Tough sledding in the RTD coffee and beverage categories

The ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee and tea beverage categories experienced some hiccups in the past year. Results ranged from mixed to negative in all subcategories, according to data provided by Circana, a Chicago-based market research firm.

Let’s start with subcategories experiencing mixed results. RTD canned and bottled tea generated sales of $4.6 billion, a year over year (YoY) increase of 6.8%, but unit sales fell 5% to 1.71 billion for the 52 weeks ending July 16. Denver-based Pure Leaf, No. 1 in the subcategory, fell just short of $1 billion in sales for 12-month period, finishing with $989 million in sales, but saw unit sales decline 10% to 305 million.

Standouts in RTD canned and bottled tea include Atlanta-based Gold Peak, whose sales rose 19% to nearly $583 million, along with a 6% YoY gain in unit sales to 185 million. Placing just outside of the top 10 in this subcategory, Joyba had a stellar year. The Del Monte Foods brand saw dollar sales skyrocket by 637% for the year ending July 16 to $36.5 million, as well as a unit sales gain of 333% to 4.7 million, Circana data reports.

RTD coffee/cappuccino also exhibited mixed results, with YoY dollar sales of $3.6 billion, a 10% increase. Yet, unit sales dipped slightly by 1% to 975 million. Seattle-based Starbucks is the runaway favorite in the subcategory. For the year ending July 16, dollar sales topped $2.3 billion, good for a 13% YoY gain, and unit sales rose 1% to 583 million.

Other companies in the RTD coffee/cappuccino subcategory enjoying strong years were Black Rifle Coffee Co., whose sales increased 64% to $140 million, along with a unit sales increase of 51% to 39 million. The Salt Lake City-based company now ranks No. 4 in the subcategory. Black Stag also had an excellent year. The Hayesville, N.C.-based company’s dollar sales rocketed higher by 49% to $13 million for the year ending July 16, to go along with an even greater 152% unit sales gain to 2.35 million, according to Circana data.

Refrigerated teas and refrigerated RTD coffee also reported mixed YoY results. Regarding refrigerated teas, the subcategory saw a nice 10% YoY dollar sales jump to nearly $1.6 billion. However, like other subcategories, the caveat to these results were unit sales, which cooled off by 2% YoY to 581 million.

Like other subcategories, some individual companies enjoyed robust sales. In the refrigerated tea subcategory, the No. 1 seller, Milos, had a strong year. The Bessemer, Ala.-based company’s dollar sales rose 28% YoY to surpass the $500 million sales mark ($504 million), while unit sales topped 180 million, a 15% advancement. Lebanon, Pa.-based Swiss Premium, the No. 9 seller in the subcategory, also exhibited strong growth of 25% for the year ending July 16 to $23 million, pairing nicely with a unit sales gain of 15% to just under 10 million, per Circana data.

Overall, RTD coffee topped $1.07 billion in dollar sales with a 12% YoY advancement. However, once again, unit sales slipped slightly, dropping 1% to $202 million. Starbucks tops this category in dollar sales, which reached $427 million for the year ending July 16. Starbucks RTD unit sales eked out a small gain of 0.1% to 72 million.

Among the top 10 sellers in this subcategory, Stok and La Colombe had banner years. San Francisco-based Stok’s dollar sales grew 28% to $260 million, while 12% unit sales totaled 46 million. Philadelphia’s La Colombe enjoyed a dollar sales gain of 83% to $27 million, paired by a similar 84% unit sales increase to 5.4 million, Circana reports.

On the negative side of the ledger were RTD cold brew and RTD kombucha. The RTD cold brew subcategory suffered a 33% YoY dollar sales decline to $203 million, as well as a 38% unit sales drop to 56 million. Once again, Starbucks leads this category in terms of both dollar and unit sales, which are five times greaters than its nearest competitor. However, both took a YoY tumble. Per Circana data, Starbucks RTD cold brew dollar sales declined by 41% to $130 million, while unit sales dropped 46% to 35 million.

The shining star in the RTD cold brew subcategory for the year ending July 16 was Monster Beverage. The Corona, Calif.-based company, well known for its energy drinks, enjoyed triple-digit YoY gains in both dollar sales (up 130% to $18.7 million) and unit sales (increasing 120% to 6 million). Monster is now the No. 2 seller in the RTD cold brew category, based on Circana data.

RTD kombucha also suffered a difficult year, with declining dollar sales of $9.3 million, a 27% drop. Unit sales, meanwhile, had a steeper drop of 36% to 2.8 million. Despite these results, four of the top 10 sellers in this category saw both dollar sales and unit sales increases well north of 100% percent, including one company that experienced a quadruple-digit YoY increase. This honor belongs to New Orleans-based Big Easy, whose dollar sales rose 2,597% to $515,019, along with a 2,197% unit sales increase to 208,520.

Joining the triple-digit YoY sales-gain club were Camden, Del.’s Koe, the No. 1 seller in the category, whose dollar sales skyrocketed 463% to just shy of $3 million, as well as a unit sales gain of 372% to 776,364. The other big risers for the 12 months ending July 16 were Australian-based Remedy, enjoying a dollar sales jump of 264% to $674,717 and a unit sales jump of 276% to 148,017; and Olathe, Kan.-based Tea Biotics, whose dollar sales advanced 390% YoY to $150,867, as well as a similar unit sales gain of 379% to just shy of 40,000, Circana data reveals. DF