Tea as Functional Drink: Nourishment Advantages and Consumer Behaviour

Abstract

The tea was the 10th most popular food in Hungary in 2003 and it preceded e.g. the milk and salami-like products. Despite the stagnating market that amounted to 8 thousand million forints in 2005, an increase is predicted. The present consumption is 0.33 kg per capita and we take the 10th place in the EU-25 and we have a good chance to step forward in this respect. The culture of tea consumption has not devel-oped in Hungary yet, it is drunk as „lemonade” with sugar and lemon just like 20 years ago and the original tastes are not sought. It is necessary to launch the change of the consumers’ behaviour but this process needs innovation, „culture creating” programmes, information and more country teahouses. Cultural habits of the large tea producer/consumer countries can be met in more and more fields (e.g.: movies, hospitality) and it may contribute to the popularization of tea. The globalization and the free-thoroughfare are conductive to this process. It would be desirable to increase the tea consumption because tea (both the black and green ones) contains antioxidants which have a benefi-cial effect on human health, it is rich in fluorine, free from calorie and can help to maintain the water balance. Another benefit is that one average cup of tea contains only half caffeine as much as a cup of coffee. Tea has got into the circle of functional foods by all of these quali-ties. The favourable physiological effects are increasingly appreciated by the consumers: black tea will be the market leader in the future too, but herb teas have the most rapidly growing section and these are followed by fruit teas, green teas and the fruit flavoured black teas. Despite all this, the most important point of views are not the favourable physiological effects but the leading position of tea due to the high enjoyment value and stimulating effect. Three main brands surmount by the Hungarian market: they are the Lipton, Pickwick and Sir Morton but brands (e.g. Gárdonyi, Twinings) serving the gap markets and brands attacking the market leaders (e.g. Teekanne) are getting stronger, which can give essential driving force to develop the market. The most often used instrument is the instore-marketing but the largest compa-nies spend a lot on purchase incentives, advertising in the press and on television.