Tea in Cameroon

PROSPECTS

Tea widens its audience to attract younger consumers

Tea in Cameroon continued to grow in 2019 from a fairly low sales base compared to the more popular coffee. Black tea dominates the category with many middle-aged consumers, women in particular, choosing tea over carbonates and juice as a healthy lifestyle choice.

Niche varieties with health positioning and exotic flavours support value growth but appeal mostly to affluent consumers

As the category continues to develop, the forecast period is likely to see an increase in new products that offer new varieties and flavours to attract a more affluent consumer base. Price is not an issue for this target audience, especially if they perceive the product to offer specific value including greater functionality such as detoxifying or calming benefits.

Competitive Cameroonian brands need to address distribution issues to gain greater visibility

Cameroonian tea is likely to further gain in popularity over the forecast period, as locally produced tea from companies such as Cameroon Tea Estate with its well-known Tole and Ndawara brands can compete favourably due to their more accessible prices compared to imported brands. This is likely to encourage an increasing number of players to take advantage of the growing demand for health-positioned tea by introducing a wider range of blended, green and fruit/herbal teas but at a more affordable price to widen the target audience, although distribution through modern grocery retailers needs to be strengthened to gain a more visible presence.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Unilever consolidates leadership with wide product portfolio and strong distribution

Unilever strengthened its leadership of tea in Cameroon in 2019, gaining further value share in black tea, fruit/herbal tea and green tea. The player continues to benefit from its long-standing presence in the category, enjoying strong brand loyalty for Lipton and Lipton Yellow Label Tea, in addition to its “Elephant” Infusion line.

Imported brands enjoy stronger visibility but local tea makes marginal gains

Imported brands such as Lipton, Twinings and Victoria occupy a strong presence in tea in Cameroon, benefiting from greater product placement, availability and variation across a range of retailers compared to local brands. Nevertheless, Cameroon Tea Estate recorded a stronger performance in 2019 within black tea, gaining value share from Associated British Foods Plc, with its brands CTE Tea and Tote.

New tea entry with wide range of interesting flavours could offer strong competition with affordable pricing

Indian tea brand Gokal was launched in Cameroon at the end of the review period, gaining local distribution through Deelite. This brand is a premium tea which offers a wide variety of flavours including ginger, vanilla, green tea, strawberry, lemon, pineapple and mint.

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