Competition has been intensifying between established and upcoming brands in the growing market for green tea beverages.

At a time when prices are rising, cheaper store-brand products offered by operators of convenience store and supermarket chains have gained in prominence, and some newcomers have even entered the market.

Leading beverage makers, meanwhile, are trying to fight back and retain market share by improving their staple products.

Iris Ohyama Inc., a leading home goods company, entered the green tea beverage market in June.

A 500-milliliter bottle of the company’s Iris no Ocha Ryoku (Iris’ green tea) is priced at around ¥150, cheaper than similar products sold by major beverage makers. The company aims to achieve annual sales of ¥7 billion.

“The market for tea beverages is growing, and it has incredible potential,” said Hiroyuki Katsuma, an executive officer at the company. “Since we are the most recent entrant to this market, we want to start by focusing on making our product known [among consumers].”

According to the Japan Soft Drink Association, production of green tea beverages totaled 3.07 million kiloliters in 2024, up 3.4% from the previous year. Green tea accounted for 13% of all soft drinks, second only to mineral water at 21%.

While the production of coffee and other kinds of beverages has been declining, green tea beverages are expected to continue to grow. In the soft drink industry, it is said that whoever dominates the green tea market can dominate the overall beverage business.

Since last year, major manufacturers have been making efforts to further increase the prominence of their green tea products’ distinguishing characteristics, such as flavor and aroma, and to develop new designs for their packaging.

In March, Ito En, Ltd., Japan’s largest manufacturer in the green tea sector, began selling a new series of products called Oi Ocha Pure, which feature less bitterness and astringency than many other green tea beverages.

In late June, the company put out a new addition to the series, a lemon-flavored beverage meant to attract younger customers.

In March, Suntory Beverage and Food Ltd. released the revamped version of its mainstay tea drink Iyemon, increasing the proportion of umami-rich ichiban-cha — the season’s first-picked tea leaves — in the product. The company has also changed the main color of the beverage’s packaging from green to white.

Store-brand products are gaining in the market for green tea beverages.

According to Intage Inc., a marketing research firm, the share in this market held by store-brand products increased from 8.5% in 2014 to 11.8% in 2024.

In many cases, store-brand products are sold in 500- to 600-milliliter bottles for less than ¥100 at supermarkets and about ¥100 at convenience stores.

Meanwhile, many major beverage makers raised the prices of their products from around 2022 mainly due to soaring ingredient prices, which caused decreases in their sales volumes in the following year.

Some of these makers plan to raise the prices of their products again as early as October, which means that some of their key products will be sold at ¥200 or higher per bottle.

Some market watchers believe that it will be difficult for them to secure loyal consumers simply by updating their staple products.

“If a beverage maker loses in the battle for market share, they may find that there is no longer any space for their products on convenience store shelves,” said Kazuhiro Miyashita, editor of a magazine on the beverage market. “They have to add value to their products.”