Text: Lyra Liu
*: foodaily daily food (id: foodaily).
In 2023, sugar-free tea will be hot, driving the bottled tea category into a new stage of rapid development.
International brands Suntory and Lipton, local well-known brands Master Kong, Yuanqi Forest, Rangcha and so on continue to promote new actions, and the head brands of each subdivision still occupy the market advantage. At the same time, there are also brands such as Dongpeng and Tsingtao Beer that have crossed over to enter the tea track. In addition, freshly made tea brands such as Starbucks and Nai Xue's tea have increased the category of bottled ready-to-drink tea and launched a variety of new products.
On the other hand, the freshly made tea track has frequently exploded, which can be said to have reached a new height. In summer, hand-made lemon tea is popular all over the streets and alleys, and niche tea varieties have been developed one after another; In winter, Dahongpao milk tea has become a new explosive product, and lazy health has become the new mainstream. In addition to the stable output of popular products, freshly made tea drinks have also set off a round of "ingredient list revolution".
From bottled tea to freshly made tea, from sugar-free tea to a comprehensive upgrade of the nutritional concept, to the extension of taste and scene, what are the highlights of the new tea drinks in 2023? What trends will inspire product innovation in 2024?
Based on the new tea products in the more than 2,000 products included in the new food and beverage platform Daily New Products created by Foodaily, Foodaily has extracted the following trends, hoping to provide reference experience for tea innovation in 2024.
Under the trend of no glycation
The tea base is upgraded, and the variety and technology have become new selling points
Under the market trend of rapid growth of the concept of sugar control and sugar reduction, bottled tea products as a whole show no saccharification, and "0 sugar, 0 fat and 0 calories" has become a universal label for bottled tea.
At the same time, with the influx of more and more players, product competition has gradually shifted from general health and restored tea taste to more specific tea varieties, processes and tastes.
1.The tea base is upgraded, and the variety and technology have become new selling pointsIn 2023, tea brands will begin to further explore the innovation of tea base flavors. According to incomplete statistics from foodaily, Heytea alone has launched nearly 20 tea bases, including Shuiyunjian, Frangipani Jasmine, and Xia Gardenia White Tea.
foodaily summarized the tea bases used in the new products of bottled tea and ready-to-drink tea tracks in 2023, and found that Da Hong Pao, duck feces incense, and Tieguanyin were the main varieties.
foodaily finishing.
In addition to tea varieties, different tea-making processes will also bring different flavor experiences. Most of the ready-to-drink teas commonly found on the market are extracted at high or low temperatures using modern process equipment. In this context, Heytea and Baifen Tea have successively launched buffalo milk roasted tea and Shichai sencha, inspired by the "Book of Tea", through different tea base production processes, to bring a multi-differentiated experience of flavor to milk tea products.
Hey tea, 100 percent tea.
2.Oolong tea has become a mainstream category, and the varieties are further subdividedAs a unique tea variety in China, oolong tea has many varieties and different flavors, and is very popular in the domestic tea market. Whether it's sugar-free tea, fruit tea or milk tea with innovative formulas, brands are focusing on developing traditional oolong tea and innovating it to bring consumers a rich sensory experience.
Judging from the new tea drinks included in foodaily in 2023, oolong tea is a well-deserved mainstream tea variety, and it shows a trend of segmentation, and the degree of tea fermentation and tea varieties have become new selling points of the product.
Breakdown of the degree of fermentation
Among the new oolong tea products this year, there are some products that have an extra emphasis on the degree of fermentation.
The newly launched black oolong of Oriental Leaves adopts a deep fermentation method, the taste is closer to black tea, the tea body also presents a deep red color, the taste is mellow and mellow and not bitter, and it is also accompanied by a long sweetness; Suntory's newly launched Gardenia Oolong Tea adopts a light fermentation method, the taste is closer to green tea, the tea soup is clearer, and the gardenia brings a fresh and fragrant characteristic.
Oriental leaves, Suntory.
Breakdown of tea varieties
Among the new oolong tea products launched this year, foodaily found that most of the products began to emphasize the tea variety and flavor. From this year's "top stream" duck feces incense and Da Hong Pao, to niche tea varieties such as cinnamon and narcissus, these all belong to oolong tea.
In addition, there are many brands that have launched a series of oolong tea products, bringing consumers a different oolong tea experience at once.
For example, Xiaocan Tea has launched the Taste Oolong Combination Tea, which contains four special oolong teas from the three classic production areas; The newly launched milk tea of Xiangpiaopiao uses three regional characteristics of oolong tea, namely Gui Black Oolong, Wuyi Mountain Dahongpao, and Chaozhou Phoenix Dancong Duck Feces Fragrance, with high-quality milk source, bringing an upgraded milk tea experience; The new fruit juice tea series launched by the fruit is ripe, and three kinds of oolong tea are preferred, and combined with their respective flavor characteristics with different fruit flavors, so that the tea aroma and fruit aroma achieve each other.
Small pots of tea, fragrant, ripe.
With the development of sugar-free tea, consumers' tastes are gradually subdivided, and for brands, subdividing tea varieties has also become a differentiated business card for products, and can also lead young people to feel the charm of Chinese tea culture.
Play with new palates
The emotional value of tea is full
1.Find a "partner" for tea, and the flavor compound brings an upgraded experienceIn 2023, the taste of ready-to-drink tea will be more diversified, showing a trend of tea + N. With the rapid development of freshly made tea, consumers have been cultivated the habit of drinking tea, and many popular formulas in freshly made tea have also been copied into bottled ready-to-drink tea, bringing consumers a more convenient experience.
Flowers + Tea
In the ready-to-drink tea category in 2023, foodaily found that some tea products are no longer a single tea, but present a rich "flower + tea" form of flower tea collocation, making the product taste richer and more layered. Among these products, jasmine is the mainstream element, and at the same time, emerging elements such as gardenia, rose, and osmanthus also have more applications, which are expected to become the next potential flavor.
Let Tea launched the Alpine Flower Tea series, based on China's unique oolong tea, with jasmine and bamboo respectively, showing the elements of traditional Chinese culture; Rising Sun Forest launched rose oolong tea; Suntory uses gardenia with a fragrant oolong tea ......
Let's tea, rose oolong, gardenia oolong.
Fruit + Tea
In summer, refreshing fruit tea has become the preferred drink of consumers, and ready-to-drink tea has also begun to increase the variety of fruit tea, bringing a richer taste experience. International brands such as Lipton and Suntory have launched a variety of fruit teas, Starbucks has launched bottled fruit juice tea for the first time, the emerging brand Otter has launched a variety of freeze-dried fruit teas, and freshly made tea brands led by Nai Xue's tea have also begun to increase the ready-to-drink fruit tea track.
Among the fruit juice tea products, the lemon tea sub-category has attracted the most attention. Based on the success of the hand-made lemon tea category in freshly made tea drinks, major brands have also begun to increase the category of lemon tea. Suntory, Genki Forest, and Fruit Ripe have launched lemon tea products.
Suntory, Genki Forest, and the fruit are ripe.
In addition to lemons, peaches, strawberries, watermelons, lychees and other fruits are also common combinations in fruit tea products.
Milk + tea
Freshly made milk tea uses a dazzling speed of innovation to interpret the broad inclusiveness of milk tea. Inspired by the "freshly made inspiration", ready-to-drink milk tea has also begun to explore more diverse product expressions.
Looking at the ready-to-drink milk tea market in 2023, the system.
1. Xiangpiaopiao and Yuanqi Forest have launched new milk teas, and freshly made tea brands such as Hey Tea and Costa have also turned classic products into ready-to-drink tea products. In addition to convenience, sugar reduction, real milk and real tea, restoration of freshly made milk tea, and emotional satisfaction have become new selling points of milk tea products.
Command. 1. Yuanqi Forest, Hey Tea.
Among these products, the tea base of Da Hong Pao has been favored by many brands and has become the first hit in autumn and winter in the tea industry. Under the successful experience of freshly made tea, the fragrance is fluttering and unified.
1. Master Kong and other leading brands of ready-to-drink tea have also collectively made efforts to make Dahongpao milk tea. Behind the large-scale popularity of Dahongpao milk tea is consumers' more detailed pursuit of flavor in the milk tea category.
Nayuki's tea is fragrant.
2.Drink to an elevated level of mood satisfactionIn addition to the flavors, the way to drink tea has also become more diverse. It can not only perfectly restore the taste of freshly brewed tea, but also bring more participation to consumers in the process of drinking.
Nestle launched matcha capsules to experience freshly made matcha in the form of capsule coffee, so that freshly brewed tea has a more professional and advanced scene experience;
Yili launched Yike Huoquan Freshly Brewed Tea and Gaishi Tea launched a separate freshly brewed gongfu tea, through the ingenious design of the bottle cap and the separation of tea and water, so that ordinary consumers can easily get the experience of freshly brewed tea;
In addition, there are also tons of drinking water bags in the form of large water cups that young people love, one pack at a time, easy to control.
Yili, Gai is tea, tons of drinking water dynasty.
3.The seasonal trend is clearIn the hot summer, seasonal fruits such as lemons, bayberry, grapes, and watermelons have also become a popular accompaniment to tea in the summer.
In addition to taste, tea products are also committed to bringing a refreshing feeling to consumers. Freshly made teas have been launched with mint series, which are combined with ice cubes to bring double refreshment. On the other hand, bottled tea began to incorporate elements such as mung beans, chrysanthemums, and licorice, creating the concept of a Chinese-style summer drink.
1 dot, meco, Master Kong.
In autumn and winter, freshly made tea brands start from two aspects: raw materials and small ingredients to bring consumers a warm and full feeling. Seasonal ingredients such as persimmons, strawberries, cherries, and chestnuts have become mainstream ingredients, and toppings such as sweet potatoes and mashed taro not only bring winter warmth, but also bring satisfaction.
Tea 100 ways, 7 points of sweet, 100 points of tea.
In addition, bottled tea also relies on seasonal flavors to launch products with warm attributes in winter, such as various brands have launched more satiety milk tea, Suntory has launched a series of warm drinks that can be heated, and Master Kong has also integrated winter health elements into the classic iced black tea ......
The formula is lighter
Tea ushers in the era of ingredient lists
In 2023, the biggest change in freshly made tea drinks is that it has begun to emphasize the health and authenticity of raw materials. In the hundreds of new freshly made tea drinks included in foodaily in 2023, you will often see words such as raw leaf tea, real juice, and real milk, which are embodied in the three trends of milk base diversification, real materials and formula transparency.
Sugar-free has become the general trend of bottled tea, the concept of health care has also been upgraded again, herbal tea has become a new trend, starting from the Chinese health care idea, opening a new track of health tea.
1.The milk base is lighter and more diverse"2023 Plant-based New Tea Drinks***" mentioned that the use of more refreshing and lighter natural raw materials is the core idea of the health upgrade of new tea drinks, and one of the typical trends is the health upgrade of "milk base".
This year, "0 trans fatty acids, 0 hydrides, and 0 creamers" have become the new selling points of freshly made tea products. Major brands have changed their milk bases and launched healthier "real milk tea". In addition, it is also divided into light milk tea and thick milk tea in terms of taste. Heytea launched a self-developed new tea drink special milk, Bawang Tea Ji Guanxuan Bing Blanc non-hydrogenated base milk, Nai Xue's tea launched a series of buffalo milk products, and Tea Baidao launched a series of real fresh milk tea products ......
Tea Baidao, coco, ancient tea.
In addition, this year's popular milk tea products also show a trend of diversification in flavor, coconut milk, rice milk, oat milk have poured into the market, Kerry, Hairong, Cézanne and other upstream brands, have also launched a variety of health and flavor, suitable for different tea bases of milk base products.
Nai Xue's tea, coco can be, and Tsubaki wind health tea.
2.The concept of health has been upgraded, and it is realFor tea products, health is not only a simple reduction of sugar and fat, but also a balance between taste and taste. As consumers pay more and more attention to raw materials, real materials have also become a manifestation of the health of tea products.
After summarizing the new products released in the tea track in 2023, foodaily found two major directions for the health of tea drinks.
The first is to subtract the raw materials. This year, keywords such as high sugar, non-dairy creamer, and trans fatty acids have frequently appeared on hot searches, causing consumers' health concerns. For a time, 0 sugar, 0 non-dairy creamer, 0 trans fatty acids, and 0 preservatives have become the new selling points of tea products. At the same time, real materials can directly show the healthy and additive-free attributes of the product. Most of the tea products launched this year use labels such as real milk, real juice, and real tea.
Shape power, vita, Master Kong.
The second is to increase nutrients. Among the new tea drinks to be launched in 2023, there are many brands that do healthy additions. Many brands such as Suntory, Vita, and Oriental Leaf have added vitamin C to their products; Mengniu launched three types of lactic acid bacteria fruit teas, with the addition of Lactobacillus helveticus; Jianlibao launched a flower and fruit light nutrition series, adding sodium hyaluronate; Master Kong, Tea Yan Yuese, and 100% Tea add dietary fiber ingredients to the product; Ejiao and peach gum have also become frequent customers of ready-made tea products......
Mengniu, Jianlibao, Master Kong.
3.Transparent ingredients are more secure, and ingredients are open to establish a safe business cardIn recent years, consumers have paid more and more attention to healthy light diets, and they have also paid more and more attention to the specific ingredients of food, such as calories and raw materials.
For the ready-to-drink tea track, the biggest change in 2023 is the transparency of the formula.
Since August, Bawang Chaji has successively disclosed the "product ID card" for a number of products, including product calorie table, nutrition content table, product flavor list and other information; In October, Heytea announced that it would disclose the traceability information of formula raw materials, nutritional ingredients and true quality raw materials of all products on sale. Since then, freshly made tea has ushered in the era of ingredient lists.
Overlord Tea Queen, Hey Tea.
Foodaily once wrote in "The era of "ingredient list" is coming, should this wave follow? The article mentioned that the "ingredient list era" of freshly made tea is not only the inevitable result of accurate insight into consumer demand, but also the concrete embodiment of promoting the continuous upgrading of the quality of the industry. In the future, the labeling of freshly made tea drinks may become a new landscape in the industry.
4.Bottled tea began to anchor to health, and herbal tea has attracted much attentionAfter the trend of sugar reduction, health and light health have become the new demand of young people for tea products. Foodaily found that among the health tea products launched in 2023, barley, poria, ejiao, red dates, etc. are the main raw materials, and functions such as heat relief, dehumidification, and gas replenishment are the main selling points. With the gradual upgrading of health elements, the health tea beverage track will also usher in a more refined and sustainable development.
In 2023, barley tea will become a major dark horse item in the sugar-free tea track, and brands such as Yuanqi Forest, Rangcha, Qingdao Youhuo, and Panpan will concentrate their efforts. In addition to the advantages of refreshing and greasy, rich in dietary fiber, decaf has also become a major product function, and some brands have launched decaf tea drinks one after another.
Yuanqi Forest, Panpan, Qingdao Youhuo.
In addition, Yuanqi Forest's fiber tea launched Huoxiang Da Xia Tea, and Chunfeng Health Tea launched three new series of fireless small herbal teas; Lao Jin Mo Fang launched two health tea bags ......These products are all convenient health teas inspired by Chinese nourishment, using medicinal and edible ingredients, and using "water substitution" as a selling point to help consumers develop good health habits.
Yuanqi Forest, Chunfeng Health Tea, Old Gold Mill Recipe.
In addition to sugar-free tea, milk tea also incorporates Chinese health elements, opening the trend of "lazy health".
Chunfeng, which focuses on health teas, has launched a variety of new health teas; Nai Xue's tea Ejiao milk tea is upgraded and returned; Baifen tea uses ginseng, ejiao, poria and other raw materials to create three moisturizing drinks.
Tsubaki wind health tea, Nai Xue's tea, 100 percent tea.
After understanding the highlights of new tea drinks in 2023, what are the new opportunities in the tea track? What else can brands do to upgrade their subdivisions?
In 2024, we will continue to carefully select more than 3,000 innovative products from more than 220,000 new products in 28 countries and regions, and conduct a three-day innovation display and tasting at foodailyfbic 2024, covering 7 categories, 50+ sub-categories, and 20+Featured themes for food and beverage product decision-makers to bring an immersive storm of inspiration.
foodailyfbic 2024, about the tea track we will passKeynote speeches at the forum, theme exhibition groups of global innovative product cases, and specially planned innovation private sessionsactivities, and the industry together how to innovate tea drinks.