Global iced tea consumption exceeded 35 billion litres in 2015 and has grown by 44 per cent since 2010, according to Zenith International.
The growth has been well above the 25 per cent rate for all soft drinks, according to Zenith, which attributes its growth to the health and wellness trend.
The 2016 Zenith Global Ready-To-Drink Tea Report says Asia Pacific has a 72 per cent volume share, led by China and Japan, yet the region's consumption per person is less than half that of North America and only slightly higher than Europe.
North America enjoys the highest consumption per person, while Europe's performance has been mixed.
West Europe witnessed steady growth while East Europe posted a decline.
Latin America and Africa Middle East achieved the highest growth rates of over 10 per cent per year between 2010 and 2015.
Ready-to-drink (RTD) tea has appeared to tick a lot of boxes for millennial and other adult consumers, according to Zenith chairman Richard Hall.
New lower calorie launches have added extra appeal.
Zenith forecasts that consumption will continue growing by 4.4 per cent per year to reach almost 44 billion litres by 2020.
