COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
Unilever benefits from long-standing presence of Lipton in still RTD tea
Unilever New Zealand Ltd maintained its leading place in RTD tea in 2025, underpinned by the long-established presence and scale of its Lipton brand within still RTD tea. As one of the earliest entrants into RTD tea in New Zealand, Lipton has benefited from first-mover advantage in shaping consumption norms, securing widespread consumer familiarity and embedding itself as the default RTD tea choice in a niche but persistent category.
Smaller brands act as disruptors in RTD tea developments, supporting overall performance
Emerging and digitally native brands continued to play a disproportionate role in sustaining RTD tea growth in 2025, despite remaining fragmented and largely tracked under “others” due to their limited scale. In carbonated RTD tea and kombucha, local and emerging players have been particularly influential in reframing the category around accessibility, functionality and lifestyle relevance.
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Overview:
Understand the latest market trends and future growth opportunities for the RTD Tea industry in New Zealand with research from Euromonitor International's team of in-country analysts – experts by industry and geographic specialisation.
Key trends are clearly and succinctly summarised alongside the most current research data available. Understand and assess competitive threats and plan corporate strategy with our qualitative analysis, insight and confident growth projections.
If you're in the RTD Tea industry in New Zealand, our research will help you to make informed, intelligent decisions; to recognise and profit from opportunity, or to offer resilience amidst market uncertainty.
The RTD Tea in New Zealand report includes:
- Analysis of key supply-side and demand trends
- Detailed segmentation of international and local products
- Historic volume and value sizes, company and brand market shares
- Five year forecasts of market trends and market growth
- Robust and transparent research methodology, conducted in-country
This report answers:
- What is the market size of RTD Tea in New Zealand?
- To what extent are health considerations impacting consumption of RTD Tea in New Zealand?
- How are changing social attitudes and legislation (eg sugar tax) reshaping demand and consumption?
- How are changing demographics (for example, an ageing or predominantly young population) determining consumption of RTD Tea in New Zealand?
- Which are the leading brands in RTD Tea in New Zealand?
- What potential exists for multinational or domestic soft drinks companies to expand in New Zealand?
- How are products distributed in RTD Tea in New Zealand?
- How is the rise of e-commerce changing the retail and competitive landscape?
- How have home seclusion and social distancing measures following COVID-19 impacted sales of RTD Tea?
- How are sustainability issues, such as environmentally-friendly packaging, legislation on recyclability, or the amount of plastic in bottles, impacting the soft drinks industry?
- Where is future growth expected to be most dynamic?
RTD Tea in New Zealand - Category analysis
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Sales of RTD tea return to flat volume growth, driven by carbonated RTD tea and kombucha
RTD tea benefits from health and wellness trends, albeit with competition from “better-for-you” categories
Carbonated RTD tea and kombucha meet demand for naturally positioned alternatives to carbonates
RTD teas set for modest growth, driven by carbonated formats while still tea remains niche
Matcha signals the next evolution of RTD tea, shifting growth toward café-led, wellness-driven relevance
RTD tea channel strategies to shift toward omnichannel discovery, premium signalling and digital-led trials
Unilever benefits from long-standing presence of Lipton in still RTD tea
Smaller brands act as disruptors in RTD tea developments, supporting overall performance
Supermarkets remain as the dominant distribution channel for RTD tea, thanks to mainstream visibility
Retail e-commerce continues to grow from a low base
Soft Drinks in New Zealand - Industry Overview
Volume sales see an uptick thanks to stabilising economic factors
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Health and wellness trends become the defining structural driver of soft drinks in New Zealand
Flavour innovation remains a critical driver of differentiation in soft drinks
Sustainability trends continue to rise across New Zealand’s soft drinks market
An ongoing positive performance driven by an improving economy and health-led trends
Future innovations will be backed by science-led claims
Distribution will become more strategic over the forecast period
Coca-Cola Amatil (NZ) Ltd maintains its overall company lead thanks to myriad strengths
Allpress Espresso benefits from translation café-style coffee into a RTD offer
Supermarkets maintains leading distribution channel place
Warehouse clubs and retail e-commerce continue to grow
Foodservice vs retail split
Fountain sales in New Zealand
COUNTRY REPORTS DISCLAIMER
The following categories and subcategories are included:
RTD Tea
- Carbonated RTD Tea and Kombucha
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- Regular Still RTD Tea
- Reduced Sugar Still RTD Tea
RTD Tea
This category includes all packaged products based on brewed tea or tea extract. May be sweetened or unsweetened, carbonated or still, with a wide variety of different flavourings. May contain juice.
See all of our definitionsWhy buy this report?
- Gain competitive intelligence about market leaders
- Track key industry trends, opportunities and threats
- Inform your marketing, brand, strategy and market development, sales and supply functions
This report originates from Passport, our RTD Tea research and analysis database.
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