Tea cos see silver lining in cola tangle
Tea has never really taken off with the Cola-cultured Gen X. But now experts see an opportunity in the ongoing soft drink pesticide ‘cocktail’ controversy.
By Debasis Sarkar, TNN |
SILIGURI: Tea has never really taken off with the Cola-cultured Gen X. But now experts see an opportunity in the ongoing soft drink pesticide ‘cocktail’ controversy.
Stagnation in the rural market and the cola culture amongst the rising young population are the most important reasons behind the currently dwindling domestic tea market, feels SN Chatterjee, veteran tea expert and former director of West Bengal Tea Development Corporation.
“The cola controversy provides scope to revert the scenario. Now generic tea should be promoted highlighting its health factors. This can generate nearly 120m kg additional domestic sales,” Mr Chatterjee said, adding “Tea Board should launch the campaign immediately, before the controversy fizzles out.”
Tea cultivation area had grown from 1.5 lakh to over four lakh hectare from 1905 to 2005, while production has grown from 100m kg to nearly 880m kg. However, by the late ’80s, the domestic market was saturated and no special promotion was done to help it further.
“With a little sincere effort, a huge portion of the actual estimated 2,000m kg of domestic potential can be tapped,” Mr Chatterjee said.
Being the second-most labour intensive industry in India, tea supports more than three crore families. “Proper generic campaign in proper time can bring back the bright days for the industry,” said NK Basu, convenor of
In ’01, on the instance of the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and recommendation of Accenture, a global consultant, the Tea Board and the CCPA jointly launched Piyo More Chai campaign to pep up the domestic market. But it turned out to be a damp squib.
“This should be kept in mind while designing the new campaigns,” Mr Basu added.
Stagnation in the rural market and the cola culture amongst the rising young population are the most important reasons behind the currently dwindling domestic tea market, feels SN Chatterjee, veteran tea expert and former director of West Bengal Tea Development Corporation.
“The cola controversy provides scope to revert the scenario. Now generic tea should be promoted highlighting its health factors. This can generate nearly 120m kg additional domestic sales,” Mr Chatterjee said, adding “Tea Board should launch the campaign immediately, before the controversy fizzles out.”
Tea cultivation area had grown from 1.5 lakh to over four lakh hectare from 1905 to 2005, while production has grown from 100m kg to nearly 880m kg. However, by the late ’80s, the domestic market was saturated and no special promotion was done to help it further.
“With a little sincere effort, a huge portion of the actual estimated 2,000m kg of domestic potential can be tapped,” Mr Chatterjee said.
Being the second-most labour intensive industry in India, tea supports more than three crore families. “Proper generic campaign in proper time can bring back the bright days for the industry,” said NK Basu, convenor of
ADVERTISEMENT
Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations (CCPA) West Bengal Chapter. In ’01, on the instance of the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and recommendation of Accenture, a global consultant, the Tea Board and the CCPA jointly launched Piyo More Chai campaign to pep up the domestic market. But it turned out to be a damp squib.
“This should be kept in mind while designing the new campaigns,” Mr Basu added.
Too busy to trade in stocks? Invest in Mutual Funds with ET Money!
Bookmark or read stories offline -
Download ET Markets APP
Download ET Markets APP
ADVERTISEMENT
