The "The Tea and Coffee Industry in South Africa 2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report focuses on the tea and coffee industry in South Africa, including the rooibos and honeybush industries. It includes information on production, processing, sales and retail outlets, the sharp rise in prices, consumption and the current position of state-backed tea estates. Notable players, investments and developments are discussed.

The country remains heavily dependent on coffee and tea imports, with only minimal local production. In 2024, imports grew by 10%, driven by rising demand. However, coffee prices, despite a slight decline since March 2025, have recently reached record highs, while tea prices have also surged. These cost increases have led consumers to cut back or trade down.

Despite these pressures, demand for ground coffee continues to rise, fuelled by a growing coffee culture and the expansion of coffee outlets. Still, the sector faces several challenges, including climate change, land expropriation, and low economic growth, which may limit demand for premium tea and specialty coffee products.

Coffee prices are expected to rise further, with some industry players warning of a potential coffee shortage if the trend continues. Higher prices may prompt consumers to cut back on spending, putting pressure on coffee shop chains.

Despite this, demand for ground coffee remains robust, driven by at-home consumption and the growing coffee culture. In the tea segment, local black tea consumption is declining, and rooibos consumption remains flat. However, the healthy drinks trend is anticipated to boost demand for both rooibos and honeybush teas.

There are profiles of 32 companies including major processors and suppliers such as Unilever, National Brands and Nestle, coffee companies such as Famous Brands Coffee Company, tea companies such as Joekels Tea Packers and rooibos and honeybush companies such as Cape Rooibos, Rooibos Ltd, Melmont Honeybush Tea, Agulhas Honeybush Tea and Bitou Honeybush.

Introduction

• While a small amount of coffee and black tea is produced locally, the country relies almost entirely on imports.
• Coffee and tea imports grew by 10% in 2024.
• Coffee prices, despite edging down since March 2025, have climbed to record highs recently, while tea prices have also seen marked increases.
• This has led to consumers trading down or cutting back.
• Nevertheless, demand for ground coffee is growing, driven by a growing coffee culture which is fuelling the growth of coffee outlets.
• Record coffee price increases could put coffee shops under pressure.
• The sector faces challenges including climate change, land expropriation and low economic growth which could limit demand for high-end tea and speciality coffee products.

Trends

• A number of coffee shops use loyalty programmes to drive sales.
• Bubble tea shops are becoming popular, following the global trend.
• Consumers are demanding traceability of their coffee beans.
• Demand for specialty coffee and high quality ground coffee is growing.
• Matcha, a green tea juice, is sought after by people looking for healthy drink alternatives.
• Rapid expansion of coffee shops.
• Rooibos extracts are increasingly being used as skincare and healthcare products.
• Significant coffee and tea price increases.
• The healthy food and drinks trend is driving demand for functional tea products.
• The trend in convenience is driving the growth of capsule and ready-to-drink products.

Opportunities

• Importing coffee in a strategic way from certain regions or using containers to hedge high prices.
• Selling and exporting health teas like rooibos and honeybush.
• Speciality coffee shops.
• Tea shops, specifically bubble tea.

Challenges

• Climate change threatens to reduce the areas where coffee and tea can be grown.
• Coffee and tea prices have increased significantly in recent years.
• Government funded tea estates have become unsustainable.
• Low economic growth and weak consumer spend.
• The cost of raw materials has increased significantly.
• The honeybush tea sector has a number of challenges, including onerous compliance and certification requirements.
• There is some concern that the coffee shops sector is overtraded.
• Water outages.

Key Topics Covered:

1. INTRODUCTION

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE INDUSTRY

2.1. Industry Value Chain

2.2. Geographic Position

2.3. Size of the Industry

3. LOCAL

3.1. State of the Industry

3.2. Key Trends

3.3. Key Issues

3.4. Notable Players

3.5. Trade

3.6. Corporate Actions

3.7. Regulations

3.8. Enterprise Development and Social Development

4. AFRICA

5. INTERNATIONAL

6. INFLUENCING FACTORS

6.1. Economic Environment

6.2. Labour

6.3. Environmental Issues

6.4. Technology, R&D, Innovation

6.5. Government Support

6.6. Input Costs

6.7. Land Reform Policy

7. COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT

7.1. Competition

7.2. Ownership Structure of the Industry

7.3. Barriers to Entry

8. INDUSTRY SUMMARY

9. OUTLOOK

10. INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

11. REFERENCES

11.1. Publications

11.2. Websites

APPENDIX

• Summary of Notable Players

APPENDIX

• List of HS Codes Covered

COMPANY PROFILES

• Agulhas Honeybush Tea Cc
• Bean There Coffee Company (Pty) Ltd
• Big Five Rooibos Company (Pty) Ltd (The)
• Brewkombucha (Pty) Ltd
• Caco Services (Pty) Ltd
• Cape Natural Tea Products (Pty) Ltd
• Cape Rooibos (Pty) Ltd
• Carmien Tea (Pty) Ltd
• Clipper Coffee And Tea Cc
• Colombo Brew Co (Pty) Ltd
• Famous Brands Coffee Company (Pty) Ltd
• Global Coffee Exports (Pty) Ltd
• Happy Culture Kombucha (Pty) Ltd
• Honey Bush Processing (Pty) Ltd
• Honeybush Natural Products (Pty) Ltd
• Joekels Tea Packers (Pty) Ltd
• L C Packaging (S A) (Pty) Ltd
• Mastertons Coffee And Tea Specialists (Pty) Ltd
• Melmont Honeybush Tea Cc
• National Brands Ltd
• Nestle (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd
• Peacock Tea And Coffee (Pty) Ltd
• Red T Company (Pty) Ltd (The)
• Rooibos Ltd
• Sabie Valley Coffee Cc
• Sanpeace (Pty) Ltd
• Skimmelberg (Pty) Ltd
• Tea And Coffee Distributors (Eastern Province) (Pty) Ltd
• Theonista (Pty) Ltd
• Unilever South Africa (Pty) Ltd
• Union Hand Roasted (Pty) Ltd
• Vida E Caffe Holdings (Pty) Ltd

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/rq14fg

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