Tea and coffee: how the hot drinks market is changing
Published on: Jun 05, 2026
Reading Time: 5 min
15-18 September 2026
Moscow, Crocus Expo, Pavillion 3
Published on: Jun 05, 2026
Reading Time: 5 min
The hot beverage market maintains a high capacity and at the same time enters a stage of transformation. According to ICMR (GFK-Rus), from September 2024 to August 2025, tea and coffee accounted for 88.8% of sales in tons and 94% in monetary terms in the hot drinks category. At the same time, in terms of audience coverage, tea is still slightly ahead of coffee: it is chosen by 92.6% of Russian residents against 90.2% for coffee.
At the same time, the market is being rebuilt in several directions: the format of consumption is changing, the role of HoReCa is increasing, and the demand for alternative drinks is growing.
Tea remains a mass product in the Russian market. According to NTech, the share of loose leaf tea is 25.6%, the packaged format accounts for 73.7% of sales of all types. In terms of product types, black tea retains leadership with 76.8% of sales. Green tea occupies 12.7%, followed by herbal teas and assorted teas.
In the production segment in January-October 2025, a decline was recorded: during this period, the country produced 85.2 thousand tons of tea, which is 8.9% less year-on-year.
Export dynamics, on the contrary, turned out to be positive. According to Agroexport, in 2025, tea exports from Russia reached $96 million (+11% compared to 2024). In physical volume, shipments amounted to more than 12 thousand tons.
The largest foreign markets for Russian tea were Belarus with a purchase volume of $44 million, Kazakhstan with more than $17 million and Azerbaijan with $7 million.
It is coffee that forms the main growth of the market today. Analysts at BusinesStat estimate growth by the end of 2025 at 9%, to 157 thousand tons.
The Russian coffee market is largely dependent on external supplies. According to Mega Research, the share of imports in the market as a whole is 70%, while 78% of imports are green coffee, which is used as a raw material for roasting and subsequent packaging within the country. The Russian market receives raw materials in the form of green coffee exclusively through imports. The key suppliers are Brazil and Vietnam, which account for half of all imports. Coffee also comes from Indonesia, India, Latin American countries, including Colombia and Peru, and Ethiopia.
Brazil has strengthened its position in the Russian market in 2025. For the period from January to November, the volume of coffee imports from this country increased by 2.5% compared to the same period last year and exceeded 1.22 million 60-kilogram bags. According to the results of 11 months, Russia took 8th place among the largest importers of Brazilian coffee.
The export direction also plays a significant role. According to Agroexport estimates, in 2025, foreign supplies from Russia of extracts, essences, coffee concentrates, as well as finished products based on them, exceeded $366 million (+ 28% by 2024). In physical terms, exports exceeded 51 thousand tons.
At the same time, within the country, the structure of demand for coffee is becoming more complex. The most noticeable decrease in demand was for ground coffee: its figure decreased by 11% year-on-year. In the capsule segment, the number of customers decreased by 9%. One of the pressure factors was rising prices.
At the same time, coffee consumption outside the home and in new formats continues to support the market. At the end of 2025, monthly coffee consumption in coffee shops amounted to 10.3 million servings.
One of the main trends in 2025 was a change in the model of coffee consumption. Analysts attribute the growth of the market primarily not to classic retail, but to the development of sales through coffee shops, coffee outlets and takeaway formats.
According to a study by the OFD Platform and the Black Point chain, in January-October 2025, the number of purchases in coffee shops decreased by 7.3% compared to the same period last year. At the same time, the self-service format showed the opposite dynamics: the number of purchases in such outlets increased by 9%. At the same time, sales of hot coffee in large federal retail chains are increasing.
Another noticeable vector is the development of home consumption. From January to November 2025, the demand for coffee machines and coffee makers in Russia was 1.3 times higher than in the same period a year earlier, according to Yandex Market data. This reflects the transition of some consumers to a more economical model, in which coffee at home becomes a full-fledged part of everyday culture.
Within the coffee category, there is still interest in the specialty segment and in formats that combine quality and ease of preparation. In particular, coffee in drip bags is gaining popularity in Russia: customers want to get a drink of the "coffee shop-like" level, but without a complex preparation process.
In the tea category, there is a growing interest not only in classic positions, but also in products with additional consumer value. The segment of herbal and fruit mixtures, as well as drinks with natural additives, is expanding. The focus is on products related to the theme of a healthy lifestyle: decaffeinated teas, drinks with herbs, fruits, berries, as well as solutions with probiotics and prebiotics.
At the same time, the demand for naturalness and environmental friendliness is increasing. Eco-friendly packaging, clean composition of raw materials and quality control of organic ingredients are becoming important for the market.
A separate area of growth is the market for substitutes for hot drinks. According to the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, in the first nine months of 2025, the production of the category of alternative hot drinks in Russia exceeded 77 thousand tons. This volume includes decaffeinated coffee, phytocoffee, chicory, beans and other similar products.
One of the most significant factors for the market in 2026 will be the phased transition to mandatory labeling in the Honest Mark system. For cocoa powders and cocoa-containing beverages, the requirement became mandatory from December 1, 2025. The next stage starts on April 1, 2026 and will affect tea, mate and tea extracts. From June 1, 2026, mandatory labeling will apply to coffee, chicory and coffee substitutes.
The Tea, Coffee, Cocoa section of WorldFood Moscow brings together a wide range of products that are in demand among buyers from different sales channels.
Participants will present:
Leaf and pressed tea
Tea bags
Tea drinks
Herbal teas and tisanes
Coffee beans
Ground coffee
Instant coffee
Coffee substitutes
Coffee drinks
Hot chocolate and cocoa
In 2025, 129 companies presented their products in this section. Visit the anniversary autumn food exhibition WorldFood Moscow 2026 to personally get acquainted with the assortment and new products of Russian tea and coffee producers.
Sources: finance.mail.ru, i-tea.ru, icmr.ru, interfax.ru, kommersant.ru, kontur.ru, logistics.ru, new-retail.ru, retail.ru, rg.ru, secrets.tbank.ru, vedomosti.ru
