Tata Global Beverages plans to expand its water portfolio to 10%

KOLKATA: Tata Global Beverages plans to expand its water portfolio to 10% of turnover, chairman Cyrus Mistry said at the company's annual general meeting on Tuesday.
"The water division currently accounts for 1% and we intend to take it to 10%," he said in response to a shareholder's query. Mistry didn't give a timeframe for this.

The company plans to launch nutrientenhanced Tata Water Plus across India.

A national rollout has also been planned for new flavours such as grape, cinnamon and apple under the Tata Gluco Plus portfolio. These brands belong to NourishCo, a joint venture between Tata Global Beverages and PepsiCo India.

Mistry added that the company would explore options for "functional teas" in the wellness segment. A functional beverage is a non-alcoholic drink and consists of ingredients such as herbs, vitamins, minerals, amino acids or additional raw fruits.

"We will look at functional teas for cardiac and diabetes as a future growth area," he said in response to another shareholder's query. Mistry was upbeat about the Tata Starbucks venture.

"Tata Starbucks has recorded strong growth and it continues to increase the number of stores. Today it is operating in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Pune, Bangalore and Chennai. The store count is currently 53 and is continuously growing," he said.

In Europe, operations in Czechoslovakia have turned profitable, managing director Ajoy Misra said, commenting on the company's overseas business.

"In Poland, the journey is still on. We have made our entry in the Middle East and launched Tetley as a beach head in Kuwait. The Kuwait pilot launch has been successful and now we are entering Saudi Arabia and the rest of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) area."