Mintel have produced some really interesting research into the present and future trends for tea drinking in the UK. They are anticipating a further slow decline in overall tea volumes through 2017 but the UK market is still expected to consume around 75million kilograms of tea by year end.
Black tea is still the stand out favourite choice for UK consumers but this is concentrated more towards the mature end of the tea drinking age spectrum. 70% of UK adult consumers are black tea drinkers still, with 48% drinking at least one cup every day.
Overall tea consumption has been squeezed both by the growth in the popularity of coffee and with younger consumers often attracted to soft drinks and more adventurous choices than Grannies favourite tea!
One surprising finding was over a third of 25 to 34 year olds had drunk 5 or 6 different types of tea over the past month whilst only 3% of over 55’s had done the same. Herbal teas, fruit teas and other specialist offering are growing strongly in the UK but there is a clear age split to be seen.
Here at KSV Vending we can cater to all tastes and therefore all ages with a great choice of teas. For traditionalists our black teas for the Flavia Drinks System include English Breakfast, plus a “strong” version also. Taylors Yorkshire Tea is really popular, and we offer a black decaffeinated breakfast tea as well. Earl Grey drinkers are accommodated by the Flavia System and you can also enjoy Green Tea, Green Tea with Jasmine plus a choice of Lemon or Peppermint herbal tea. And for good measure PG Tips is still the most popular tea choice in our range of In-Cup and Foil Fresh vended hot drinks.
Times may be changing, overall volumes may be down, but I cannot see tea ever being anything other than a real favourite with UK consumers into the foreseeable future.
Written by: Colin from KSV.