Australia’s cafe culture is facing a massive shake-up as tea brand T2 expands its footprint to capture a share of the takeaway market.
The Melbourne-founded business has unveiled an ambitious new “T2 Go” takeaway format across two sites, backed by its strongest financial performance in more than a decade.
Earnings have surged by 20 per cent in year-on-year growth and a massive 82 per cent explosion in flavoured matcha sales, prompting the brand to target the lucrative takeaway commuter market.
The retail expansion has commenced with new spaces at Sydney’s Chatswood Chase and Pitt Street Mall.
Both venues debut the grab-and-go model alongside a dedicated blend bar experience offering personalised consumer tastings.
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Tea brand T2 expands its footprint to capture a share of the takeaway market. Picture: Supplied
T2 managing director Christelle Young told News Corp Australia the brand was tracking a shift in consumer lifestyle choices.
“We saw a lot more growth happening in the takeaway tea market, and this whole cafe-driven culture, which we’ve always known as being a big part of the Australian consumer’s lifestyle,” Ms Young said.
“Customers were constantly coming in and asking for takeaway tea. There is a desire in retail more and more for this experiential layout.
“Customers no longer just want to go to a retail store and buy things, they want to experience the product.
“We wanted to bring takeaway tea to the consumer and trial it out as a concept.”
T2 has unveiled an ambitious new “T2 Go” takeaway format across two sites. Picture: Supplied
The spaces introduce a range of concepts designed to move beyond traditional retail counters.
The beverage menu features tiered matcha drinks, sparkling tea lemonades, iced brews, and hot teas produced by automated brewing technology that the company claims is the first of its kind in the country.
Ms Young said the customer feedback of the new concept stores has been positive, praising the service and the expanded menu options.
“The expanded offering is the positive thing that we’re getting a lot of feedback about — the blend bar, the tea to go, just being able to not just buy tea, but also have a cup of tea as you head on out,” she said.
Both venues debut the grab-and-go model alongside a dedicated blend bar experience offering personalised consumer tastings. Picture: Supplied
While trialling the current locations to test customer response, the company intends to expand the takeaway format nationally if the concepts perform strongly.
“We obviously want to make sure that we really see the potential of these current concepts and make sure that we get it right,” Ms Young said.
“We want to test, we want to learn, and then obviously we want to scale that.
“Chatswood and Pitt Street are deliberately different expressions, one in a premium local hub, one in a fast city setting.
“We’ll learn what resonates in each of those settings, and then we want to take that concept and expand where it works well for us. We definitely intend to.”
T2’s new store in Chatswood Chase. Picture: Supplied
Ms. Young hopes T2 will grow and change in the same way that specialty coffee brands have over the last 20 years.
“We want to keep shaping the future of tea culture in Australia,” she said.
“We don’t want to just be out there selling tea. We want to completely redefine this entire category and make it more about a lifestyle experience, not just a product that you get off a supermarket shelf.
“Coffee has had its specialty revolution here and it’s changed how Australians value what’s in their cup, and we believe tea’s moment is in its era.
“T2, born here in Melbourne with 30 years of blending behind us, should be the brand that really leads that way in Australia.”
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