Kaytea’s arrival at WHSmith represents the culmination of a great summer for the UK’s up and coming iced tea brand. New listings at M&S, Sainsbury’s, Zapp, Deliveroo, Abel & Cole and Spinneys plus an array of well-connected healthier living wholesalers at the start of 2023, set the tone for the year and suggested that strategic decisions to produce a stunning White Peach, move the entire range from glass to slim 330ml cans and secure Fairtrade status to go alongside its organic accreditation, was time well spent.
“We have known the opportunity for innovative, clean-deck soft drinks that pair seamlessly with good for some while, but couldn’t have anticipated the level of furore around aspartame, excessive calories and synthetic nasties that lurk in so many mainstream offerings. Of course, we were always going to fair well in classy food halls, delis, university campuses and farm shops, however the real breakthrough has been discerning Capital head offices (WeWork, Bloomberg, Google and Netflix) craving discerning refreshment without any synthetic nasty baggage,” said Kaytea founder Kevin Tang.
“Coldbrew teas have been genuine beneficiaries of retail coffee chains broadening their hydration horizons with bubble teas, flavoured infusions, iced coffees etc.
Yes, there has been a real hubbub around harder working functional drinks and foods in recent times but Tang has his reservations. “At the end of the day there is simply no substitute for a well-balanced diet. Yes, we could have easily added blends of lab made vitamins and minerals to claim some arbitrary health claims but that seems counter-intuitive to our over-arching quest to be known for fantastic flavour profiles and best-in-class, organic ingredients.”
Kaytea.co.uk
