laid-soldiers
Product and market analysis of Lipton Iced
Tea
Lipton
Iced
Tea
is
a
beverage
launched
by
Lipton
in
collaboration
with
Pepsico.
Lipton
is
an
established
brand
in
the
tea
market
while
Pepsico
has
a
prominent
presence
in
the
soft
drink
industry.
Ever since the popularity of tea
started to grow in the West, particularly in the
United States of
America, the tea
market has evolved through various stages. In
order to dominate the market,
major
tea
producers
like
Lipton,
Tetley
and
Nestea
have
kept
on
coming
up
with
innovative
varieties of tea.
Lipton, which has the reputation of being the most
innovative brand in terms of
variety
launched cold beverage, Lipton Iced Tea, thus
adding a new dimension to the tea market.
Lipton
Iced
Tea
enjoys
even
more
popularity
after
the
recent
researches
stated
the
healthy
benefits of consuming tea. Moreover,
the iced tea was a good way of targeting those
consumers
who do not enjoy hotter
beverages.
Lipton
faces
a
major
competition
from
Nestle
Nestea
and
Snapple.
However,
Lipton
Iced
Tea
successfully
managed
to
lead
the
market.
Considering
the
threat
from
new and
existing
rivals,
Lipton has kept is
marketing strategy quite strong an aggressive.
Besides positioning its product
as
the
healthiest
and
the
most
refreshing
drink
available
in
the
market,
Lipton’s
intelligent
packaging
and
pricing
strategy
has
significantly
contributed
to
its
success.
Its
low
prices
make
Lipton
more
affordable
as
compared
to
its
competitors
and
its
packaging
makes
it
instant
and
easy to use.
While Lipton Iced Tea has an overall
strong position in the market, however, its
synthetic taste
remains
its
weakness.
Therefore,
Lipton
can
further
strengthen
its
position
by
enhancing
the
taste.
On
a
macro
level,
Lipton
enjoys
a
positive
press,
not
only
because
of
its
efficient
quality
management
system,
but
also
due
to
its
sustainable
and
environmental
friendly
production
practices.
Introduction
Tea
is
a
household
icon
in
most
parts
around
the
world.
Almost
in
every
country that
has
tea
consumers, when you think tea, the
first name that hits our minds is Lipton. Lipton
tea originates
from the house of
Lipton, currently a major subsidiary brand of
Unilever.
Lipton was founded by Thomas
J. Lipton, an Irish man, who came to United States
of America in
the late eighteen
hundreds. He started by a small grocery store and
expanded it into a chain of
stores
around America. By the end of the nineteenth
century, when demand of tea boomed in
the Europe, the British tea brokers
pressed Lipton to stock their tea in his stores.
This gave Lipton
an idea of coming up
with his own brand of tea, and thus, Lipton Tea
was born. Tea at that time
was
expensive and was considered a rich man’s drink.
Thomas Lipton’s idea was to come up with
a
more
affordable
brand
so
that
even
consumers
from
less
strong
economical
background
can
enjoy tea.
Lipton has continued to grow since
then, which led it to go public in the early
twentieth century.
By late twentieth
century, Lipton started operating as a subsidiary
company of one of the world
biggest
corporate house, Unilever.
Since its
birth, Lipton has been on a road to continuous
growth and expansion. This growth was
not
just
in
terms
of
exploring
new
markets,
but
also
in
terms
of
introducing
a
wide
range
of
products.
Today
Lipton
holds
major
market
share
both,
in
the
United
States
of
America
and
around the world.
Ever
since
Lipton
has
stepped
into
the
tea
industry,
tea
has
gone
much
beyond
than
a
conventional household beverage. From
time to time, Lipton is known to introduce new
additions
in the tea industry and one
of the most innovative and popular addition is the
Lipton Iced Tea.
This
product
came
into
being
after
Lipton
collaborated
with
PepsiCo.,
which
is
primarily
a
soft
drink company.
The Market
As a tea brand, Lipton is the market
leader both, in the United States of America and
around the
world. With a wide range of
tea variety, Lipton serves people from all
classes, social backgrounds,
and
regions. From students to grandparents, from China
to the United States of America, Lipton
is the key tea brand that serves almost
all market segments.
Focusing
on
Lipton
Iced
Tea
in
particular,
Lipton
has
segmented
its
consumers
according
to
lifestyle. In general,
Lipton Iced Tea has two major targeted groups of
consumers. The first group
covers those
people who
lead a busy life style and
are hunting for “something instant.” This group
mainly includes, students, employees,
working women and other similar consumers who live
a
hectic and busy life and are in need
of an instant product to refresh them. Lipton’s
idea
of selling
tea in ready
to dip tea bags and instant sachets has been very
successful among this segment. Tea
in
this kind of packaging proved not only affordable
but also easy and quick to use.
The
second
group
of
people
comprises
of
the
health
conscious
segment.
Consumers
from
this
particular
segment
may
not
necessarily
lead
as
busy
life
as
the
first
group,
however,
they
are
potential
consumers
because
of
the
healthy
benefits
offered
by
the
product.
Ever
since
the
researches have stated the medical
advantages of tea consumption, Lipton has played
on these
reports
in
order
to
position
its
product
successfully
as healthy,
energizer
with
immense
health
benefits.
Since
Lipton
has
always
positioned
its
tea
as
a
health
beverage
that
provides
antioxidants,
its
market
share
has
continued
to
grow
with
the
passage
of
time.
Moreover,
many
people
prefer
Lipton to other brands due to its
affordability, quality and user friendliness.
In order to further diversify its
clientele, Lipton has introduced further varieties
of Iced Tea that
includes, Diet Iced
Tea and Flavored Iced Tea in Mixed Berry, Lemon,
Raspberry and Peach flavors.
Since
Iced
Tea
is
essentially
a
cold
beverage,
the
integration
of
flavors
with
the
beverage
has
made it popular in the younger groups
as well.
Since Lipton recognizes the
fact that its potential consumers include people
that are either health
conscious or are
have a busy routine or they opt for Lipton due to
its affordability, it continues to
develop products that are healthier,
easier to use and are more inexpensive.
Size and Growth of the Market
In earlier days, coffee was a
comparatively more popular beverage in the United
States. However,
in the recent past,
the tea has gained much popularity, thus resulting
in a phenomenal growth in
the American
tea market.
The primary reason for this
popularity, according to some survey reports, is
the fact that tea is a
healthier and
more refreshing brew as compared to its
counterparts such as coffee. Furthermore,
the
introduction
of
flavored
tea
and
other
tea
varieties
such
as
green
tea
and
iced
tea
has
broadened the consumer base. Another
reason, besides the health factor, for the
popularity of
tea is the fact that it
is instant and is readily available as a ready to
drink brew.
While
initially,
tea
was
known
to
be
a
drink
of
colder
regions,
however,
the
innovative
introduction
of
iced
tea
has
made
the
beverage
popular
among
the
inhabitants
of
warmer