Ito En Eyeing Tea Bag Plant in U.S.

June 6, 2018

Tokyo- Major Japanese beverage maker Ito En Ltd. is considering building a factory to produce green tea in tea bags in the United States, company officials said Tuesday.

It will be the company's first tea bag factory abroad.

The planned local production comes as green tea sales are rapidly increasing in the United States on the back of growing health consciousness among consumers in the country, the officials said. Ito En currently exports green tea products to the United States.

The company hopes to construct the U.S. plant in a year or two, according to the officials.

Green tea leaves grown in Japan will be processed and packed at the U.S. factory, the officials said, while noting that details about methods to transport tea leaves to the United States and the location of the plant will be decided later.

Ito En started to export green tea bags in 2015 under its Matcha Green Tea brand exclusive for overseas markets. Sales of its green tea products, including powdered tea, in the United States in the latest business year to April increased 9.4 pct from the previous year, according to the officials. Jiji Press