How TikTok caused a matcha shortage

Matcha is undoubtedly the beverage of the moment. It’s almost impossible to scroll on social media without catching glimpses of bright green, sipped out of glass straws or takeaway cups. In Japan, however, the matcha industry is struggling to keep up with soaring demand.

“POV: The girls have caused a matcha shortage in Japan,” says one viral TikTok post. The clip shows a sign at a tea shop in Japan that reads: “It is currently very difficult to buy matcha.” The sign goes on to explain that, due to high sales over the summer, the shop had run out of the raw materials necessary to create the drink. “Not wasting a single particle of matcha after I heard about the matcha shortage in japan,” posted another TikToker. 

@runawaywithk

not y’all came to Japan and wiped out the Marukyu Koyamaen matcha for the next 6 months! #matchalover #matchatok #japanvlog #matcha

♬ Yasashi – CXSPER

The drink has blown up in the  U.S. too, where matcha sales have reportedly reached beyond $10 billion over the past 25 years. The hashtag #MatchaTok has more than 40,000 posts on TikTok with matcha lovers sharing their morning matcha routines, home setups, and latte recipes.

Dating back to 8th century China, matcha begins as shade-grown tea leaves known as tencha, now mostly produced in Kyoto, Japan. The highest-grade tencha leaves are harvested once a year, typically between mid-April and the end of May. 

And as Eater recently reported, insatiable demand for the latest wellness must-have is having a knock-on effect on the industry. Thanks to its virality online, the matcha brand Marukya Koyamaen did six months of sales in less than a month, according to Eater. Other popular brands include Ippodo Tea, Yamamasa Koyamaen, and Rocky’s Matcha, many of which sell out as soon as they are restocked. Due to seasonal harvesting and changes in climate, supply simply is not enough to meet rising demand.  

These shortages have created a divide within the #MatchaTok community. “POV you’re a matcha lover and you went to Japan,” one TikTok post reads over a haul of powders and matcha-related products that required an extra-large suitcase and a carry-on bag to bring home. “This is so greedy and embarrassing,” reads one comment posted under the video.

Another added: “With the matcha shortage going on, I think you may be suspect number one girl.”


https://www.fastcompany.com/91240665/how-tiktok-caused-a-matcha-shortage?partner=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss

Creată 4mo | 5 dec. 2024, 07:40:02


Autentifică-te pentru a adăuga comentarii

Alte posturi din acest grup

What is AI thinking? Anthropic researchers are starting to figure it out

Why are AI chatbots so intelligent—capable of understanding complex ideas, crafting surprisingly good short stories, and intuitively grasping what users mean? The truth is, we don’t fully know. La

2 apr. 2025, 11:20:05 | Fast company - tech
Underground trading of malicious LLMs is fueling cybercrime

The web is being swamped by AI slop—but th

2 apr. 2025, 11:20:03 | Fast company - tech
Vapes aren’t just for smoking anymore—now they’re digital toys

Vaping devices are getting a makeover—one that seems likely to turn more teens into consumers.

Experts have long worried that nicotine vapes appeal to minors with

2 apr. 2025, 11:20:03 | Fast company - tech
Tinder wants you to flirt with an AI bot before you flop with a human

Think you’ve got game? Time to put it to the test with Tinder’s latest launch in collaboration with OpenAI.

On Tuesday, Tinder rolled out The Game Game—a new experience designed to help

1 apr. 2025, 21:20:06 | Fast company - tech
‘Imagine having Cybertruck money and buying a Cybertruck’: TikTok is full of people trading in their Teslas to the sounds of Taylor Swift

The old Tesla can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, ‘cause she’s dead.

Over the past few days, a new trend has emerged on TikTok: people are posting their Tesla trade-ins accompani

1 apr. 2025, 19:10:03 | Fast company - tech
Kickstarter isn’t just for indie passion projects anymore

Despite a ">triumphant world premiere at Cannes last May, the politically unsparing Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice was stuck in

1 apr. 2025, 16:40:05 | Fast company - tech
‘inZOI’ challenges ‘The Sims’ with a fresh take on life simulation

Countless hours, days—perhaps even weeks—of my life have been spent creating Sims characters, building them houses, marrying them off, and making babies. Now, there’s a new life-simulatio

1 apr. 2025, 14:20:11 | Fast company - tech