Is the American Palate Getting More Sophisticated?

This is an excerpt from one of my World Tea News articles. It’s part one in a two-part series. You can read part two here. To find out more about my freelance writing or to ask me about writing copy for your tea business, please contact me at vee at veetea dot com. Thank you.

Ready-to-drink teas (RTDs) are the largest and fastest-growing segment of the U.S. tea market. According to “The State of the U.S. Tea Industry,” a report by Tea Association of the U.S.A. President Joseph Simrany, the RTD market hit $2.8 billion in 2007 and is estimated to grow at an annual rate of 12 to 15 percent.

As RTDs capture a larger share of the beverage market, they shape the palates of a new wave of tea drinkers. Today’s RTD trends can give us a glimpse of what’s on the horizon for hot tea.

The shift toward RTDs

Seth Goldman, TeaEO of Honest Tea, said, “The single biggest thing feeding RTD growth is that people are moving away from sodas.” The primary reason: high fructose corn syrup.

Goldman and Michelle Weisblatt, director of marketing for Sweet Leaf Tea, both said they are claiming the lion’s share of new customers from the waning soda market. Like Honest Tea, Sweet Leaf uses organic cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup.

Energy drinks are also suffering some perception problems that have benefited tea. Rona Tison, senior vice president of corporate relations for ITO EN, said the popularity of her company’s Sencha Shots is due to its “good-for-you energy drink feel without the horrible stuff in energy drinks.”

Add water to the list of waning drink superstars. According to Tison, most fans of the “clean” taste of ITO EN’s unsweetened lines are former bottled-water drinkers. She said the shift to RTDs occurred when “the bottled water market peaked and people needed a new (flavor) dimension.”

Soon, you’ll be able to read the remainder of this article on my portfolio site, Copy & Taste.