“Tea is exploding in Canada,”

says Louise Roberge, president

of the Tea Association of Canada.

And that’s no exaggeration.

Recent data from Statistics

Canada and research firm

NPD Group confirm that tea

consumption among most age

categories from teenagers to

baby boomers is growing.

It’s tea’s time

u

October | November 2011 19

IT’S TEA’S TIME. “Canadians drink a lot of tea,” says Vince

Sgabellone, an account manager with NPD Group that conducted one of

the recent studies on tea consumption for the Tea Association of Canada.

“Sixty per cent of Canadians we polled say they drink hot tea at least once

a week, which is a higher number than we expected. And on average

hot tea drinkers consume approximately 6.5 cups of tea per week.”

Not only is tea consumption growing; so is the variety of teas

consumers are demanding.

Indeed, Rick Winslow of Nielsen, who has conducted extensive

research on tea, says there’s a “specialty tea movement going on whereby

consumers are bringing the out-of-home experience into their homes.”

Ron Sadler, chairman of the Tea Association of Canada and the

managing director of Twinings Canada, thinks grocery retailers are missing

out on an opportunity to jumpstart tea sales.

“Retailers should understand that tea is often an impulse purchase

so it’s important to offer something new and different to capture their

attention.

Just positioning tea in a secondary location, for instance having a

basket of tea, or a Tea-of-the-Month that includes some origin information

near the bakery aisle, can increase sales.”

A Multicultural Society with Diverse Tastes Much of Canada’s growing multicultural population originates from tea-consuming regions in

Asia, so demand for more exotic teas reflective of the countries people come from is growing.

This is the main reason specialty coffee shops are now expanding their tea selection and it’s a

good reason for retailers to do the same.

“It’s no secret that people want to be healthier and tea is a natural product. It has zero calories,

no proteins, no salt and no additives,” explains Tea Association of Canada’s Louise Roberge.

Green tea, for example, is the only hot beverage earning Health Canada’s seal of approval for

its antioxidant properties.

The facts speak for themselves, says Roberge: more consumers are turning to tea as their

hot beverage of choice.

SOUTH ASIAN

OTHER

CHINESE

FILIPINO

WEST ASIAN

KOREAN

JAPANESE

Percentage Of Immigration 2001-2006

from Traditionally Tea Drinking Countries

Source: Statistics Canada and CIBC World Markets.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

22%

32%

28%

9%

5%

4%

1%

Here are the top trends Nielsen

has identified:

> Consumers are looking for new

experiences. There’s been a big

surge in growth for specialty teas,

particularly flavoured black and

flavoured green teas.

> Growing demand for single-

serve hot beverages. The trend

began with single-serve

coffee, but now consumers

are using their single-serve

coffee machines for tea too.

The growth began in the

US, where 15 per cent of total

tea bag sales being sold today

are single serve. Keurig K-cups

are a popular choice among tea

drinkers.

> Specialty tea purchases are more

typical among wealthier, two-

member households.

> Regionally, Ontario and the

Maritimes have more traditional

tea drinkers whereas Western

Canada has an affinity for more

exotic and flavourful teas.

> Research has shown that

consumers get confused by the

large array of teas. Retailers

can minimize the confusion by

rethinking how and where they

display tea products.

TOP TEA TRENDS

u

A strong desire to Embrace Healthier Lifestyles

When Longo’s launched its Aromate

Café in 2008, it was an instant

success. The scent of on-site freshly ground

and roasted coffee beans lured consumers

to the new kiosk within its store. Today,

Longo’s has expanded its offering with its

own line of teas.

It was a smart move. Sales have been

increasing by double digits year over year,

says Mary-Ellen Schick, category manager-

grocery for Longo’s Support Center, as she

explains why Longo’s chose to add tea to its

hot beverage offerings in its Aromate Café.

“The original concept of Aromate was

to build a hot beverage destination and tea

was an important part of that right from the

beginning,” explains Mary-Ellen Schick. “We

were able to offer a very wide selection of

loose leaf teas including white, green, black,

oolong and herbal. We also have a special

Aromate Herbal Blend, which is one of our

best sellers.”

The unique focus on tea has also

been good for business in the grocery aisles.

“We have been able to develop

ongoing relationships with our customers —

they are able to find what they are looking

for, but we can also offer them a variety of

new options and choices for them to choose

from,” says Schick.

Part of Longo’s sales growth in tea has

to do with the growing recognition of tea as

a health product. Schick says consumers are

“increasingly more health conscious and as

such, people are choosing more green teas,

more herbals and single estate teas.”

As part of its marketing strategy,

Longo’s offers tea accessories such as tea

pots, strainers and gift sets with its tea and

demand for such accessories is growing.

It also offers tea tasting at its Aromate

Café and tea prep demos, conducted by

specialists trained by its tea suppliers.

A Hot & Steamy Sales Boost

RETAIL PROFILE

uSELLING TEA: A BUSINESS MODEL

The Tea Emporium opened its doors in 2001 and is launching a unique

store-within-a-store program at Loblaws’ high profile Maple Leaf Gardens location in downtown Toronto.

Owner Shabnam Weber and her business partner, Frank Weber have a passion for tea and for business. They already operate programs in many of Loblaws Toronto stores but the new program will be more of a mini Tea Emporium. “It’s a 10-by-10 tea market within the store itself, not just on the periphery,” explains Shabnam. To complete the customer experience the tea market will cross-merchandise complimentary products such as tea spices and accessories.

> Set-up in-store “tea day” demos focusing on new teas and how to prepare them.

> Partner with your tea suppliers; they’re your best source of information and

support in helping you grow sales in your tea category.

> Know consumer market trends and be prepared to adjust your in-store sales strategies to take advantage of them.

> Offer taste-testing sessions; become a “tea sommelier.” A great resource and information on tea sommelier training is the Tea Association of Canada’s web site: www.tea.ca.

> Create cross-merchandising displays by combining specialty teas from China, Kenya, and India, for example, with foods from that country or region.

> Shake-up your traditional tea display by creating shelf space in other areas of your store. For example, display specialty teas beside your sweetener aisle or create a “healthy tea” section in the natural and health foods area.

TOP TIPS TO BOOST SALES IN YOUR HOT TEA CATEGORY

A HOT COMMODITYTea is the world’s second most

popular hot beverage after water

and its popularity in North America

is surging. If you’re not promoting

tea in your store, you’re missing the

opportunity to boost sales in your

hot beverage category.

Here’s why:

> 50% of tea drinkers turn to the

retail channel to make choices on

new tea brands, new blends and

new flavours.

> Close to 60% of Canadians drink

hot tea. The under 34 age group

drink more of the new teas, such as

white, green, flavored and herbal.

> Hot tea drinkers consume 6.5 cups

per week.

> Almost 50% of tea consumed at

home is black, 29% is green and

16% is herbal.

> 20% of tea drinkers drink both

black and green teas.

> 64% of tea drinkers add a

sweetener to their tea, with honey

being the most popular followed

by sweetener substitutes such as

Stevia and Agave.