This report looks at the following areas:
- Future market outlook and growth prospects of tea drinks in the next five years
- New product trends worth noting in the tea drinks market
- Overall change in consumption trends and reasons for consumption of tea drinks
- Consumers’ tea choices and taste preferences
- Consumers’ priority factors in purchasing tea drinks and their concerns about drinking tea
Under the trend to return to origins, tea drinks need to shed their image as beverages and evolve towards being an everyday nourishing water alternative and focus more on the taste and culture of tea appreciation.
Pepper Peng, Senior Analyst, China Insights
Market Definitions
This Report examines the Chinese market for tea infusions and tea drinks with a focus on RTD tea drinks. The following tea drink categories are included in the scope of the Report:
- All packaged black tea, green tea and other RTD tea drinks, such as Asian herbal tea (referring to traditional herbal tea drinks made with Chinese herbal medicine substances, as represented by Wong Lo Kat’s (王老吉) products), milk tea, oolong tea and jasmine tea.
- Packaged tea infusions (in tea bags): standard and other black, green, oolong, white, fruit and flower teas, Asian herbal tea, Pu’er tea and maté.
The study excludes loose tea and instant tea powder, but these categories are included in the consumer survey where relevant to provide a context for comparison.
Market size is based on sales through all retail channels (off-trade) and non-retail sales (on-trade or HoReCa).
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Executive summary
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Definition
- What you need to know
- Market overview and new product trends
- Consumer trends and insights
- Keys to success
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The market
- Market size and forecast
- After experiencing rapid growth, the RTD tea market is beginning to slow down
- The wellness trend drives the growth of tea bags
- Market segments
- The initial signs of slowed growth in non-herbal tea categories emerge
- Asian herbal tea is under threat from adjacent categories, with diminishing growth
- Market factors
- The willingness to spend on non-alcoholic drinks remains stable, while more are likely to trade up in tea drinks
- Graph 1: consumption of non-alcoholic drinks – bought more expensive products, 2023-24
- Graph 2: budget for non-alcoholic drinks – trading up and down, 2022-25
- The new China food safety standard: a ban on ‘zero additives’
- Graph 3: free-from claims consumers deem important when purchasing drinks*, 2023-25
- Being fundamentally nutritious is back in trend, as consumers focus more on their wellbeing
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Companies and brands
- Market share
- Nongfu Spring continues to capture market share
- Uni-President and Master Kong continue to invest in sugar-free tea
- Late to the game, but with budding potential: the emerging brands
- New product trends
- The proportion of new products from private labels has significantly increased, redefining the industry landscape
- Graph 4: new RTD tea products, by % of which are by brands or private label, 2022-25
- Graph 5: share of private label as the ultimate companies in new variants of RTD tea, 2022-25
- Examples of private-label products from Freshippo, Aldi and Dingdong Maicai
- Oolong tea remains the mainstream base tea for RTD tea, which differs from the situation in the on-premise tea market
- Graph 6: new street drink products by type of base tea, February 2025
- Graph 7: base tea* distribution in new RTD tea products, 2022-25
- Sales of green tea in the Taobao ecosystem continue to grow
- The base tea continues to be segmented by famous regions and varieties
- The scope of ‘tea’ expands
- Free from claims are growing the fastest
- Graph 8: growth in the top ten categories of new RTD tea products, by percentage growth, 2022-25
- Minus claims are a must, with growth benefited by sugar-free claims
- Graph 9: top 10 claims in new RTD tea drinks, 2022-25
- Examples of products with caffeine-free, environmentally friendly packaging or sugar-free claims
- Fruit and floral flavours remain the focus of innovation, with significant growth in jasmine
- Graph 10: RTD tea new products, by top ten flavour components, 2022-25
- Examples of new products with jasmine, osmanthus or mandarin/tangerine flavours
- Novel citrus flavours continue to emerge, while Chinese herbs are on the rise
- Flavourscape AI: methodology
- Examples of products with red grapefruit, blood orange or bamboo flavours
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The consumer
- The RTD tea category continues to expand, with ‘focus moments’ still being a strong scenario
- The overall ranking of consumer penetration rates is stable, with freshly brewed tea now taking the lead
- Graph 11: tea fusion and tea drink consumption penetration ranking, 2024 vs 2025
- Graph 12: frequency of tea infusion or tea drink consumption, 2025
- Convenient tea drinking experience becomes the key driver for category growth
- More men aged 25-29 are medium to high frequency consumers of RTD tea
- Graph 13: proportion of high-frequency consumers of selected tea and tea drink categories, by gender and age, 2025
- The consumption scenario of RTD tea alone is mainly during moments of focus, but it also has potential in leisure settings
- Graph 14: RTD tea beverage consumption scenarios, 2025
- There is development potential for different types of tea bases, but those with high fragrance and intense aftertaste are more popular
- Green tea and black tea remain the most consumed tea types, while decaffeinated options are also popular
- Graph 15: types of tea consumed, 2025
- Graph 16: consumption proportion of selected tea base types, 2022 vs 2025
- Light-flavoured tea bases see development potential
- Graph 17: proportion of high-frequency consumers of RTD tea, by type of tea consumed, 2025
- Strong aroma, sweet aftertaste, low bitterness and low tea polyphenols are the mainstream preference…
- Graph 18: flavour preferences, 2025
- … but men aged 30-39 prefer intense flavours
- Graph 19: selected tea taste preference – heavier/darker/more , by gender and age, 2025
- RTD tea is highly associated with other non-tea beverages, with concerns about sugar outweighing the characteristics of the tea itself
- Greater demand for sugar-free products in tea drinks than other drinks
- Sugar content remains one of the important decision factors in purchasing
- Graph 20: factors influencing RTD tea purchases – selected as important, 2025
- Innovation in technology and communication is inevitable in the future
- Graph 21: priority of RTD tea drink purchase factors, 2025
- Aside from affecting sleep, there are fewer concerns about the inherent characteristics of tea
- Graph 22: tea consumption concerns, 2025
- Frequent RTD tea consumers need ‘light’ products more
- Graph 23: sugar-free tea drinks vs black coffee, 2025
- Graph 24: concerns of having tea drinks, by consumption frequency of RTD tea drinks, 2025
- Tea is perceived as healthier than coffee, with a higher potential for diverse scenarios
- The biggest advantage of sugar-free tea compared to coffee is its healthy image
- Graph 25: tea vs coffee – refreshing, 2025
- Graph 26: sugar-free tea vs black coffee – health, 2025
- The image of tea as a fatigue reliever is more prominent than as a refreshment, and it presents premium opportunities in business settings
- Graph 27: tea vs coffee – workplace fatigue, 2025
- Graph 28: tea vs coffee – business occasions, 2025
- Example of tea drinks packaging featuring a premium image
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Issues and insights
- The fragrant scent of green tea should not be overlooked
- The refinement of green tea is worth further exploration
- The strong seasonality of green tea provides new ways to segment aroma and offers premium opportunities
- Future: technological innovation brings a whole new category
- A new positioning for water substitutes: everyday nourishment
- Minimise concerns about caffeine in refreshment scenarios
- Rejuvenate the beauty of caffeine-free substitute teas
- Amplify the health benefits of tea through tea polyphenols and L-theanine
- After sugar-free, shed the association with other beverages and return to the traditional tea culture
- Products: reapproach tea through taste, with richness being the most intuitive aspect
- Provide tiered options to accommodate different taste preferences
- Cultural value: create a moment of inner peace with the Zen art of drinking tea
- Graph 29: tea vs coffee – relaxing alone, 2025
- Graph 30: tea vs coffee – an expression of exquisite living, 2025
- The beauty of tea tasting and the Zen of tea have taken off
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Appendix – market size and forecast, research methodology and abbreviations
- Market size and forecast – RTD tea drinks
- Market size and forecast – tea bags
- Market segmentation – Asian RTD herbal tea
- Market segments – RTD tea (excluding Asian herbal tea)
- Methodology
- Abbreviations
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