‘We need the help of our competitors’: Yorkshire Tea on reinvigorating a declining category
Yorkshire Tea has gained share to become the clear market leader in black tea, but as the top brand in a declining category it is now looking to fresh ways to stimulate growth in a contracting market.
Yorkshire Tea is a clear market leader in a declining category and as the number one brand, it has set itself the task of reinvigorating the category to avoid hitting a “ceiling” for growth.
In many ways, Yorkshire Tea is a brand on a roll. Its long-running campaign ‘Where Everything’s Done Proper’ continues to deliver success for the brand, while it also launches eye-catching campaign such as its recent ‘Pack Yer Bags’ music video.
The effectiveness of its marketing has been recognised by the industry, with the brand shortlisted for Marketing Week’s Brand of the Year 2023 and it also scooping the Grand Prix at this year’s Effies.
That effectiveness has translated into commercial success. Less than a decade ago, Yorkshire Tea was the fourth biggest brand in the market. It now holds 38.9% value share of the standard black tea category (across the last 12 weeks), making it the clear market leader.
“Standard black tea is in constant decline. All this time that Yorkshire Tea has been succeeding, the market itself has actually been shrinking,” says Dom Dwight, marketing director at Taylors of Harrogate, Yorkshire Tea’s parent company.
