Lipton tea brand may go extinct due to these reasons

Unilever, makers of the popular Lipton tea brand are considering halting production due to changing preferences in consumer choices.

It is not just Lipton alone, Brooke Bond and Pukka Herbs also stand the risk of leaving the market following a slump in sales of black tea.

According to Unilever’s chief executive, Alan Jope, he noted that traditional tea drinkers were a dying breed, with drinkers of black tea “getting older and consuming less and starting to fall over”. He said traditional “builder’s tea” drinkers were “not into experimenting and trying new products”.

In layman terms, the younger generation has quit tea for coffee. Brands like Lipton and PG Tips are the worst hit as a result.

Tea breaks have been a tradition in the UK for more than 200 years, according to the UK Tea and Infusions Association, which insists tea is still hanging on to its crown as the national drink with 100m cups supped every day. But Britons are increasingly drinking coffee in their tea breaks, with 95m cups downed every day, according to the British Coffee Association.

Total tea sales have declined by about 2% over the last two years to £565m, according to the research firm Nielsen, which tracks the UK grocery market. But a steeper decline in the sales of basic builder’s brews is being hidden by higher prices for upmarket spinoffs such as detox blends and cold infusions (teabags for cold water). Black tea remains the biggest chunk of the market at £360m, which is £18m down on two years ago.