SEATTLE — Starbucks Coffee Co. is launching Teavana packaged tea in grocery stores beginning this summer. The six premium tea sachet varieties are inspired by popular Teavana blends and include Youthberry, a citrus-berry white tea blend with mango, orange, hibiscus and rose petals; Peach Tranquility, featuring peach and tropical fruit with notes of lemon, verbena and chamomile; Citrus Lavender, which pairs orange and pineapple with lavender blossom and sage; Jade Citrus Mint, a green tea blend with lemon citrus and spearmint; Imperial Spiced Chai, an oolong tea blend with cinnamon, tropical fruit and citrus notes; and Earl Grey Creme, a black tea blend with lavender and vanilla notes.
The introduction marks the Teavana brand’s entry into the $1.2 billion U.S. packaged tea market and builds on the success of handcrafted Teavana beverages in Starbucks stores. The Teavana and Refreshment category at U.S. company-operated Starbucks stores has grown 14% year-to-date, according to the company.
Starbucks two years ago announced a partnership with Anheuser-Busch to produce, bottle, distribute and market Teavana ready-to-drink iced tea in the United States. Flavors include Pineapple Berry Blue Herbal Tea, Peach Green Tea, Meyer Lemon Black Tea, Passion Tango Herbal Tea, Mango Black Tea and Strawberry Apple Green Tea.
In July 2017, Starbucks said it would close all 379 of its Teavana retail stores by the spring of 2018. Most recently, the company said the closings would be complete by the end of fiscal 2018.
“The launch of Teavana packaged tea in grocery is just the beginning of the journey to bring consumers some of their Teavana favorites in a new, accessible format where they purchase their groceries,” said John Culver, group president, International, Channel Development, and Global Coffee & Tea. “Since our acquisition of Teavana five years ago, we have continued to innovate within the tea category and build distribution outside of Starbucks stores. We remain committed to executing our plan to increase our tea business to $3 billion over the next five years through Starbucks global retail, packaged tea, and ready-to-drink premium Teavana Craft Iced Teas.”