Matcha-mania ☕️

The West's growing obsession with matcha is a cultural phenomenon impacting everything from café menus to skincare routines, and has even made a viral appearance at Coachella this year. This vibrant green powder, once a niche Japanese tradition, has exploded into mainstream consciousness, but its soaring popularity is now brewing a challenge: matcha shortages.

This situation offers a fascinating case study in the power of trending food crazes and their ripple effect on the marketing world. The initial buzz, often fuelled by social media influencers and health & wellness narratives, creates immense demand. For brands, this presents a golden opportunity - Exhibit A: Blank Street.

Blank Street has strategically capitalised on matcha's popularity, positioning it as a key offering, and appealing to Gen Z through visually appealing, seasonal flavour innovations like Blueberry, Vanilla Fudge & Strawberry Shortcake, which have gained viral traction on social media. Their aesthetic branding, featuring a distinctive sage green, further enhances matcha's appeal within their target demographic lending to the product’s virality.

According to the agriculture ministry in Japan, the government is planning to subsidise tea growers to switch from producing sencha to tencha, the type of tea needed to grind into matcha powder, to try and help handle the hugely increased demand.

Similarly, the 'Dubai Chocolate' trend has seen pistachio demand skyrocket and supply chains facing big issues, with California, the world's leading Pistachio producers, feeling the strain and pushing to increase its yield by a record 69% year-on-year.

It’s clear that these viral, social media-led food and drink trends will continue to rise and fall, and we’re intrigued to see what’s next and which brands are able to capitalise, whilst also providing huge economic boosts to suppliers.

If you want to embed your drinks brand within culture, give us a shout.