Ready-to-drink tea in Spain is experiencing a moment of unusual acceleration for a category with more than three decades of experience. Far from behaving like a mature segment, “RTD Tea” has entered a phase of double-digit expansion driven by a change in consumer habits. In this context, Fuze Tea is positioned as one of the main vectors of dynamization, as explained by the brand, both for its ability to attract new buyers and for its contribution to increasing the frequency of consumption.

The data shared, and from the analysis of Worldpanel by Numerator (Kantar), place the turning point in 2025, when the category grew by 18% both in volume and value within the Modern Food channel. The trend also intensifies in 2026, with increases close to 20% at the start of the year, according to Fuze Tea. This advance responds to a transformation: “RTD Tea” gains penetration, increases its recurrence and is progressively integrated into the usual repertoire of household beverages.

This change is reflected in consumption indicators. In 2025, the category reached a penetration of 36% of households, which represents an increase of 9 percentage points compared to the previous year. Added to this is the growth of the average purchase (+10.4%), driven mainly by a greater purchase frequency, which increased by 11%. In this sense, Cristina García, Director of Foodservice and Restoration at Worldpanel by Numerator, explained during a press conference called to announce the data that “More and more households incorporate RTD Tea into their regular purchase and, once it enters the home, its frequency and intensity of consumption rapidly increases. This explains why the category is consolidating itself as a recurring choice within the beverage repertoire.”

This behavior has a direct impact on the competitive structure of the market. “This behavior makes ‘RTD Tea’ the category that gains the most penetration and the one with the greatest growth within the total of beverages. Within the universe of soft drinks, it clearly stands out as the main driver of penetration gain, which represents a relevant milestone in the current market context”adds Cristina García.

In this scenario, the weight of the manufacturer’s brands is decisive. They concentrate 70% of the total growth of the category and reinforce their position vis-à-vis the distribution brand, contributing to structuring the shelf and providing greater visibility to the segment. Fuze Tea emerges here as one of the key players. After the launch of its Original Flavor in the last quarter of 2024 and its consolidation as the only Coca-Cola RTD tea brand in Spain since January 2025, the brand has managed to position itself as the leading manufacturer brand and exceed 3.1 million homes.

Beyond reach, the quality of its buyer base reinforces that position. 43% of households that consume Fuze Tea repeat purchases, a combination of acquisition and recurrence that contributes to consolidating habits in the medium term. In the words of Javier Murga, Associate Director Category Management of Fuze Tea at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, “The growth of the category is clearly supported by manufacturer brands, which account for 70% of the total growth and reinforce their weight compared to the distribution brand.”

Along the same lines, Javier Murga has added that “Fuze Tea is helping to consolidate the role of RTD Tea within the shelf, boosting its visibility, dynamism and ability to attract new consumers and increase purchase frequency.”

The growth of the category also responds to an expansion of its consumption profile. Traditionally associated with young audiences, “RTD Tea” is now gaining traction in older segments. In households over 50 years old, penetration grows 3.8 percentage points, which confirms its ability to break generational barriers and consolidate itself as a transversal option within the beverage market. At the same time, it maintains a solid connection with young consumers: 13% of its volume comes from households under 35 years of age, 21% above the category average.

Portfolio development plays a decisive role in this evolution. Varieties such as Fuze Tea Green Tea-Passion Fruit concentrate 50% of their volume in households under 49 years of age, placing them 25% above the market average. And the fact is that flavor and innovation act as engines of attraction and as levers to incorporate new consumer profiles. In the words of Elena Baz, Stills Marketing Director at The Coca-Cola Company, “Having a broad and diverse portfolio is key to developing the category, since it allows it to connect with different consumer profiles and reinforce its presence in new moments of consumption.”

Along these lines, Elena Baz has anticipated that “The new variety, unique in the market, of Mint Lime Green Tea, will be an especially refreshing option designed for summer”whose launch is scheduled for June.

Fuze Tea puts a face to its flavor

This commitment to flavor is also transferred to the territory of communication. The campaign “The flavor has its own name. Put a face to it”, developed by McCann and activated this April, reinforces the positioning of Fuze Tea in a context in which flavor acts as the main driver of choice in the category. The brand turns that attribute into a narrative axis and takes it to a recognizable terrain: human, spontaneous reactions with a touch of humor, which show how the consumption experience can go beyond the moment in which it occurs.
Through different situations in which the expression of satisfaction does not correspond to the context, the campaign highlights flavor as a differential brand asset. With a national presence in multiple touch points, the initiative accompanies Fuze Tea’s ambition to continue promoting the growth of the tea beverage category in Spain.

Regarding commercial deployment, the structure of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners – with 58 commercial delegations and more than 400 distributors – allows practically total coverage of the territory. In 2025, Fuze Tea was present in more than 150,000 customers in the Horeca channel and nearly 50,000 convenience stores.

“This implementation, together with a strategy adapted to each channel and strong capillarity, has allowed us not only to expand distribution, but also to activate the category and accelerate the adoption of the brand”explains Javier Murga.

The combination of presence in the “out of home” channel and visibility at the point of sale reinforces brand recognition and generates a cumulative effect on the consumer. When he finds Fuze Tea on the supermarket shelf, he has already had previous contact with the brand in other contexts, which facilitates the conversion. Added to this is retail’s commitment to the category, which translates into greater shelf space and better accessibility for the consumer.

Overall, “RTD Tea” in Spain is, in addition to a stable category, an expanding territory with new consumption patterns and greater relevance within the beverage market.