
Reinventing the Leaves and Beans
By JOANNA COSGROVE
New RTD teas and coffees are wooing caffeine
aficionados with heightened flavor profiles and better positioning
Coffee and tea lovers can rejoice: tastier ways to get a caffeine fix are on their way to cold cases and retail shelves,
courtesy of RTD purveyors in search of new ways to drive category
sales.
A perennial go-to thirst quencher, RTD tea is finding
new fans thanks to its associative health benefits. “Consumers today
are savvier than ever, particularly when it comes to nutrition,” says
John Clarkson, brand manager for Lipton Original (part of Pepsi-Cola North
America). “As such, they are adjusting their diets to include foods
and beverages that not only taste good, but are good for them as
well.”
Top ready-to-drink teas by brand | |||||
Brand | Dollar Sales | % Change Vs. Prior Year | Market Share | % Change Vs. Prior Year | |
Arizona | $214,871,400 | 45.0% | 28.6 | 5.3% | |
Snapple | $97,525,640 | 6.2% | 13.0 | -1.5% | |
Diet Snapple | $87,541,020 | 14.1% | 11.7 | -0.4% | |
Lipton Brisk | $78,295,500 | -8.1% | 10.4 | -3.0% | |
Nestea Cool | $56,288,980 | -16.7% | 7.5 | -3.1% | |
Lipton | $54,408,740 | 204.7% | 7.2 | 4.4% | |
Lipton Iced Tea | $41,951,630 | 4.1% | 5.6 | -0.8% | |
Private label | $27,476,830 | 16.1% | 3.7 | -0.1% | |
Nestea | $14,853,450 | 13.0% | 2.0 | -0.1% | |
SoBe | $14,798,130 | 22.3% | 2.0 | 0.1% | |
Category total | $750,577,300 | 18.3% | 100.0 | 0.0% | |
Source: Information Resources Inc. Total food, drug and mass merchandise (excluding Wal-Mart) for the 52 weeks ending Dec. 25, 2005. |
Top ready-to-drink coffees by brand | |||||
Brand | Dollar Sales | % Change Vs. Prior Year | Market Share | % Change Vs. Prior Year | |
Frappuccino | $157,935,900 | 20.4% | 82.8 | -3.3% | |
Starbucks Doubleshot | $24,454,620 | 43.8% | 12.8 | 1.7% | |
Wolfgang Puck | $4,918,319 | 468.0% | 2.6 | 2.0% | |
Starbucks | $1,438,719 | 32.1% | 0.8 | 0.0% | |
Kahlua | $846,472 | 7.7% | 0.4 | -0.1% | |
Havana | $410,759 | -10.6% | 0.2 | -0.1% | |
Caffe D Vita | $195,541 | 7.0% | 0.1 | -0.0% | |
Mr Brown | $122,840 | -0.3% | 0.1 | -0.0% | |
Royal Kona | $112,825 | -56.4% | 0.1 | -0.1% | |
Main St Cafe | $111,982 | -23.3% | 0.1 | -0.0% | |
Category total | $190,799,400 | 25.1% | 100.0 | 0.0% | |
Source: Information Resources Inc. Total food, drug and mass merchandise (excluding Wal-Mart) for the 52 weeks ending Dec. 25, 2005. |
To help consumers make smart beverage choices,
Clarkson says Lipton has developed a first-of-its-kind AOX Seal, a
proprietary mark that indicates substantial
levels of antioxidants. The mark is found on select Lipton Original and
Lipton Iced Tea products that are rich in protective antioxidants.
“With regard to RTD trial, consumers are looking for great taste and
refreshment, first and foremost. In our current marketplace, products that
deliver taste and refreshment while also contributing to a healthy, active
lifestyle by providing ‘health attributes,’ such as AOX, really
drive repeat purchase.”
Lipton Iced Tea recently launched three new iced tea
products and two new Lipton Original products. Due to debut on shelf in
late March are Lipton Iced Tea Diet Peach, Lipton Iced Tea Peach, Lipton
Iced Tea Green Tea with Mixed Berry, Lipton Original White Tea with
Tangerine and Lipton Original Green Tea with Orange Passionfruit.
The RTD tea segment has experienced a flurry of new
product activity in the past five years.
Traditional tea beverages have had competition from
new green and white tea products touting flavor and the potential for even
greater health benefits.
Andy Schamisso, founder, president and self-described
“chief conduit to a new healthy drink” at New York-based
Inko’s LLC, says his company’s product is among the
“fastest, steadiest and most sustainable category in the entire
beverage business.
“According to published reports, tea will be a
$10 billion category in 2010,” he says. “Driving that growth
will be the major contributor to that category: RTD specialty tea.”
Baby boomers are key to the future growth of these
specialty RTD teas, and Schamisso says retailers are listening.
“Whole Foods Markets (which has always known the health factor) are aggressively opening more and more stores each
year,” he says. “Large supermarket chains are now dedicating
more aisle space to natural products. Some are opening ‘store within
a store’ natural markets. And even big box retailers, like BJ’s
Wholesale Club, which took a chance with Inko’s, are rethinking their
audience and taking on healthier brands.”
Last fall, Inko’s expanded its line of 100
percent natural RTD iced white teas with four new flavors: Inko’s
Lychee White Tea, Inko’s Apricot White Tea, Inko’s Cherry
Vanilla White Tea and Inko’s Unsweetened Honeysuckle White Tea.
Apricot, Lychee and Cherry
Vanilla are lightly sweetened brews (less than 60 calories/14 grams of
sugar per 16-ounce bottle) that are made with rare white tea and
natural fruit and flavor extracts. Inko’s Unsweetened Honeysuckle
will be the company’s second calorie-free/carb-free brew for those
consumers who don’t want any sugar. All of Inko’s White Teas
contain less than 6 mg. of caffeine per bottle, and are formulated to avoid
harsh or bitter aftertastes.
“From a sales perspective, each of our previous
five flavors have grown significantly, to the point where we felt now was
the time to pull the trigger on new flavors we have been developing for the
past year,” Schamisso says. “After all, our trademark is
‘What White Tea Tastes Like’ and it is our job to complement
our existing line with tasty drinks that add significantly to customer
satisfaction on a flavor-by-flavor basis.”
Generating brand awareness and connecting with the
consumer has become a tough proposition for RTD tea manufacturers, given
how crowded the market has become. While health benefits might arouse the
curiosity of a prospective consumer, other factors have subtle supporting
roles in the purchase. “Generally, whether it is single-serve or box,
the first thing consumers look for is an appealing
‘grab-me-off-the-shelf’ package,” Schamisso says.
“Personally, I think that package has to be in glass and the color of
the beverage shown to the consumer. Then it’s price point (especially
in this type of economy). Repeat purchases rest solely on the taste and
quality of the product.”
Revolution Tea, Phoenix, Ariz., added new glass bottle
packages to its RTD White-T range, with white full-body wrap labels that
provide an aesthetically striking contrast to the vivid fruit images
denoting the flavor contained within.
Revolution Tea’s premium White-T RTD offerings
— in Blackberry, Tangerine, Raspberry and Key Lime flavors —
have no carbohydrates, calories, sugars, sweeteners or preservatives, and
are rich with antioxidants says Jeff Irish, creative director for the
company.
White tea is the rarest and most delicate variety of
tea. It is the least processed tea and does not undergo withering,
oxidation, fermentation or firing. White tea contains the same polyphenol
antioxidants found in green tea, but because it is processed less, it is
believed to be more beneficial.
Like white teas, RTD green teas also are renowned for
their health benefits and continue to do well at retail. But in addition to
health benefits, increasingly health-conscious customers are in search of
products that won’t add to their waistlines. “People are
turning away from heavily sugared products and are looking for healthier
beverages, (like) tea,” comments Francie Patton, vice president of
corporate communications at Arizona Beverages. “Customers (also) look
for a great tasting product given to them at a fair price. In RTD teas,
they are looking for healthier, delicious beverages.”
To that end, Arizona bowed Diet Decaf Green Tea.
Dubbed “good for what it doesn’t have,” the tea is made
with the premium green tea and sweetened with
Splenda, offering all of the health benefits of Green Tea, but with zero
calories, zero carbs and no caffeine.
The product is packaged in the same 20-ounce
proprietary bottle as the Arizona Diet Green Tea product and has the same
Japanese illustration on the label. But to distinguish the new Diet Decaf
from the established product, the background of
the label has been given the look of black lacquer. The beverage is also
available in a 1-gallon container. Suggested retail is $1.25 - $1.49
per 20-ounce bottle.
New java RTDs
While a growing variety of new RTD coffee beverages can be found at retail, the
segment is arguably dominated by Starbucks.
RTD coffee has found a following and is growing for a
number of reasons, says Kelli McCusker, director of marketing for the
Pepsi-Starbucks North American Coffee Partnership. “Consumers are
increasingly seeking non-carbonated products to provide variety within
their daily consumption,” she says. “Consumers who are seeking
energy benefits in their beverages view coffee as a natural choice. For
instance, Starbucks DoubleShot is popular as morning consumption, as
consumers view it as a beverage to help motivate them to get their day off
to a good start. “
Keen to build on the success of its Starbucks
Frappuccino and Starbucks DoubleShot products, the company is set to launch
a number of new products this spring. Starbucks
Iced Coffee is a light-tasting iced coffee drink made with Starbucks
Italian Roast coffee and a touch of milk and sweetener. It will be
available in Regular and Light versions.
Also coming this spring is Starbucks DoubleShot Light,
which will have half as many calories, two-thirds less sugar and one-third
less fat than original DoubleShot.
Also making waves in the category are new coffee/soft
drink blends, which despite a few false starts in the past, are hoping they
have found their time for success. Pepsi attempted to merge cola and coffee
with Pepsi Kona in the mid-90s, but the product was discontinued due to less-than-spectacular consumer reception. The
company, however, found success with similar coffee-cola beverages in
overseas markets, and a few new products are hoping to make the same
headway in the United States.
Coca-Cola has announced plans for a March launch of
Coca-Cola Blak, its “Coca-Cola and coffee fusion” soft drink
that is billed as “an invigorating and stimulating blend” with
“a perfect balance of the effervescent taste sensation of Coca-Cola
and natural flavors, with real coffee.”
But unlike Kona, Blak is not just a cola flavor
extension. It was designed to appeal to a new target group of adult
consumers. “It is a blend of unique Coke refreshment with the true
essence of coffee and has a rich smooth texture and has a coffee-like froth
when poured,” says Marc Mathieu, vice president of global core
brands, The Coca-Cola Co. “We believe we have created a new category
of soft drink – an adult product in a carbonated beverage – and
a whole new drinking experience. This brand is ideal for any part of the
day when people are looking for renewed energy or simply to take a
break.”
The lightly carbonated, 45-calorie-per-bottle beverage
is sweetened with a blend of high fructose corn syrup and one or more diet
sweeteners and will be sold in 8-ounce glass bottles.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc., Waterbury, Vt.,
launched its own coffee alternative to traditional soft drinks late last
year. Double-Bean Elixirs are carbonated coffee sodas that the company says
offer consumers an environmentally friendly and socially responsible choice
of cold beverages.
Created from Green Mountain’s own fair trade
certified organic coffee, the Double-Bean Elixirs come in five flavors:
Original, Vanilla, Hazelnut, Mocha and Almond. They are available in
12-ounce bottles and four-packs, and are being introduced first to select
northeast retail locations.
And finally, New York-based Shock Coffee has taken the
caffeine fix to a whole new level with Shock Triple Latte and Shock Triple Mocha –
“hyper-caffeinated” RTD beverages made with a specially roasted
blend of coffee beans that packs 50 percent more caffeine than other
gourmet coffees. The products are sold in four-packs of 8-ounce cans and in
24-can cases. BI