In the tea business? You’ll know that there are endless options when it comes to creating tea blends, organic tea products and RTD (ready to drink) products. What’s key is focusing your resources and energy into products that you know will be in high demand and result in high profitability. Each year, we like to compile our predictions for the year ahead, based on trends, global supplies and demand for our organic tea ingredients.

Let’s dive into what are set to be 2019’s top tea trends.

Wellness and botanical blends

Healthy is the new hedonism, and young consumers in particular are looking for café drinks and RTDs that will leave them with a great feeling and a light conscience. Teavision’s tea master Lucas Ruzicka’s advice is to expect new wellness-focused blends on the menu in 2019. “We’re seeing more requests for herbal ingredients such as lemon balm because of its potential benefits for blood pressure and cholesterol, ginger and turmeric blends, apple and tulsi, and of course cacao husks. Our most popular blends at the moment target detox and digestion as well as anxiety and stress.” Health-conscious customers are looking to tea products that are organic, vegan, low in sugar and low in caffeine to avoid the harsh buzz that can come with coffee.

Tea as an experience (sparkling, nitro and bubble tea)

Tea as an experience dates back to ancient tea ceremonies, and modern consumers are just as interested in adding a special moment to their day. Tea with ‘texture’ seems to be taking off in all forms, but at the top of the list are sparkling tea, cold brew, bubble tea and nitro tea (where nitrogen is added to create a creamy, milk-like froth). The textured tea trend is all about providing a new experience, ‘Instagrammable’ visuals and unique combinations, so don’t be afraid to test out new flavours and blends.

View this post on Instagram

NITRO TEA : Black tea with pineapple prosecco & summer fruits 🍍 🍊🍎🌸 #satihandcraftcoffee #speacialtycoffee #coffeeinthegarden #cafeteller #cafebkk #cafeinbkk #cafehoppingbkk #cafehopping #cafeinbkk #cafehoppingbkk #cafevibes #cafeari #AroundAri #bkkcafe #bkkcoffee #bkkmenu#flaneurtea #speacialtyblendtea #nitrotap #nitrotea

A post shared by สติ Handcraft coffee (@s_a_t_i) on Aug 12, 2018 at 9:17pm PDT

Hemp seed tea

The Australian government legalised the selling of low-THC hemp food products back in November 2017, which is great news for food and beverage companies. Hemp buds don’t contain enough THC to get someone high but they are abundant in omega 3 and 6 fatty acids and 20 essential amino acids, which may help with skin, hair, nails, digestion and joint pain. Hemp seed tea is a great way to capitalise on the current interest in the plant and its health benefits, and we can source this product in for our clients as needed.

Kombucha

Kombucha isn’t going anywhere in 2019 – we’re just expecting to see more exotic and exciting blends. Inkwood Research predicts that the European kombucha market will be worth a staggering $1365 US million by the end of 2025. People are clearly looking to improve their gut health and general wellbeing – but they certainly don’t want that experience to be dull! Lucas Ruzicka says custom blends can set brands apart in this space. “Consider unique fruit blends such as blood orange and cinnamon, hemp and cacao, blackberry and apple or lemon balm and raspberry.”

Cacao shell tea

We covered cacao shell tea and its benefits recently because this product really does provide the perfect option for health-conscious consumers in 2019. It has a rich chocolatey aroma without sugar, dairy or calories, gives a gentle pick-me-up thanks to its theobromine and contains a myriad of vitamins and minerals to boot. Because it doesn’t have any of the bad stuff, even people with diabetes or dietary restrictions can savour it. It almost sounds too good to be true, which is why we predict it will sell very well this year and beyond.

Tea-based beauty products

Remember the trend of putting coffee in everything from soap to moisturiser? The tea equivalent is here with aplomb in 2019, and for good reason. The catechins in green tea, for example, can help to rid the skin of bacteria that can cause acne, as well as providing an anti-inflammatory effect for skin. There’s a huge focus right now on botanical and natural beauty products, and demand is huge in China. Tea leaves, extracts and oils are being used in bath bombs, creams and lotions. Lucas Ruzicka says there are several tea ingredients which lend themselves well to the beauty industry. “Matcha powder, cacao nibs, peppermint, Pu-erh tea and sencha all have their unique benefits and provide a marketable sense of luxury to beauty lines.” 

Here at Teavision we’re often the first to see where tea trends are moving. We’d be happy to talk through your product ideas and concepts for 2019 so you can pre-empt and capitalise on customer demand.

← Previous Post Next Post →