Take off the "niche" label, ready-to-drink sugar-free tea is expected to overtake

In recent years, consumers have paid more and more attention to healthy diets, and the new demand for "not only delicious but also healthy and not fat" has led to the upgrading of beverage market consumption

However, ready-to-drink unsweetened tea has been relatively niche and still has a relatively small market share

"Sugar reduction" storm promotes tea consumption upgrade

As early as 1997, Japan's Suntory Oolong tea entered the Chinese market.

The audience of domestic tea is mainly concentrated in people over 35 years old, while the consumer group of ready-to-drink tea is mainly concentrated in young people under 35 years old

Regarding the huge market contrast between sugar-free tea and sugar-sweetened flavored tea, Chinese food industry analyst Zhu Danpeng believes: "In the past, consumers' health awareness and health knowledge were not synchronized, only consumption awareness and no relevant knowledge, but with the whole With the improvement of professional knowledge, consumers have also begun to pay attention to whether the information on the ingredient list is healthy

In the context of consumption upgrades, the pursuit of natural, green and healthy consumer demand has gradually expanded in recent years

The sugar-free tea products that have been dormant in the market for a long time have now become a hot spot for consumers, and major companies have set foot in the field of sugar-free tea to seize the blue ocean of the market

Broaden track categories from bitter to multi-flavored

The bitter taste of tea has always been a "short board" factor that has limited development

Industry insiders said that in the past, consumers' evaluations of sugar-free tea products were mostly concentrated in the viewpoints of "unpleasant taste" and "difficult to swallow", but in the past, young consumers were more accustomed to sweetened beverages, and they were more accustomed to sugar-free tea products.

In recent years, pure tea has expanded its categories, and ready-to-drink teas such as juice tea, scented tea, and milk tea have also become new consumption growth points in sub-categories

Some people in the industry said that compared with ready-made tea, ready-to-drink tea lacks a sense of experience in drinking, and the formula cannot be diversified at any time

Binding new scenarios of consumption to break the circle and develop

Different from beverage categories such as sparkling water, consumers have traditional perceptions of tea beverage products

It is worth noting that, in order to solve this dilemma of sugar-free tea, Oriental Leaf published a series of creative posters a few years ago to convey to young people the concept of sugar-free tea leading a healthy lifestyle

In addition to the fact that tea itself is rich in functional ingredients, the fusion of tea with elements such as melatonin, vitamins, and probiotics will expand the functionality of ready-to-drink sugar-free tea

　　At present, the needs of young consumer groups are obvious, and they attach more importance to the emotional appeal of products.

　　The ready-to-drink sugar-free tea beverage market is a blue ocean, but it is not easy to gain a foothold

(Comprehensive arrangement by Wang Han)

　　"China Food News" (May 17, 2021 Edition 04)

(Editor-in-charge: Wang Han)