Starbucks partners with Budweiser maker to produce non-alcoholic tea in supermarket push
Starbucks has inked a deal with Budweiser maker Anheuser-Busch to produce a premium bottled range of its Teavana line of teas.
The partnership will see Starbucks push forward with its plans to capitalise on the increasingly popular tea category as well as make further in roads in to supermarkets, as expands its offering beyond coffee.
Set to launch in the US in 2017, the ready-to-drink range will marketed by Starbucks, while Anheuser-Busch will lead production, bottling and distribution to retailers across the country.
Within the past year US Starbucks locations have sold more than $1bn of Teavana tea beverages, representing 11 per cent growth in year-over-year sales.
“When we acquired Teavana in 2012, we saw a unique opportunity to do for tea what Starbucks has done for coffee and expand the Teavana brand across many customer experiences and products. We are excited to work with Anheuser-Busch to unlock the premium ready-to-drink market and further grow demand for the Teavana brand,” said Howard Schultz, chairman and chief executive officer, Starbucks.
According to the Tea Association of the US 80 per cent of tea consumed in America is iced tea and tea overall has a global category size of $125bn.
The deal comes as Starbucks looks to grow its Teavana brand globally. In April this year the company announced that it would be introducing Teavana across the UK and EMEA, bolstered by a campaign that will form the crux of the brand’s communications blitz this summer.
Speaking to The Drum at the time Ian Cranna, vice president of marketing EMEA, Starbucks, said Teavana will aim to open up the tea category to a younger audience across the region. “We feel there is a massive opportunity not only to up-level that out of home tea experience but to revitalise it in a youthful way. You’ll see from the brand and the way it is represented in the bright and light, colourful imagery that this is a brand that is very much positioned at turning around what is a fantastic experience and bringing it to a younger audience,” he said.