Publishing: 2 September

Advertising deadline: 17 August

Submissions deadline: 17 August

Contact: Natalie Brown (Natalie_brown@live.co.uk)

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The Story

British shoppers have bought less tea, coffee and other hot beverages to be consumed at home in the past year, meanwhile the number of coffee shops operating in the UK has grown. So are shoppers buying less tea and coffee to drink at home because they’re drinking more of it outside the home? Who are the best in class in both the out of home and take home markets? Who’s is growth in the supermarket sales and who’s struggling?

Key themes (this list is not exhaustive; we will investigate new angles as they arise):

Tea: After years left out in the cold, tea is back in value growth. Why? What types of tea and formats are rising in popularity? Has the tea pod gained any traction? What about loose leaf tea? This feature will include a box out profiling some of the most interesting tea launches.

Coffee: Coffee sales are in decline. Which brands, retailers, types of coffee and formats are bucking the trend to deliver growth? How are they doing this? This feature will include a box out profiling some of the most interesting instant and roast & ground launches.

Hot chocolate, cocoa and malted drinks: This feature will explore the factors driving performance in this sector. Which brands and retailers are in growth and decline in this market and what factors have driven this? How are things like price, promotions and marketing impacting growth and loss?

Out of home: This feature will pay close attention to this market, investigating how coffee shops are innovating to attract people through their doors (we will profile interesting outlets in a separate panel), how coffee (and tea) shop culture in influencing grocery and how some brands are crossing over into the supermarkets.

Commodity prices: How have raw material costs for tea, coffee and cocoa impacted the performances of the category’s major players? How have price changes affected the price paid by consumers?

Retailers: This feature will include in-depth analysis of how the different retailers’ approach to the hot beverages market. How are they merchandising it? How have their own label and branded ranges developed in the past year? What’s on the cards for the coming year?

Pods: This feature will include in depth analysis of how the pods market is performing for coffee, tea and other kinds of drinks. Which systems are most popular? How have prices changed in the past year? Which brands are winning?

Price/promotions: This feature will investigate how big a part price promotions have played in the market over the past year. It will explore how spend on this area has impacted brands’ spend on other areas such as advertising and NPD and how promotional mechanics employed have evolved and are likely to continue to evolve.

Key questions the feature is likely to address:

 What consumer trends have impacted the category over the past year?

 How have promotional strategies (both in terms of price and marketing) evolved?

 How have individual retailers’ strategies impacted the market?

 How has merchandising changed in the market?

 What impact has own-label had on branded players?

 What’s next for the category?

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