assets of Ekaterra, a tea brand that decided to leave Russia after February 24, 2022, were sold to the United Tea Company LLC, one of Russia's largest tea producers. In Russia, Ekaterra (since renamed Lipton Tea and Infu- sions) produced tea under the brand names Lipton Yellow La- bel, Saito, and Brooke Bond at a factory in St. Petersburg. Ac- cording to the city administration, in 2019, the factory processed up to 16,000 metric tons of products yearly. In August 2022, Ekaterra announced its withdrawal from the Russian market and suspension of production in the country. According to esti- mates of the Russian Association of Tea and Coffee Producers (Roschaikofe), the volume of the Russian tea market is currently Double B is a popular Russian coffee chain that started in 2012.

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