• November 5, 2007

Packaged Facts says the market for instant, leaf, liquid concentrate and ready-to-drink tea will grow over the next five years, from an estimated $7.4 billion in sales in 2007 to nearly $15 billion in 2012.

The firm's report, "Tea and Ready-to-Drink Tea in the U.S.," notes that tea is a sliver of the U.S. beverage market, "barely comparing in size to beverage categories such as carbonated soft drinks, coffee, and water." The firm says Americans' interest in health is giving the beverage a boost.

Packaged Facts projects that by 2012, specialty tea--which currently makes up 36% of the overall tea market--will command half of all tea and ready-to-drink tea sales in the United States.

Tatjana Meerman, the publisher of Packaged Facts, says that generic black tea bags are being supplanted by chai, yerba mate, rooibos and other specialty teas favored by boomers.

--Karl Greenberg