The landscape for the beverage corporations has been drastically changed in the last couple of years. While coffee drinkers still make up a large part of the consumer market for caffeinated drinks, the market for tea as well as energy drinks have become a force to be reckoned with in the beverage industry.
A colorful display distinguishing the types of tea DavidsTea has to offer. Image from refashionvancouver.com
In regards to this growing sector, DavidsTea has become a prominent and rapidly growing tea retailer in Canada. Being a relatively new company in the Canadian market place, DavidsTea has grown to 120 stores across the nation and has a rapidly growing popularity among their target market. Meanwhile, Starbucks acquired Teavana in hopes of developing and executing their own line of tea beverages. Recently, Starbucks opened up their first Teavana location in New York City, with prices of drinks ranging from $2.50 to $6. As discussed in Alex’s blog, tea and coffee act as substitute goods for many consumers, however, I disagree with her on spending $5 on either coffee/tea or a chocolate bar being a difficult decision. In my opinion, it’s an easy decision to make to spend my $5 on tea, given the known health benefits of drinking a cup of tea in comparison to the health issues with consuming an entire bar of chocolate. The market for tea is definitely a sector worth considering for businesses looking to expand into the beverage industry.