rrific!
Get summer sales brewing with refreshing iced tea
BY DAN BOLTON W
hether from concentrate or freshly brewed, iced tea is a refreshing addition to a summer menu.
In its annual Foodservice Brief, market researchers at Th e
NPD Group in Port Washington, N.Y., identifi ed iced tea as “one of the top growth beverages” of 2011. Th e National Restaurant Association annually surveys
professional chefs on “What’s Hot,” and this year 57 percent of the more than 1,500 professional chefs surveyed named specialty iced tea. Flavored teas, southern sweet tea, tea lattes and Th ai teas are all “on-trend.” Th irty fi ve percent of the chefs also named green tea as “hot.” Although it represents only a small portion—just 19.5 percent—of the tea American’s consume, green tea (including loose leaf greens, iced green tea and green ready-to-drink) is by far the fastest growing tea segment. Tea is at the nexus of several consumer trends. Unsweetened
tea is a 16-oz., fi ve-calorie alternative to carbonated soda, which continues to see declining sales due to weight concerns. “Th ere is also a nod to healthier alternatives, especially among teens, young adults and seniors,” says NPD’s Restaurant Analyst Bonnie Riggs, who observes that made-to-order beverages such as tea “seem to contribute to perceptions of healthy food off erings.” Hotels fi rst served iced tea the 1860s. Within 10 years
30 | May 2011 • www.specialty-coffee.com
