Matcha’s popularity is fueling innovation beyond beverages

GlobalData's Ai Palette innovation and consumer insights platform has identified matcha as an emerging ingredient in the global beverages, bakery, snacks, confectionery, and skincare categories. This trend reflects a growing consumer preference for authentic, natural ingredients that promote both mental and physical well-being and can be enjoyed while relaxing at home, says leading data and analytics firm GlobalData.

Matcha is a fine ground powder made from specially grown and processed green tea leaves, traditionally cultivated in Japan. Once exclusive to Japanese tea rituals, matcha is now evolving into a globally recognized ingredient. Its vibrant color, rich umami flavor, and numerous health benefits have made it a popular choice in a wide range of beverages and consumer packaged goods products.

Matcha’s rising popularity has also been helped by its growing social media engagement, especially among celebrities who have wholeheartedly embraced the ingredient in beverage-related social media posts, bringing it further into the mainstream culture.

Cameron McClory, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Several core consumer trends are driving matcha’s rise in prominence, such as "authenticity & heritage", which reflects how valued the ingredient is among consumers, thanks to its clear provenance, simple preparation and deep-rooted beverage traditions. Consumers also see matcha as a clean option when shopping for natural foods, with its gentle balance of caffeine, antioxidants and L-theanine, making it a popular choice for those looking to enhance their well-being.”

Matcha is the subject of GlobalData’s latest report: ‘Ingredients Insights: Matcha’, which combines findings from the company’s Ai Palette innovation and consumer insights platform with GlobalData’s consumer intelligence centre insights to provide a deep dive understanding into how matcha is being used as a beneficial ingredient in various markets and categories.

Leveraging the world's largest consumer data lake, with a staggering 61 billion global data points collected in real-time from social media, e-commerce, and foodservice menus, GlobalData’s Ai Palette platform has analyzed matcha’s engagement and data point growth rates over the latest two-year period. This has revealed that the global bakery, beverages, and skincare categories are priority innovation opportunities for the ingredient, alongside snacks and confectionery.

The bakery sector presents some interesting insights into the opportunities for brands in these categories to incorporate matcha as a beneficial ingredient in their new product launches and menu offerings.

In modern bakery, matcha appears in cakes, biscuits, and pastries, where its clean profile, vibrant green color, and ability to blend seamlessly into familiar formats can enhance a product's appeal by signaling freshness, calm, and wellbeing.

In foodservice, matcha is most commonly found in cakes and pastries, which account for 70.9% of matcha bakery products, according to the Ai Palette database. Major brands have leveraged the ingredients' attributes by creating their own bakery innovations, such as Starbucks, which launched the “Matcha Cream Croissant Bun” in Hong Kong.

In retail, biscuits dominate the Ai Palette database, making up 73% of matcha flavored bakery offerings, as their longer shelf life and ease of packaging make them a practical choice for stores.

McClory adds: “The rising demand for matcha-based products is being driven by the ingredient’s unique qualities, a growing emphasis on authenticity and wellness trends, and its significant engagement on social media. All of these factors are contributing to matcha's inclusion in global food and beverages innovation in the retail and foodservice sectors. Matcha’s growing use in both traditional and modern formats across multiple consumer packaged goods categories also reflects broader consumer interest in global ingredients and natural flavors.”