Unilever’s £300m deal for Starbucks’ special teas

UNiLEVER is snapping up starbucks’ specialty tea brand tazo for £293m. the Anglo-Dutch owner of PG tips said the brand had a strong position in the fast-growing market, while starbucks wants to focus on its premium teavana line.

tazo sold around £85m of its specialty black, green and herbal teas last year, mostly through grocery stores in the Us and Canada.

Kees Kruythoff, president of Unilever North America, said: ‘tazo is a perfect strategic fit for our Us portfolio. it presents a fantastic growth opportunity.’

starbucks said it would invest in developing its teavana brand – having sold £1.2bn of the product in its own stores during the past 12 months.

teavana includes black, matcha, iced and Moroccan mint green varieties.

the sale was announced as starbucks cut its profit forecast and posted disappointing sales of £4.4bn.

Bosses said sales had been hit by hurricanes in the Us as well as slower service with workers juggling mobile ordering.

Unilever has been snapping up smaller, healthier brands.

in september it bought British organic herbal tea business Pukka Herbs, while last month it bought Brazilian organic food business Mae terra.

the Flora and Hellmann’s maker also owns tea brands Lipton and Pure Leaf.

Kevin Havelock, Unilever’s president of refreshment, said: ‘tazo’s artfully crafted specialty teas perfectly complement our global tea business.’