Tata Tea launches flavoured products

Mumbai: Tata Tea, the world's second largest global branded tea company, has entered the health and wellness segment of tea by launching a new flavoured product — 'Tata Tea Life'.

Tata Tea Life is regular black tea, but with the addition of natural flavours of herbs and spices, which the company says, are known to provide overall health and wellness, but without compromising on the great taste of the tea that the people are used to drinking everyday.

Tata Tea Life tastes just like the normal cup of tea but with the added benefit of 'do good' herbs and spices and can be prepared the way regular tea is currently prepared.

The brand has been positioned on promoting overall wellness and health and the promotional slogan 'Jiyo Har Din Zyaada', aptly articulates the universal consumer insight of wanting to get the most out of life.

The brand is being introduced in a unique and attractive standi-pack format. Initially, the brand will be available in 250gm. and 100gm. packs priced at Rs52 and Rs20, respectively.

"The new product would be marketed as a mainstream one, but with an additional taste of herbs and spices that are known to provide overall health and wellness," said executive director Sangeeta Talwar.

Tata Tea, she said, is aiming for top slot in the Rs6,000 crore organised tea market in India. The company, at present has an 18 per cent share of the domestic market where Hindustan Lever is the leading player with 19 per cent share.

Speaking on the occasion of the launch, she said the company has been growing at double-digit while the industry as a whole is growing at an average rate of 3.3 per cent.

"We aim to be the number one in the Indian market," Tata Tea managing director P T Siganporia said.

"We are not yet there but very close to…by next year we should be able to be the number one," he said, adding that the company is already way ahead of target in the current fiscal.

During the third quarter of the current fiscal ended December 2006, the company reported a 54-per cent rise in profit after tax at Rs94 crore against Rs61 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Total income during the quarter stood at Rs299 crore against Rs282 crore.

Tata Tea is a leading player in the global beverages market with significant presence in over 40 countries. The company has steadily transformed itself from being in plantation business to emerge as a key player in the branded segment.

Backed by its acquisition of UK-based Tetley Tea in 2000, Good Earth (US), Jemca (Czech Republic) and a 30-per cent stake in Glacéau (US), Tata Tea dominates the tea-drinking markets in India, the US, Canada and the UK, with significant  market shares.

Recently, Tata Coffee, a 51-per cent subsidiary of Tata Tea acquired Eight O'Clock Coffee (US), catapulting it to global market from a regional brand