Tea’s inherent functional benefits, positive sustainability messaging and diverse usage occasions, formats and flavor profiles should make it a shoe-in for US consumers searching for healthier options that don’t compromise taste or convenience, and yet...
The functional and perceived health benefits of tea and coffee paired with their familiarity and diverse usage occasions across dayparts make them ideal platforms for beverage manufacturers to meet consumers’ evolving preferences for indulgence, health...
With Oobli’s first commercial launch of three fruit-flavored sweet teas, the company is building its product development around the oubli fruit’s sweet protein, brazzein, which Oobli reports is up to 5,000 times sweeter than sugar and metabolizes as a...
For the 1 billion people worldwide projected to be menopausal by 2025, very few options for symptom management beyond hormone replacement therapy and an emerging selection of dietary supplements exists – creating a massive untapped market opportunity...
Working from a foundational belief that the era of ‘disruption’ is dead, an industry veteran wants to usher in a new age in which start-ups focus on “adding to everything” with the launch of The Ryl Company and a line of ready-to-drink tea that offers...
Chamberlain Coffee, a DTC-focused brand created by YouTube star Emma Chamberlain, has sealed a $7m Series A funding round led by Blazar Capital and a stacked roster of DTC, retail, and beverage industry investors.
Daily tea consumption should be recommended in the upcoming 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, argue scientists and industry stakeholders who point to its safety and a growing body of research supporting health benefits from the Camellia sinensis...
After founding and building DavidsTea to a $200m business that went public in 2015 before leaving the company in 2016, David Segal is at it again with the launch of Firebelly Tea, which aims to make the category more modern, fun and accessible.
US retail sales of packaged tea have been sluggish in recent years, with Nielsen data* showing a flat market until 2020, when covid prompted a 16.8% surge, before everything slowed back down again. Celestial Seasonings, however, has maintained double-digit...
With an infusion of $5m in series A funding, the bagless tea brand Tea Drops continues to push the boundaries of tea with innovative new products that offer convenience and a unique experience that supports consumers’ evolving emotional needs.
At a time when many Americans are feeling emotionally, mentally and physically tapped by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and rising social unrest, Teeccino is launching two new “wellness” lines of its roasted herbal coffee that the founder says will...
When most people think about curling up with a cup of hot tea they don’t think about opening their freezer first – but that is exactly what the makers of Millennia Tea are asking consumers to do, and in exchange they promise a beverage that is packed...
Plastic tea bags can release billions of microplastic and nanoplastic particles into a cup of tea, according to Canadian researchers. But while the scientists say some brands have shifted to plastic tea bags instead of paper ones, the industry counters...
While there will always be a place in consumers’ hearts – and cups – for freshly brewed classic teas such as English breakfast and tisans like chamomile, shoppers increasingly are looking for premium, innovative options and formats that allow them to...
The fresh, pared-down look of Tempo Tea’s trio of recently launched sparkling teas in slim cans reflects the brand’s less-is-more approach to caffeine as well as a larger emerging trend in packaging design that maximizes white space and excises superfluous...
Vertically integrated and socially-conscious tea company, Vahdam Teas, secured $2.5m in its Series B funding round led by Fireside Ventures to ramp up its customer acquisition rate and fuel its direct-to-consumer business in the US.
Lazy Bear Tea co-founder Daniela Uribe wants her company's RTD teas - which are made from leftover coffee cherry husks (known as cascara) - to have the social impact of Honest Tea while striking the mainstream appeal and distribution of Snapple.
Pique Tea’s clean sweep of gold medals in all three categories of the Global Tea Championships that it entered validates the company’s effort to elevate the quality of instant tea, which often is derided as the lowest class, to that of the industry’s...
Check out FoodNavigator-USA’s latest gallery of new products hitting US shelves, spanning everything from cold brew tea to mung-bean based scrambled egg alternatives, algae bars, kombucha bars, tahini bars, bone broth/coffee combinations, and veggie-packed...
60-second interview: Greg Bach and Angela Lantman, Synergy Flavors
According to Nielsen data* collated by Wells Fargo, US retail sales of ready-to-drink tea rose a modest 1.3% in the year to November 4, 2017, growing somewhat slower than RTD coffee (+11.7%), but faster than carbonated soft drinks, juice, sports drinks...
Cold brewing – along with its health benefits, unique flavor profile and its market energizing success – is no longer restricted to coffee thanks to Argo Tea’s launch earlier this fall of three ready-to-drink Single Estate Cold Brew Teas.
Breaking into the notoriously competitive US beverage market is a daunting task, but purple tea has some distinct advantages, says Purpose Tea founder Chi Nguyen. First, it’s purple, and it’s new, so consumers are going to notice it; second, it tastes...
Boulder-based spicy chai tea brand Bhakti has raised $5.1m in a Series B financing round led by accelerator Cleveland Avenue with participation from another unnamed strategic investor, the Colorado Impact Fund and other existing investors.
Kabaki purple tea – made from a phytonutrient-rich purple-hued cultivar grown in Kenya – could follow RUNA’s playbook by bringing something disruptive to the US ready-to-drink tea market, while at the same time improving the livelihoods of small growers,...
It’s hard to think of a company where mission and brand are more intertwined than RUNA, which was forged around an ingredient - guayusa - that created a powerful point of difference for an emerging beverage brand, but also generated income for small farmers...
Georgia-based Amelia Bay has launched a highly concentrated tea solid ingredient designed to tap into the growing demand for ready to drink (RTD) tea and kombucha.
Check out FoodNavigator-USA’s latest gallery of new products hitting US shelves, spanning everything from plant-based proteins, grain free granola, and grass fed dairy, to turmeric tea drops and compostable coffee pods.
After years of struggling to balance energy drinks and sleep aids, Americans are beginning to turn to adaptogens in herbal teas to help meet and “harmonize” their bodies’ needs, according to the co-founder of Pukka, an herbal tea and supplement company.
Baltimore-based Mobtown Fermentation wants to make kombucha – known for its sharp flavor profile and inconsistent texture – “more approachable to the general consumer,” starting with a more familiar shaped bottle, as well as a smoother taste, according...
18 months after its US launch, online product discovery platform RangeMe is adding 1,000 new CPG suppliers a week as more high-profile retailers use it to identify and compare new products.
Ongoing development of ready-to-drink tea and growing awareness of the health benefits and cultural importance of tea continue to drive sales of the beverage in the US, but future growth will also rely on new products and innovative marketing, according...
Taiyo’s Non-GMO certification for its Matcha Powder is a sign of the growing influence of this attribute, even for ingredient categories that have never been subject to genetic modification.
“In any category—no matter how crowded—there is always a user need that is not being addressed,” said the company’s founder. So where was the Tea Spot’s sweet spot?
Boulder-based spicy chai tea brand Bhakti has recruited CPG industry veteran Sarah Bird as its new CEO as it seeks to build its footprint in the conventional channel and take the mission-driven brand in new directions.
From teas enriched with medicines to programmable tea taps, the humble brew could see a dramatic evolution over the coming years, says Tetley. Even the concept of tea consumed as a liquid could be challenged.
Showcasing clusters of tea-infused, bite-sized snacks, young Chicago-area entrepreneurs Jordan Buckner and Adi Malik impressed Whole Foods buyers at an open house in the city’s Southside.
RUNA – a Brooklyn-based beverage brand utilizing the caffeine-rich Amazonian leaf guayusa – is on course to generate revenues of approximately $10m in 2016, up from around $6m in 2015.
The time consuming process and mess of brewing tea from loose leaves or bags deters many Americans from fully embracing it as a healthy alternative to sugary sodas and juices, but market newcomer Pique Tea, Inc. wants to make the healthy choice the easy...
Matcha and turmeric continue to rise in popularity as consumers and manufacturers embrace the ancient ingredients for their health benefits, unique flavor profiles and brilliant colors.
Sales of tea in the US continue to climb steadily, thanks in part to a big push from interest in specialty tea – especially by millennials, according to the Tea Association of America.
The founders of Tiesta Tea always thought there’s a posh, unapproachable aura around loose leaf tea, but they also contend that the loose leaf format is the best way to sell and prepare tea. They spent their last college year developing a novel and affordable...
Cactus water is gaining traction in the plant-based water market, and US company Steaz has spotted an opportunity to blend cactus water with ready-to-drink tea in its new beverage line.
The demand for tea in the US is skyrocketing, but so too is the desire for speed and convenience – two terms that do not apply to high quality loose leaf tea, which requires special tools for measuring and steeping, or tea bags, which can create a drippy...
It’s purple, intriguing from a nutritional perspective owing to its anthocyanin content, and poised to create a completely new category in the US beverage market, says one man on a mission to make Kenyan purple tea a household name in the US.
Brooklyn-based cold-pressed juice firm JÙS by Julie has scored an industry-first with the launch of a new cold brew coffee infused with probiotics in original and vanilla flavors.
“Local” is a hot marketing term that can drive sales – especially for startups hoping to capitalize on home court advantage – but it also can restrict expansion if it is defined too narrowly, says the founder of Dona Chai.
Part 2: One-on-one with The Tea Council of the USA on Emerging Trends
Sales of tea in the US are booming, but the industry still faces tough competition and must continue to innovate to capture a larger “share of throat,” according to Peter Goggi, president of the Tea Council of the USA.