COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
Leading player ITO EN adapts to climate change with the launch of cold brew tea
ITO EN Ltd continued to be the leader in tea in Japan in retail value terms in 2025, leveraging its strong presence not only in hot drinks but also in ready-to-drink (RTD) tea with its flagship green tea brand, Oi Ocha, which ranked as the number one brand in both tea and RTD tea. In 2025, ITO EN launched a new product line, the Fragrant Cold Brew Tea series, specifically designed for cold brewing.
Second-placed Mitsui Norin expands its product range
Mitsui Norin Co Ltd maintained its position as a strong contender in tea, maintaining second position in 2025, with its Nittoh black tea brand. In 2025, observing the increasing popularity of its cold brew tea series, Mitsui Norin expanded its Nittoh Cold Brew Iced Tea lineup to include new flavours, such as Apple Rooibos Tea, alongside existing varieties like Earl Grey, tropical fruits, honey lemon, and muscat green tea.
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Overview:
Understand the latest market trends and future growth opportunities for the Tea industry in Japan 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 Tea industry in Japan, our research will help you to make informed, intelligent decisions; to recognise and profit from opportunity, or to offer resilience amidst market uncertainty.
The Tea in Japan 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 Tea in Japan?
- To what extent are health considerations impacting consumption of Tea in Japan?
- What are the traditional preferences in Tea in Japan? To what extent are these tastes changing amidst increasing international influence and the growth of chained cafés?
- How are changing demographics (for example, an ageing or predominantly young population) determining consumption of Tea in Japan?
- Which are the leading brands in Tea in Japan?
- How are products distributed in Tea in Japan?
- How is the rise of e-commerce changing the retail and competitive landscape?
- Have home seclusion and social distancing measures following COVID-19 benefited sales of Tea?
- Where is future growth expected to be most dynamic?
Tea in Japan - Category analysis
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Although retail volumes continue to decline, value sales rebound to growth
Return to growth, although green tea fails to rebound
Fruit/herbal tea sees the strongest increase due to wide product range
Value growth anticipated, but shifts expected in consumption and product formats
Continued renaissance for tea in the foodservice channel
Rising health awareness set to boost demand for non-caffeinated and functional tea
Leading player ITO EN adapts to climate change with the launch of cold brew tea
Second-placed Mitsui Norin expands its product range
Supermarkets maintains its lead, but consumers value the convenience of retail e-commerce
Foodservice sees notable development due to changing trends
Hot Drinks in Japan - Industry Overview
Price increases drive retail value growth and volume decline
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Retail value growth along with volume decline as costs and prices rise
Constant rises in coffee prices leads to frustrated consumers and declining volumes
The narrowing premiumisation window
Wellness in a chaotic world
Continued value growth expected as functional products highlight health benefits
Catering to the ageing population will be crucial
Nestlé Japan maintains its lead through constant product development
Kataoka Bussan sees dynamism thanks to its functional variant
Supermarkets remains the leading channel for sales of hot drinks
Convenience and subscriptions drive continued growth for retail e-commerce
Foodservice volumes continue to rebound
COUNTRY REPORTS DISCLAIMER
The following categories and subcategories are included:
Tea
-
- Loose Black Tea
- Tea Bags Black
- Fruit/Herbal Tea
- Green Tea
- Instant Tea
- Other Tea
Tea
This is the aggregation of Black Tea, Fruit/Herbal Tea, Green Tea, Instant Tea, and Other Tea.
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 Tea research and analysis database.
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