Starbucks and AB InBev collaborate in tea company

American Starbucks and beer brewer AB InBev will launch a new project together, called Teavana. It consists of a new range of premium tea drinks for the market in the United States.

Market with strong growth

Coffee chain Starbucks acquired Teavana in 2012. The American chain of tea bars and shops will now transfer its brand to supermarkets, but in order to do so successfully, it enlisted the help of AB InBev, a company with plenty of experience distributing sodas.

The goal is to have a range of tea beverages on shelves in the United States somewhere in the first half of 2017. Starbucks will provide its tea expertise, while AB InBev will help with its knowledge in production, bottling and distribution.

“Tea has been an important part of Starbucks heritage since we opened our doors as Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spices in the Pike Place Market in 1971. When we acquired Teavana in 2012, we saw a unique opportunity to do for tea what Starbucks has done for coffee and expand the Teavana brand across many customer experiences and products”, Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz, said.

It is no coincidence the companies have chosen the premium tea beverages market, as it is the fastest growing tea beverage market in the United States. Over the past 5 years, it had an average 16 % annual growth, up to 1.1 billion dollars (987 million euro) in sales. About 80 % of all consumed tea in the United States is ice tea.