Anheuser-Busch and Starbucks have announced that they are working together to produce, bottle, distribute and market the first Teavana Ready-to-Drink (RTD) tea in the U.S., with an anticipated product launch in the first half of 2017.
Following today’s announcement, Anheuser-Busch and Starbucks expect to finalize definitive agreements by the second half of calendar year 2016.
RTD Tea, a ategory on the rise nationwide
In 2015, U.S. Starbucks locations have sold over $1bn of handcrafted Teavana tea beverages. The figure means a 11% growth in year-over-year sales.
“This arrangement will bring together the strengths of two great companies, each with a long history of successful brand-building,” said Carlos Brito, Chief Executive Officer, Anheuser-Busch InBev. “Starbucks’ expertise and leadership in premium tea, combined with our world-class production capabilities and strong U.S. distribution footprint, will position this new product well in what is an exciting and growing category. We are delighted to be in a position to offer this great product to our wholesalers and believe, with their support, we are ideally structured to maximize the sales opportunity for Teavana RTD tea across the U.S.”
According to the Tea Association of the U.S., 80% of tea consumed in America is iced tea and tea overall has a global category size of $125Bn, with Americans drinking 800 million cups of tea per week. This relationship positions Starbucks and Anheuser-Busch to claim market share in the more than $1Bn premium RTD tea category
“Tea has been an important part of Starbucks heritage since we opened our doors as Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spices in the Pike Place Market in 1971,” said Howard Schultz, chairman and chief executive officer, Starbucks. “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.”
A win-win partnership
Starbucks will contribute Teavana’s tea expertise, industry-leading retail activation, and consumer engagement capabilities, and Anheuser-Busch will lead production, bottling and distribution to retailers nationwide in partnership with its long-standing and well-established network of wholesalers.
Starbucks and Anheuser-Busch plan to introduce new Teavana RTD non-alcohol premium tea beverages across U.S. channels.
Starbucks retail stores nationwide will keep on serving premium, handcrafted Teavana brewed and iced teas, which is a high growth category at Starbucks.
This arrangement will bring together the strengths of two great companies, each with a long history of successful brand-building,” said Carlos Brito, Chief Executive Officer, Anheuser-Busch InBev. “Starbucks’ expertise and leadership in premium tea, combined with our world-class production capabilities and strong U.S. distribution footprint, will position this new product well in what is an exciting and growing category. We are delighted to be in a position to offer this great product to our wholesalers and believe, with their support, we are ideally structured to maximize the sales opportunity for Teavana RTD tea across the U.S.”
Image over the headline.- Howard Schulz (Chairman and CEO of Starbucks) -left- and Carlos Brito (CEO Anheuser-BuschInBev) presenting the partnership between both companies to launch Teavana RTD in the USA by 2017. Photo by Michael Thomas for Starbucks Coffee Company.
