Ito En North America Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y., the premier leading green tea company announced the award of their new Matcha Love Culinary Matcha as "Best New Product-Tea as an Ingredient" at the World Tea Expo 2015, the leading tradeshow and conference focused 100-percent on premium tea and related products held in Long Beach, California, May 6-8.

All-natural green tea brand Xingtea released its 14 flavors in smaller, 12-ounce cans from Ball Corp.

Redco Foods Inc. stepped into the liquid concentrates segment with its Red Rose brand.

Red Rose Tea launched a line of Red Rose Energy Teas in single-serve cups.

New Orleans Roast launched same-named iced teas.

The Double Cola Co. introduced its first line of ready-to-drink teas.

Ito En, a supplier of loose green tea leaves and the maker of Teas’ Tea ready-to-drink green teas, created a Tea Bench that is made of recycled green tea leaves.

Following Seattle-based Starbucks Coffee Co.’s acquisition of Atlanta-based Teavana Holdings Inc. at the end of 2012, the tea industry is waiting for the hot tea segment to boom, according to experts.

Available through the Pepsi Lipton Tea partnership, a joint venture between Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo and London-based Unilever, Lipton iced tea launched a summer campaign called “Feel the Taste,” which began Memorial Day weekend.

Like companies across all categories within the beverage industry, players in the tea category are fighting for consumers’ attention.