India is a country of diverse culture, traditions, and aromatic beverages. While tea and coffee have been an integral part of India since centuries, its consumption evolved over time. Consumers in modern India are seeking easy solutions without sacrificing the flavor and quality of their tea and coffee. This is due to the fast-paced lifestyle of the country. As a result, India's ready to drink tea and coffee market has grown and now offers a variety of flavors and versions to suit the changing tastes and preferences of Indian consumers.
The healthier introduction of ready-to-drink tea and coffee in India is a result of rising Millennials and Gen Z—more health conscious consumers who desire low sugar and low calorie options.
Consistency will not get manufacturers far in this sector; there must be ongoing innovation and flavor variety. Manufacturers started releasing flavors including purple tea, masala chai, matcha (green tea) and gourmet coffee in recent years.
- In Japan, a powdered green tea called matcha is very popular. It can be added to lattes, smoothies, and baked goods, or it can be taken on its own when whisked with water.
- Purple tea is a brand-new variety of tea that has only recently become widely available in stores. The uncommon purple-leaved tea plant used to make the tea was discovered growing wild in the Assam region of India. Currently, Kenya, an African country, is where most purple teas are produced.
- In 2012, baristas at Cuvee Coffee in Austin, Texas, experimented with the creation of nitro coffee. Nitro coffee is currently available in several Starbucks locations in India, as well as other cities throughout the United States.
With its critical function in maintaining the beverage's quality and flavor, packaging continues to be the primary component in drawing in customers. Bottles, pouches, and cans are just a few of the efficient packaging options that manufacturers are continually developing in. As a result, the items have a longer shelf life, are more convenient for customers, and have a reduced negative impact on the environment.
Today’s fast driven world requires efficient time management to ensure productive result acquainted with the proper work- life balance. Tea and coffee plays a significant and soothing role in providing the same. May it be office or home or suited climatic conditions such as winter and rainy seasons, tea and coffee offers the quickest therapy to relax mind and allows efficiency in spur of time. Given the importance and reliability of huge cluster consumers adept with tea and coffee consumption, the present industry is more adept with the ready tea to drink (RTD) products.
Let's delve deeper into the trends and dynamics shaping this attractive market, and explore the opportunities and challenges ahead.
In India, the demand of ready to drink tea and coffee is more evident from the age group in the range of 25 years and 54 years, which accounts for nearly 41% of the Indian demographic split. There has been enhanced trend or proliferation of café culture and the market is expected to double in the next five years. Cafe outlets such as Costa coffee, coffee world, Café coffee day, starbucks, Lavasa and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, etc are conglomerating at a rapid pace in Indian cafe market. Prior success and demand of domestic tea and coffee market alongwith the abundant consumer section has attracted the international players towards India. The trend is further expected to grow in the coming future as far as Indian market is concerned, especially on account of growing awareness for health and improved lifestyle. The fluctuation however can be seen in terms of varying demand from tea and coffee. However, increasing raw material prices can prove to be detrimental in the ready to drink market growth. The industry is also lucrative in terms of employment generation. Increasing number of variants and competitiveness in the market, especially from international players, portray the active growth trend of ready to drink beverage industry.
It is equally imperative to assess the dynamics of the entire beverage industry. The associated beverage companies have included ready to drink products of strategic importance in their product offerings. Earlier, Coca Cola India had launched its ready to drink ice tea Nestea and ready to drink tea coffee such as Georgia gold is one such example. Further, the key players are at expansion stage as iterated from the recent plans of India’s topmost coffee chain, Café coffee day to ponder for a possible initial public offering (IPO). The company is also planning to increase the number of its 1,650 outlets with better offerings. Undoubtedly, from a consumer perspective and affinity for tea and coffee, a lot is to be witnessed in the near future.
