Even with its modest portfolio of just nine lines, Yorkshire Tea is working to maintain its seat as the strongest in its set as the brand continues to bring out a handful of considered and bold new launches.
Its latest and arguably most off-the-wall launch yet, Caramelised Biscuit Brew, is an extension of its Proper Breaks range and a showcase of the brand using heritage in a way its competitors can’t. The now four-strong tea lineup already included Biscuit and Toast & Jam, alongside decaf variant Bedtime.
Tea and biscuits, tea and toast. They’re all familiar flavours, but arguably more Yorkshire than anything else. And this is why launches like Caramelised Biscuit Brew work for Yorkshire Tea, and maybe not for powerhouses like Tata’s Tetley Tea and Lipton-owned PG Tips, which, with their deep pockets, should be stirring up the black tea market with some bold NPD of their own.
PG Tips focuses on a portfolio of three black teas – decaf, original and gold – while Tetley runs with original, strong and Earl Grey. Each has hands in other segments, like cold infusions, fruit and green. But when it comes to everyday tea, the innovation isn’t there.
Yorkshire Tea shaking up a market
So instead, it’s Bettys & Taylors-owned Yorkshire Tea that is pouring new life on to the black tea shelves with simple, yet of the moment, innovations like toast and biscuit flavours. And it’s working…
In The Grocer’s Top Products report, Yorkshire Tea was the hero tea brand with sales of £136m – up £12.8m and 10.4% in volumes – in a strong-performing market. This continued earlier in year with sales up to £145m (+15.9%) in Britain’s Biggest Brands, where it rose eight places to 73 on the list.
But why is Yorkshire Tea able to shake up a market that sees little real innovation outside format (the pyramid bag, launched in 1996) and pack size? By being unapologetically and shamelessly Yorkshire, of course.
Its no messing around and “proper brew” stance has struck a chord with consumers who tend to remain loyal to the brand whether they’re from Yorkshire or not.
Tapping into Euros football fun
The brand’s Yorkshire heritage also gives it licence to have a sense of humour on social media, and so this way it can engage with a cohort of potential new drinkers. It did this well during the Euros, particularly on social platform X, where it has near 200k followers. A post before the final match showed a ring of chorizo hovering near a box of Yorkshire Tea resting on a speaker blaring the national anthem, which gathered over 236k views.
PG Tips’ X account has fewer followers and is altogether more corporate than Yorkshire Tea’s. And it’s the same for Tetley.
But while Yorkshire Tea may behave like the startup underdog brand with its straight-talking and direct personality, it’s not. It began in the 1970s and this year returned to double-digit sales growth with revenues to near £300k and a 36.7% market share in 2023.
So, would a distinct accent and tongue-in-cheek sense of humour propel another tea brand to Yorkshire’s heights? It’s hard to say, but what is clear is consumers buy what they relate to, and there are few tea brands currently ticking that box as well as Yorkshire Tea.
No comments yet