Refrigerated RTD coffee and refrigerated tea segments both show dollar and unit sales up.

It appears that consumers want to have their tea and coffee — and drink it too. The numbers are looking good for makers of refrigerated and ready-to-drink tea and coffee.

 Dollar and unit sales for refrigerated coffee and tea are rising. Research indicates year-round demand for cold, ready-to-drink coffee beverages, especially by Millennials. 

Tea and ready-to-drink (RTD) tea achieved estimated sales of $6.7 billion in 2012, according to Chicago-based market research firm Mintel. And sales are expected to grow to nearly $8 billion by 2014, said Douglas Rash, group vice president of global sales for Treatt, Lakeland, Fla., citing statistics from Rockville, Md.-based Packaged Facts.

Based on the latest findings, it’s possible that consumers are passing up their local coffee and tea shops for the nearest grocery store because ready-to-drink coffee and tea sales are increasing. Data provided by SymphonyIRI Group, Chicago, show that sales in the shelf-stable tea/coffee ready-to-drink category rose 3.2% to $1.6 billion in the 52 weeks ended July 8, 2012, with the unit sales also showing an increase of 5.1% to 747.7 million.