The traditional cuppa is going down the drain! From builder’s to breakfast… how Britain’s love for an honest brew is in decline as tastes turn to herbal teas
- Britons drank fewer cups of tea last year and are turning to herbal brews
- The nation bough 2.6 kilos in the year to May 2018, the biggest drop in four years
- The decline in popularity of regular black brews of tea was key driver in the fall
- But value of the tea rose by 0.6 per cent to £669.2 million over the past year
Britons have turned their back on the traditional cup of tea as people alter tastes to herbal teas.
The nation drank nearly 870 million fewer cups of tea last year as their love affair with traditional brews went off the boil.
And they bought 2.6 million fewer kilograms of tea in the year to May 2018, the biggest drops in four years.
With consumers saving the tea market from a complete slump as Brits turned to pricier premium teas and fruit or herbal blends.
The traditional cuppa has long been part of the national psyche but consumers are beginning to swap it out for premium and herbal teas
The decline in popularity of standard black brews of tea was the key driver behind the fall in volume, said The Grocer magazine.
According to figures from retail analysts Kantar Worldpanel, the value of tea bought in the UK rose by 0.6 per cent to £669.2 million over the past year.
The move away from the traditional cuppa has prompted big supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s to review the range they sell.
In August this year, traditional tea maker Tetley lost nearly 40 per cent of shelf space in Tesco as the retailer made way for trendier fruit and herbal lines.
Consumers have not abandoned tea entirely, instead they are focusing on premium teas and herbal teas
But tea giants have been quick to respond with both Tetley and Twinings have launched quirkier versions of tea.
PG Tips has launched a brew designed specially for drinking with non-dairy milk in a bid to grab a slice of the growing free-from market, which is up 37 per cent.
Peter Dries, director of customer and shopper marketing at Tetley, said the tea market was changing ‘significantly’ and shoppers were demanding better quality brews.
He told The Grocer: ‘The growing acceptances of tea’s good fit with health alongside the product innovations that meet changing consumer habits will be an impetus for growth.’
PG Tips-owner Unilever claimed black tea still accounted for 85 per cent of the tea category and remained ‘ the nation’s favourite’.
Yorkshire Tea, which saw sales rise eight per cent to £88 million in 2017, said demand for its stronger brew was growing.
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