Clean label and better-for-you trends have elevated tea ingredients as beverage-makers look to deliver these attributes to consumers.

Despite inflation, consumers are not frequenting mass or supercenter merchandisers, experts notes.

The specialty coffee is roasted in small batches and packaged individually — but CEO Josh Wilbur says Steeped “is not coffee in a teabag,” though it’s as simple as that.

Anne Scott Livingston, research analyst at Chicago-based Euromonitor International, notes that producers were forced to increase their milk prices due to a jump in input costs, which “have significantly strained category margins.” 

Although bottled water revenue has accelerated, data shows the category posted a slight decline in volume sales.

Packaging producers are turning to pouches and cartons for sustainability purposes.

Many warehouses are shifting toward the use of robotic lift trucks (RLTs), with recent industry surveys showing that the adoption of RLTs has increased 14% during the past year.

As the grab-and-go style of convenience stores has changed a bit during the past couple years, experts note that convenience stores still continue to perform well despite ever-changing needs of consumers.

Fresh tasting, clean label and safe are all attributes that are driving beverage-makers to utilize high-pressure processing methods.

Consumers still are enjoying their coffee at home and many are “trying to have the out-of-home coffee house experience at home.”