STiR coffee and tea magazine

56 STiR coffee and tea | 2026 Quarter 2 Summer (Jun/July/Aug) Consumers craving sophisticated alternatives to soda and wine to pair with meals are drawn to premium products like Copenhagen Sparkling Tea, founded by award-winning sommelier Jacob Kocemba (left) and his business partner Bo Sten Hansen (right). High-fructose peach teas from a soda fountain are giving way to cold-brew loose teas with natural sweeteners, paired with unique botanicals and herbs. Ryl Tea has anchored its zero-sugar lineup on a blend of both, a move that speaks directly to younger consumers who scan the ingredient panel before they ever register the price tag. Wize Tea, an iced tea made with coffee leaves, opted for a cane sugar formulation that is significantly lower than that of typical soft drinks. Their 355ml cans only contain 4g of sugar and clock in at 20 calories. The more consequential shift, though, is in how brands are reframing the flavor conversa- tion entirely. Jon Silverman, senior vice president of Spindrift Ventures, captured the strategic pivot precisely with the launch of their new iced tea line: "For too long, ready-to-drink tea has trained peo- ple to expect sweetness first and tea second. "We flipped that thinking. We started with real brewed tea, with all its depth and character, and layered in fruit to complement it. The goal wasn't to overpower the tea with sugar. It was to create a drink where both the tea and the fruit shine." Spindrift's new non-sparkling SKUs, including Blood Orange Black Tea and Peach Green Tea, treat the leaf as a flavor base rather than a back- ground note masked by handfuls of sugar. That reframing has strategic implications well beyond one brand's product line. Cold-Brew Continues If sugar was the old mechanism for adding per- ceived value to a cheap tea base, cold-brew is the new one. The coffee industry quickly grasped cold-brew as a significant growth driver, and tea is just getting started. Cold-brewing reduces tannin extraction, producing a smoother, less bitter beverage that requires signifi- cantly less sweetener to be palatable for the masses. The sensory difference is one consumers seem willing to shell out for. Dataintelo notes that cold-brew tea commands a retail price premium of 35-50% over conventionally brewed iced teas, a margin advantage that has not gone unnoticed by the category's largest players. Lipton Teas and Infusions recently launched cold-brew pyramid teabag packs in the UK, specifically designed for use in water bottles. The move from this legacy brand is telling. It signals that the trend has cleared the early-adopter phase and is now mainstream, with Lipton's distribution capabilities ensuring consumer atten- tion. The product closes a real gap for health-conscious consumers who want the quality of a fresh steep without the friction of brewing iced tea at home or the compromise of a convenience store cooler. No doubt other brands will follow suit across the world. Innovation Beyond Lemon Flavor innovation is where the category is most visibly demonstrating its ambition. The Arnold Palmer template, tea cut with lemonade, remains a reliable staple; however, the industry's forward momentum is coming from more complex, juice-forward pairings and botanical profiles that would have seemed exotic on an iced tea label five years ago. Simply Gold Peak's expan- sion into black tea SKUs featuring raspberry and peach juices reflects a broad- er acknowledgment that consumers want the mouthfeel of juice alongside the refreshment and functionality of tea. These are perfectly complementary, with tea leading the health-halo, and juice driving the flavor experience. The next frontier, however, is in botanicals and herbs, and the tea industry is structurally better positioned to own this space than any other beverage category. Tea is, by its fundamental nature, a functional product. The category does not need to retrofit wellness credentials onto a carbonated water base or a soft drink platform. The leaf already carries them.

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