Matcha green tea powder boasts benefits of health and sustained energy.

 

Matcha

Boasting benefits of health and sustained energy, the green tea powder is gaining steam in such products as chocolate bars, ready-to-drink beverages and snacks. Two Moms in the Raw, Longmont, Colo., makes green tea vanilla truffles with a blend of organic matcha green tea powder, almonds, cacao and vanilla bean powder.

“Matcha may be used across food and drink products to add valuable nutrients, but also impart a rich green color, which will appeal to the health conscious,” said Laura-Daisy Jones, a global food science analyst with Mintel.

From a small base, new global food and beverage launches featuring matcha as an ingredient grew 132% between 2012 and 2014, said Mintel. Eighty percent of matcha products introduced during the period came from Japan, but matcha is moving to more markets, spanning the categories of bakery, desserts, confectionery, sauces and seasonings, and snacks.