According to the Tea Association of the USA Inc., New York, “Tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world, next only to water and may be found in almost 80% of all U.S. households”,
Tea is the original plant-based beverage derived from Camellia sinensis. It has become popular in today’s diverse beverage world due to the flexibility with which new ingredients such as herbs and spices can be integrated into the drink, making it easier and more innovative for companies to target a wider audience. Tea attracts consumers seeking healthy and tasty beverages. There is something great about steeping tea leaves in water and adding herbs and spices to it, knowing the inherent goodness from tea is being extracted and will be ready for sipping.
The Millennials and Gen Z members have already altered the American markets in multiple ways. The tea industry is no exception; the tea manufacturers and retailers who want to capture larger shares of these audiences need to be very sharp about their younger customers’ preferences.
Who are Millennials and Gen Z? those born between 1981 and 1996 are millennials, and those born between 1997 and 2012 are Generation Z.
According to the British research firm GlobalData “the value of the U.S. tea market in 2019 stood at $2.8 billion USD and is expected to record “robust growth,” at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 4.8 percent”, this will lead the value to reach USD 3.4 billion by 2023.
Most of this increasing growth trend include younger consumers who prefer healthy beverages over hard drinks or alcohol.
Gen Z consumers do have a preference for green tea, at 38 percent, compared to black tea at 19 percent (GlobalData 2019 Q4 consumer survey – U.S.).
A recent study by Tea Association of Canada has outlined “2-in-3 millennials report consuming at least one cup of tea in a week; accounting for 36% of total tea drinkers in Canada.” 53% of these tea drinkers are female, 42% urban, 49% suburban, and resides mostly in Ontario (45%) and Western Canada (31%). They generally have a preference for green and black tea. The millennials are innovative and open to new flavors. They are more likely to like loose leaves as opposed to teabags.
My take on this: For some waking up early, going for a run or jog is a need, a ritual. For me, it is drinking a cup of tea, starting from my school days to keep me refreshed, and then during my job days to relax me and take away the stress, and it continues to be my favorite beverage. Social media has taken over our mind and soul, but nothing is refreshing than a cup of tea! Hope my kids keep up this ritual.
I Will leave you with my favorite quote: “There are those who love to get dirty and fix things. They drink coffee at dawn, beer after work. And those who stay clean, just appreciate things. At breakfast, they have milk and juice at night. There are those who do both, they drink tea.” -Gary Snyder
courtesy https://www.tea.ca/
