According to the report, 165 million cups of tea are consumed every day in the UK with the majority bring drunk at home or at work. It details that the market is split between premium and economy brands noting that premium tea is becoming more prominent in high street coffee shops.
62% of consumers consider a premium brand such as Twinings or Teapigs to be the most important factor when ordering tea out of home. Green, fruit and herbal teas are the most popular as 53% said they’d be willing to spend more on a premium tea.
Consumers find tea to be better value for money as the average tea spend is £1.68 out-of-home, which is lower than a latte or cappuccino at £2.31. Two thirds of tea drinkers would like to see specialised tea chains on the high street; a trend that Starbucks has already picked up on. Allegra expects Starbucks’ US launch of Teavana Tea Shops to be a catalyst for other similar concepts in the UK.
Anya Marco, director of Insight at Allegra Strategies, said: "Brits know how they like their tea and, unlike an espresso-based coffee, can make it just the way they like it at home. Successful coffee shops have to offer more than just a tea bag in a cup. The opportunity lies in creating an experience and ensuring the tea offer is premium, ideally with blends and tea types that consumers would not normally have at home."
The Allegra World Coffee Portal has been designed as an information platform for coffee industry experts and Allegra hopes to develop this to deliver real-time data with hot beverage trend information across 20 European markets, the USA, Australia and Asia.