The Trade for Development Centre (TDC) and Fairtrade Africa partnered with Euromonitor International to better understand the hot beverages market both in B2B (foodservice and institutions) and B2C (retail) channels, and the potential commercial opportunity for Fairtrade certified brands in Kenya and the wider region (Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania and Rwanda). The market research particularly focuses on the Fairtrade products as tea and coffee as the main hot beverages consumed by Kenyans but also on the powdered hot drinks such as hot chocolate.
The purpose of this study is to identify and understand the demands and trends in the hot beverage market and the local and regional trade supply chains for tea, coffee and cocoa in East Africa.
The study shows that a fair part of the tea and coffee production in East Africa is Fairtrade certified. However, the consumers’ awareness about ethical labels and products is very low. Therefore, the market share of Fairtrade certified hot beverages is quite low too (less than 1%). Consumers seem to be generally supportive of the values underlying Fairtrade signalling that Fairtrade certified tea and coffee products in Kenya and probably the wider region hold significant growth potential.
