Sosro, renowned for its signature jasmine tea available in bottles and cartons, has unveiled Joy Tea—an unsweetened oolong tea. This launch broadens the brand’s unsweetened tea portfolio, extending beyond Tehbotol Sosro Tawar (unsweetened jasmine tea) to include oolong tea.
Unsweetened tea faces significant challenges in Indonesia, where consumers generally prefer sweeter flavours. In addition, free tea is readily available from foodservice vendors, reducing the appeal of packaged unsweetened options. With no sugar tax in place, brands have little incentive to reformulate their products by removing sugar.
As consumers gradually shift toward healthier choices, Sosro’s expansion of its unsweetened portfolio reflects the rising demand for healthier RTD teas in Indonesia, especially unsweetened varieties.
In Indonesia, the Japanese RTD tea brand Ito En has been actively promoting its unsweetened tea and recently with the message “bitter is better.” The sentiment is captured in the playful Indonesian phrase “pahitnya nampol baiknya puoll,” which conveys that even though the tea is strongly bitter, it is also refreshingly good.
