Superfoods

The global matcha boom is posing a challenge to traditional tea in Japan

From a niche product aimed at the domestic market to a global phenomenon with a turnover of over 4.2 billion dollars and a projected growth rate of 53 per cent by 2029. The boom is also taking hold in Italia, with around forty products on offer.

by Manuela Soressi

28 August 2026

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Primo piano della polvere di tè matcha di un verde brillante, ingrediente per preparare il tè verde caldo. (Alamy Stock Photo)

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

A superfood that’s all the rage in the US...
... but also in Italia
The other side of success
The backlash against sencha tea

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

The global matcha boom is causing problems for Japan. For centuries, it was a niche product – rare, expensive and intended almost exclusively for the domestic market has now become a global phenomenon with a turnover of over $4.2 billion and a projected growth rate of 53 per cent by 2029, according to a study by the Business Research Company.

A superfood that’s all the rage in the US...

The popularity of matcha has almost tripled over the last 10 years, pushing production of tencha tea (from which matcha is made) to over 5,000 tonnes, and has led to a significant rise in exports, which in 2025 broke the record of 10,000 tonnes (+250 per cent on 2014) and 36.4 billion yen (almost 200 million euros, ed.), according to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

The number of markets served has also increased, ranging from Taiwan to South Africa to Germany, although over 30 per cent ends up in a single country: the United States. From smoothie cafés in Los Angeles to coffee shops in New York, the ultra-fine powder with its slightly bitter taste, high antioxidant and caffeine content, and intense bright green colour is all the rage in smoothies, snacks and pastry recipes.

Regarded as a superfood, loved for its deep roots in Japanese culture (where it is highly prized in the tea ceremony) and a real ‘star’ in photos on social media, matcha has everything it takes to become increasingly popular around the world.

... but also in Italia

Including Italia. In our country, retailers are already stocking around forty products that highlight the presence of matcha on the packaging as a ‘special’ ingredient. These include tea bags, flavoured milk, smoothies, iced tea, mochi, ice cream, kefir and plant-based drinks, including products from well-known brands such as San Benedetto, Alpro, Innocent, Lindt, Arborea, Kit Kat and Sir Winston Tea. By 2025, according to GS1 Italy’s Osservatorio Immagino, sales are set to rise by over 3 per cent (following a couple of years of double-digit growth), totalling 9.6 million euros in sell-out value across supermarkets, hypermarkets and self-service outlets.

The other side of success

Success, however, comes at a price and, paradoxically, it is Japan itself that is paying it, where total green tea production has fallen by 25 per cent over the course of twenty years due to climate change and the ageing of tea farmers, and production of tencha (around 4,000 tonnes) is unable to meet the growing international demand for matcha, particularly in the food ingredients sector, where Chinese producers are becoming increasingly competitive.

However, the Land of the Rising Sun does not want to miss out on such a promising business opportunity, and so the government has launched a subsidy scheme to encourage the cultivation of tencha (for example, by subsidising the purchase of the tarpaulins needed to protect the seedlings from the sun and increase chlorophyll concentration) with the aim of reaching 15,000 tonnes of exports by 2030.

The backlash against sencha tea

However, to make way for tencha, it is necessary to uproot sencha, the most commonly consumed tea in the country, which is being cultivated less and less and has fallen from 60 per cent to 50 per cent of Japanese production over the last ten years. This reduced availability has caused prices to surge by 20–30 per cent (though sencha still costs a third of the price of tencha) and has also pushed up the price of green tea-based drinks – which are very popular and seeing rising consumption – by as much as 10 per cent.

For the past few weeks, the phrase ‘100% Japanese-grown tea leaves’ has appeared on the small bottles produced by the market-leading brand Oi Ocha: an indirect response to the rise in matcha imports, particularly from China, with products often being marketed in a misleading manner.

To protect authentic Japanese tea and make it a source of national pride, on a par with Wagyu beef and sake, the Japan Tea Association has proposed including it in the national system for the protection of geographical indications (GI).