Ahmad Tea Assessment Briefing Document 2012/2013 History

Ahmad Tea Assessment Briefing Document 2012/2013 History Company: Ahmad Tea a UK-based family business, drawing generations tea blending tasting experience. Applying knowledge accumulated generations, UK produced Ahmad Tea appeared market 1986.

Ahmad Tea Assessment: Briefing Document 2012/2013

Ahmad Tea is positioned as a midmarket tea in the British tea-drinking market. It is not a 'budget' tea. The target consumer cares about the quality of the tea, its taste, and blending although it is not a loose tea or an 'upmarket' tea out of the reach of the average consumer. The company offers a wide range of different flavors, teas with different origins, and teas for different purposes (soothing vs. stimulating). The British coffee market, thanks to the rise in popularity of Starbucks has been growing. Ahmad markets tea as a beverage worthy of equal consideration as coffee. Ahmad is concerned that while 88% of the over-65 British population takes tea, only 73% of the 15-35-year-old age group drinks tea (New report warns of problems in growing UK tea market, 2009, Mintel). Demand is expanding fastest amongst young people in the herbal tea market: 23% of the population currently drinks herbal teas (New report warns of problems in growing UK tea market, 2009, Mintel).

Focusing on the health benefits of tea and the ceremony and pleasures of tea are essential if tea is to compete with the expanding coffee market, particularly amongst the younger consumers who offer the longest-lived potential brand loyalty to Ahmad and whose tea habits can still be shaped and changed. On its website, Ahmad notes that decaffeinated teas are available and even black tea contains less caffeine than coffee. However, the company needs to convey more specific information about the health benefits of various types of teas, such as green tea, which are growing more attractive to youthful consumers. Given that Starbucks has also begun to offer alternative brands of tea drinks, like Green Tea Frapuccinos in some markets and Chai Tea, the Ahmad must convince the consumer of the unique benefits of patronizing a company that understands tea in a special way. It must demonstrate to retailers through its B2B wing that customers of a variety of demographic profiles will want to consume its tea.

On its website, Ahmad must more carefully segment its target market for specific brands of tea. Ahmad should have different website segments with slightly different 'looks' and 'voices' to attract different consumer bases and to convey to its B2B clients that its products are attractive to a wide demographic range. At present, the website is relatively factual and tame, with little graphic details to make the tea look enticing, much less 'fun' to consumers. There are long passages about the history of tea and its place in British culture, but this tends to confirm the image of tea as something that belongs to a much older generation that is obsessed with Victorian values. Ahmed does not need to eliminate its current history of tea segments, but could change the tone and include more information about tea's role in the 'here and now' of British society. This is also likely to make the product seem more relevant to new retailers.

On the whole, Ahmad's branding is relatively homogeneous for all of its different teas. This can be somewhat problematic, given that the likely consumer for traditional Earl Grey is different than the target consumer for flavored teas. Ahmad must use different 'branding' strategies through its social media to specifically focus on teas likely to be of interest to young people, such as its herbal or green teas. Creating a vibrant presence on Facebook and Twitter to post information about the benefits of drinking tea, giveaways, fun facts about tea, and creating a community of 'followers' on these sites will enable the company to give greater attention to this critical demographic segment.