Tesco has shaken up its hot beverages offer, handing listings to functional challenger brands Dirtea and Mission.
The retailer has listed three of Dirtea’s ‘Super Blends’ and three of Mission’s performance teas in 250 of its stores across the UK.
Dirtea’s blends (rsp: £10-£15) are made from functional mushrooms including lion’s mane and tremella. They come in a box of seven single-serve sachets in Coffee, Matcha and Cacao.
Listing with Tesco would help Dirtea fulfil its aim to “make functional mushrooms simple, accessible, and part of everyday life”, said co-founder Andrew Salter.
“Millions of people can now experience these rituals as part of their normal shop. It’s a big moment for us, and for functional wellness as a whole,” he added.
Mission’s teas, meanwhile, comprise Perform, a yerba mate blend with green tea and spearmint, Focus, a yerba mate blend with peppermint and liquorice, and Calm, a caffeine-free rooibos tea with cocoa and cinnamon (all rsps: £5/15 bags).
They would “drive incremental growth by bringing functional benefits into an established and growing tea category,” the supplier predicted.
“Our performance tea range has already demonstrated strong demand across Ocado and Holland & Barrett,” said Mission sales director Tom McKelvey. “Listing with Tesco allows us to scale more quickly and make functional tea accessible to a much broader group of health-conscious shoppers.”
It comes with interest in hot functional drinks soaring among younger shoppers.
A fifth (22%) of UK adults have swapped out their morning tea or coffee for a functional drink such as matcha, herbal teas or mushroom-based drinks, jumping to almost two fifths (39%) among Gen Z [Ocado/Savanta June 2025].
“We’re really pleased to be able to support new, health-based challenger brands at Tesco,” said Jenna Shah, assistant buyer for hot beverages at Tesco. “Bringing new products from Dirtea and Mission offers something new for our customers.”
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