Best of the Year: Matcha LOVE from ITO EN

ITO EN (North America) Inc. was awarded this year’s Best of the Year 2015: Best Tea Based Beverage from BEVNET at a ceremony held on December 7. Matcha LOVE Organic Teas bills itself as the “Modern Take on an Ancient Ritual.” The line includes ceremonial matcha in a range of strengths and styles, ready to drink matcha, teabags, and culinary matcha. The goal was to find an opportunity to market true matcha in a way that was approachable to a new audience. These are not the first accolades for the product. Matcha LOVE Ready-to-Drink Traditional Matcha received first place at the North American Tea Championships earlier this year in the category of unsweetened green tea. Culinary Matcha also received Best Innovative Product 2015 for Tea as an Ingredient. “We’ve had great success with our retail partners with Matcha LOVE teas,” says Adam Hertel, Sales V.P. of Grocery in a press release. “The growing demand for healthy beverages that are unsweetened and taste great is what continues to drive our business.” ITO EN operates globally with a number of well-known brands under its umbrella including TEAS' TEA®, Oi Ocha, ITO EN Shots, Matcha LOVE , Jay Street Coffee® and Distant Lands Coffee. In August, ITO EN announced a partnership with Whole Foods to launch an organic matcha product. SOURCE: PR Newswire press releases ( 1, 2 )