Hostility to sugar and muted market dampen Teavana's UK launch
Starbucks faces a declining tea market and increased scrutiny from health conscious consumers and regulators as it aims to bring a young and modern vision of tea to the UK. Especially black tea, the bedrock of the famous British tea time, has been in steady decline amid growing competition from other drinks and a stuffy image. This has dragged the entire tea category down 6% in value and 22% in volume over the past five years. With the introduction of a range of iced teas across Starbucks locations this summer, the company also faces more scrutiny from consumers moving away from sugary beverages and a government looking to introduce a sugar tax in 2018 to reduce obesity rates. However, green, herbal and specialty teas, all growing in popularity, may offer Teavana the required platform to disrupt an industry long dominated by traditional black tea. The company plans to introduce Teavana hot teas in the UK market this fall.