So it does seem a little odd that we’re seeing more and more news stories about foreign companies exporting tea to China, especially when the articles often to refer to a product that was grown there in the first place! Starbucks is also making full-leaf tea sachets available in nine flavors.
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Coffee house chain Starbucks Corp. said on Monday that it is offering a slate of new tea drinks called Teavana in over 6,200 stores in China and the Asia-Pacific region.
Starbucks began development of the new range more than a year and a half ago, Vera Wang, director of product line innovation for Starbucks China and Asia Pacific, said in an interview with Fortune.
“As we continue to deepen the reach of Starbucks brand in China, our customers are increasingly asking for new and different ways to experience tea”.
The drinks that the coffee chain will launch in Asia will be more exotic than its North America teas, including black tea with ruby grapefruit and honey, as well as green tea with aloe and prickly pear.
Starbucks may already be late to the game, with growth in China’s tea market slowing to 5.8 percent past year, after steadily decelerating from an 18 percent growth rate in 2010, according to data from Euromonitor International.
Building on this and the success of Teavana to date in other parts of the world, Starbucks aims to increase its global tea business to $3 billion over the next five years. “Teavana is really about a modern take on Western tea that is departing from the traditional tea experience”. “I think if they just didn’t do anything new and interesting, it would be tough”, she said.
Image: Starbucks has introduced Teavana beverages in China and Asia Pacific markets.
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And the drinks are aimed squarely at younger, middle-class consumers. All tea categories registered strong growth, led by iced tea at 29%.
