As sales of everyday tea decline, Unilever is looking to boost its PG Tips brand with the launch of another range of green teas alongside new herbal and fruit blends.

The fmcg giant is putting £5m in marketing support behind the roll-out of 10 products this month - five green tea blends and five fruity and herbal teas. They will be sold in packs of 20 (rsp: £1.29 for green and £1.19 for herbal) in blends including mandarin orange green tea, jasmine green tea, and red bush & vanilla.

Unilever is aiming to tap growing demand for green and herbal teas, which have risen 18.6% to £65m and 11.8% to £27m respectively year-on-year [IRI 52 w/e 31 October 2013]. Much of the value increase was down to pricing, and penetration had remained fairly flat, said Unilever.

Green teas were previously launched under the PG Tips brand in 2008 but failed to gain long-term traction in the mults. PG Tips brand manager Kate Mitchell said the use of Pyramid bags in the new range would offer “big taste at an accessible price point”, adding the business was hoping to attract new consumers to the category.

The launch comes as the overall tea category has fallen 6.1% by volume. The decline in the market is primarily the result of a drop in demand for everyday tea, with sales of the PG Tips core Pyramid range down 4.7% by value year on year, and Tetley Round down 15.8%. Value sales of premium tea brand Twinings, meanwhile, have risen 13.4% year-on-year [Nielsen 52 w/e 18 October 2013].

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