STiR coffee and tea magazine

36 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 3, 2018 (June / July) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Tea Coffee CSD JNSD Packaged LDP Other All Water Beverages 3.3% 16.7% 10.0% 14.5% 12.1% 26.7% 16.4% 16.4% 9.3% 13.8% 11.3% 29.7% 15.6% 3.9% 1.1% 2.3% 1.6% 6.7% 2.1% 4.2% 3.4% 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 2017 2021 3.7% Tea Coffee CSD Jucie Bottled Water Dairy Other Beverages Beverage Contenders 2017 vs 2021 Compound Average Growth Rate Source: ManSci Huzaifa Nalawa Global Dubai Tea Forum presentation April 2018 health care. And with its anti-oxidants and beneficial herbs, many people see tea as a part of their plan. "From current trends, we know that consumers are becoming more health and eco-conscious, searching for products that are free from additives and that are all-natural," Karin Gerlach, the Director of Marketing at Tea of a Kind (TOAK) told STiR. The response from TOAK has been to go gluten and sugar free to reach the growing trend of consumers with dietary preferences, and to focus on sustainable packaging. Other brands in the RTD tea space are responding in similar ways, appealing to health and environmentally conscious consumers who prefer tea over sugary sodas. Total volume for carbonated soft drinks fell by 0.8% in 2016, which was nothing compared to a 1.2% drop in 2015. As global soda sales fall due to rising health-concerns, regular and carbonated teas are stepping in as a healthier alternative that couples exciting flavors with real health benefits. RTD moves east Japan and China are the top RTD markets, each enjoying steady growth, with Japan's RTD tea market reaching its largest ever in 2017. The same factors af- fecting sales in the U.S. are driving growth here as well – health conscious con- sumers who want sugar free drinks, with low caffeine and rich mineral content. In China, rising incomes matched with better education on health are leading to similar growth. Brands are finding success through innovative new products and nationwide distribution, with white collar females their largest consumers. Innovation in RTD RTD tea brands must innovate to stay competitive. Arizona based TOAK re- cently released their Eco 4-Pack, featuring one bottle and four of their signa- ture pressurized Vessl™ caps. Inside each Vessl cap is a concentrated liquid of brewed tea and antioxidants. The caps are oxygen depleted and nitrogen- flushed, so they keep out UV light that dissipates flavor and damages anti-ox- idants. They can also be re-used in any bottle, cutting down on plastic waste. "The Vessl allows for the elimination of the disposable bottle by simply re-filling a bottle and twisting on a new Vessl closure," Gerlach said. "The wow factor associated with opening a Vessl closure provides sustainable con- sumers excitement and drives repeat purchase at a premium price." And Tiesta Tea has released their first line of premium cold brew teas with unique functions, like immunity and relaxer. "Our functions celebrate the natural health benefits that each type of tea gives you," said Heinzinger. "For example, green tea naturally curbs your ap- petite and revs up your metabolism, so we call our green teas 'slenderizers.'" Self-Chilling Can Like the fabled "better mousetrap" inventors have long pursued the self-chilling can. It now appears Mitchell Joseph's dream is at hand—literally. Marketers at 7-Eleven, Inc. are test- ing their Fizzics Cold Brew Coffee at 15 Los Angeles locations. The test involves the latest evolution of a concept perfected by Joseph decades ago. His pro- totype aluminum can was remarkable, it cooled beer in a flash but unfortunately, it relied on HFC-134a—a greenhouse gas 1,400 times as potent as carbon diox- ide—making it illegal under EPA regulations. Miller Beer introduced the Tempra self-cooling can in 2006 but its "natural desiccant driven water gel coated evaporator and heat-sink" technology was sim- ply too costly to catch on. After 25 years of experiments Mitchell at last found a way to use commonly available CO (subscript) 2 instead of refrigerants. The patented 500 ml ChillCan found limited use in the UK. Joseph told the Daily Mail at the time: "what could be more convenient than a drink which cools down when you want it, rather than having to carry an ice box to the beach." Six years later he perfected the design, using a patented MicroCool process and CO2 in a fully recy- clable aluminum can. The cans are filled with sparkling cold brew in three flavors – regular, French vanilla, and caramel. Made with 100 percent Arabica beans and all- natural flavors, each 8.4-ounce has only 50 calories, 10 grams of sugar, and less than 80 mg of caffeine. South African brand BOS' is launching a line of exclusive canned rooibos iced teas, offering a completely organic, caffeine free product that highlights natural fruit flavors. They're also grab- bing the attention of environmentally conscious consumers, planting 1 tree for every 2,000 cans sold, with over 20,000 trees planted so far. Canada based Phivida introduce a line of teas that use hemp derived cannabinoids to support gut-health, while tasting delicious and delivering the anti-oxidants you'd expect. It's a brave new world for RTD tea, and the market is still young. With growth expected to rise steadily over the next few years, new RTD tea products will be giving refrigerator shelves around the world a makeover, driving interest with unique flavors, eco-friendly packaging, and real nutritional benefits.

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