Tea in Tunisia

PROSPECTS

State-owned Office du Commerce de la Tunisie shapes tea sales due to Tunisian trade regulations

In Tunisia, the tea trade, whether green or red, is largely controlled by state-owned Office du Commerce de la Tunisie, which is protected by the country’s trade regulations. Mint tea is a traditional speciality of Tunisia, and is made through the infusion of green tea leaves and spearmint.

Café culture and health and wellbeing trends are boosting the popularity of tea

Tea is benefiting from rising interest amongst consumers. Further development of modern retail channels and consumer foodservice is increasing the availability and choice of tea and enabling it to reach of a larger number of consumers.

Packaged tea brands increase to meet consumer demand, as consumer tastes change and retail channels expand

An increasing number of packaged tea brands is being observed in domestic channels. Unpackaged tea is widely available and consumed in Tunisia, especially in rural areas.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Decades’ long leader, Office du Commerce de la Tunisie, continues to dominate tea with subsidised prices

Decades’ long leader in tea, Office du Commerce de la Tunisie, continues to lead the category. The company largely dominates the two most important categories: black and green tea.

Players must innovate to try and compete with leading dominant brands

In Tunisia there are two main players. State-owned Office du Commerce de la Tunisie benefits from government support and offers a range of brands, including dominant leading brand Thé noir Extra and Société de Produits Industriels de Patisseries et Alimentaires (SPIPA) with second-ranked brand Spipa.

Domestic players lose consumer visibility through lack of promotions or advertising

Local manufacturers in general do not tend to invest in advertising; instead, they try to reach consumers by ensuring their products are widely distributed via both modern and traditional grocery retailer outlets across the whole country. Leading domestic player SPIPA, for example, regularly introduces new products in tea, but the impact of these launches can often be muted by a lack of promotions through advertising and similar activity.

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