Premium tea brands Twinings and Jacksons of Piccadilly are expanding their ranges with moves into organic and Fairtrade respectively.

The two brands, both owned by Associated British Foods, are introducing the new options this month in an effort to tap into the growing premium end of the tea market as volumes of standard ranges decline.

The trend to premium has led to the 9.2% growth of speciality tea to £48m [Nielsen MAT 30 June], outstripping the 3.9% growth in the overall tea category almost two and a half times.

The addition of organic and loose tea to Twinings' Everyday brand comes as the range reaches £10m in value, up 40% year-on-year.

"We are confident we can switch more mainstream consumers to our premium quality teas," said Twinings UK sales director Jon Jenkins.

The new Fairtrade range for Jacksons of Picadilly would make it the most premium tea brand in the UK to carry the ethical logo, claimed the company.

"This launch means Jacksons will be meeting the needs of discerning tea consumers who buy Fairtrade in other categories and are prepared to pay a little more for the finest quality," added Jenkins.

The Fairtrade range, which has an rsp of £1.79 for 20 bags, includes mainstream tea, Ceylon Earl Grey, Assam, Kenyan, Darjeeling, as well as Green Tea with Elderflower and Green Tea with Lime from Southern China. It will be listed in Waitrose and Tesco from March.

Jacksons relaunched its packaging and brand identity last year in a bid to reaffirm itself as a quintessentially British company.

As part of the move, it launched a super-premium range of loose teas to sit alongside its Best of the Best tea brand.

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