Designed in Reunion, launched in 2018, the brand of péï iced teas from Brasseries de Bourbon was, for mainly economic reasons, previously manufactured in the Netherlands by a supplier of the Heineken group.
With the launch, since August 31, of this production locally, the Tezi Tea project reaches its full realization. From the start, indeed, Brasseries de Bourbon had the project of locally manufacturing this brand of iced teas which had been designed in Réunion from A to Z. In search of a third growth lever, in addition to beer and soda, Brasseries de Bourbon took the gamble of positioning itself on the iced tea market by designing an entirely Reunionese product., from the recipe to the packaging. The company had set up, with the greatest discretion, a team bringing together marketing, research, production, purchasing and logistics. In 2018, Tezi Tea became the second exclusive brand of Brasseries de Bourbon since the launch of Dodo ! To differentiate yourself from the competition, the range of six Tezi Tea iced teas was characterized by a fruitier and less sweet taste, with a sugar level 30% lower than the market standard. “A healthier option without compromising on taste” summarizes Aligne Pequin, marketing director of Brasseries de Bourbon. But to succeed in this bet of local iced tea recipes, the Brasseries de Bourbon deemed it more prudent to act in two stages. “On the industrial level, it seemed safer to us to first test the product with the supplier of non-carbonated drinks of the Heineken group, and to see the reception that consumers reserved for our brand. »
Tezi Tea, a Nou la fé product
Having risen to second place in the Reunion iced tea market, “Tezi Tea becomes a Nou la fé product, like our beers and sodas” announces Aline Pequin. It is, especially, the good performance of Tezi Tea in mass distribution and the rise of the segment (see box) who decided the Brasseries de Bourbon to launch local production. The first 100% peï Tezi teas were put on the market in mid-September. Double blow for the Breweries : “local production allows us to be more responsive to our customers and provides us with an additional strong argument to put forward in the face of imports” explains Aline Pequin. Thus Tezi Tea also exists in family format, mainly sold in supermarkets, “Local production of this format will help us better penetrate the wholesale market in order to develop distribution in stores.” An argument that the communication campaign planned to support local production of Tezi Tea will not fail to display.
A refocused range, un packaging plus transparent
Product highlight : developed from a survey of Reunion iced tea drinkers, its composition combines intense taste, freshness and pleasure. Nothing changes at this level in local production. However, the three years of operation of the new brand have highlighted the most requested perfumes. Range, which originally numbered six (melon, fishing, pineapple, citron, lychee and mango), was reduced to four. The two flavors pineapple and lemon have been discontinued. Victoria pineapple iced tea, first of its kind in the world, was nevertheless an innovation. The locally produced range therefore includes eight references, four flavors in two formats 50 cl and 1,5 l. Another development, packaging with a small neck bottle (instead of the great European pass), more transparent in order to better show the product ; lighter to limit its environmental footprint… and still 100% recyclable, to be thrown into the yellow bin once consumed.
Iced teas : a market on the rise again
The new impetus given to Tezi Tea comes at the right time. This market, trending upwards for years, gets back to the best of his form. It was maintained in 2020 despite the closure of bars and restaurants from mid-March to mid-May, ending the year up 3,5% by volume. But sales for the first four months of 2021, with a jump of 23% compared to the same period of 2020, confirms a strong restart !
