More Customers Seeking Premium Black Tea... Shinsegae Department Store Introduces Fortnum & Mason Products

Fortnum & Mason's Jubilee Tea.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] As the number of customers seeking premium black tea increases, Shinsegae Department Store is introducing new Fortnum & Mason products to capture demand.

According to Shinsegae Department Store on the 26th, starting next month, they will offer limited new products from the British royal tea brand Fortnum & Mason.

The newly introduced products incorporate various tribute designs symbolizing the Union Jack and the British royal family, in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee (70th anniversary ceremony).

Representative products include the Platinum Blend Loose Leaf Tea Tin (250g), Platinum Jubilee Bag, and Platinum Jubilee Mug.

Exclusively introduced by Shinsegae, the British royal tea brand Fortnum & Mason grew by 130.7% from the 1st to the 24th of this month. During the same period, the overall tea category grew by 71.9%, showing that premium black tea experienced nearly double the growth rate.

Notably, purchases by customers in their 20s and 30s stood out. Tea sales among the 2030 age group increased by 107.4% in May this year compared to the previous year, despite their greater familiarity with coffee.

The popularity of black tea among younger customers is largely attributed to the home cafe trend, which has led them to explore various teas beyond coffee, changing their perception of black tea. In particular, unique beverage recipes such as black tea cocktails and black tea soju have become popular on social networking services (SNS), attracting the attention of the 2030 generation.

Choi Wonjun, head of food at Shinsegae Department Store, said, “As more young customers enjoy diverse tea cultures, interest in black tea and biscuits has increased compared to before. We will continue to actively discover differentiated products to lead customers' lifestyles.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.