Whether it features on a café menu or is the key ingredient in a premium skincare product, rooibos has become increasingly popular in overseas markets, with South African exports reaching 10 900 tonnes in 2025.

Japan accounts for roughly one-third of this, importing 3 600 tonnes of the tea last year.

However, as rooibos gained global popularity in the late 20th century, profits have increasingly flowed out of the country and away from the communities that first cultivated it.

As a result, South Africa has been fighting to ensure that the product is protected in foreign markets and that the Khoi and San communities historically associated with it also benefit from the trade.

Rooibos is a member of the Fabaceae family that grows in South Africa’s fynbos biome and is believed to have originated in the Cederberg area of the Western Cape, where it was used for centuries by the Khoi and San people.

Because it does not come from the Camellia sinensis plant, it is not classified as a tea, but rather as a tisane, or herbal infusion, such as chamomile or hibiscus.

This also means that it is naturally caffeine-free, making it a popular choice among South African tea drinkers and accounting for roughly one-third of the local market.

One of the first major international disputes involving rooibos came when South African businessperson Annique Theron registered a trademark for “rooibos” in the United States in 1994.

Her company, called Forever Young at the time, had been operating since 1971 and pioneered the use of rooibos in skincare, winning several awards, including two gold medals from the World Intellectual Property Organisation in 1997.

However, when Theron retired in 2001, she handed the trademark over to her American business partner, Virginia Burke, who held the rights to distribute Theron’s brand, which had since been renamed Annique.

Burke immediately began sending cease-and-desist letters to small cafés and companies that used the term “rooibos” in their product marketing. This caused outrage in South Africa and sparked the country’s battle to ensure the herb remained protected abroad.

The first major victory came in 2019, when the South African government launched the world’s first industry-wide benefit-sharing agreement with the Khoisan.

Under the agreement, the group would receive 1.5% of the value paid annually to rooibos growers, harvesters, fermenters, and driers, with the first payout amounting to R12 million.

The money was earmarked for cultural heritage protection, education, and development.

Then, in 2021, rooibos became the first African food product to receive European Union Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status. Other items on the list include Kalamata olives, champagne, and Roquefort cheese. However, this only ensures protection in European markets. 

According to the South African Rooibos Council (SARC), newer markets, such as Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and China, are showing growing demand for the tea.

After China reduced tariffs from between 15% and 30% to 6% in 2024, SARC announced in May that imports would now become tariff-free.

SARC director Dawie de Villiers said the move would increase the competitiveness of rooibos by removing cost barriers and improving market access for local producers.

De Villiers and his team are also actively working with the World Trade Organisation to expand the geographical indication of rooibos tea.

This aims to ensure that the legal protection granted to a product's name in its home country is recognised and enforced in other countries, and includes working on bilateral and multilateral trade agreements.