Tata Tea to take on cola giants globally

In a new brand promotion initiative,Tata Tea Group is planning to diversify from its core tea and coffee business to enter into other good for you beverage categories.

In a new brand promotion initiative,Tata Tea Group is planning to diversify from its core tea and coffee business to enter into other good for you beverage categories. The $1-billion group is also integrating its tea,coffee and water brands and businesses around the world under a single management team.

Innovation in ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages is a key strategy that we will follow to gain global leadership. We want to compete with other players not only in the tea and coffee markets,but intend to take on giants like Coke,Pepsi and Danone with our RTD products, said Tetley chief executive Peter Unsworth.

The companys new strategy is to diversify away from its core categories of tea and coffee,and build positions in high growth areas of the good for you beverage categories through strong product innovation and growth.

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The company is looking to acquire brands in Russia,South America,Asia Pacific and Africa. We may acquire global brands or brands that can become global. We would acquire categories that offer us functional benefits,and those that offer us value, Unsworth told reporters,without getting into specifics of such buyouts. The company had acquired 51 per cent in Rusian tea company Grand in March.

The company said that it is leveraging the presence of its brands in different markets and banking on them to push other brands and,in the process,rationalising its workforce. Tata Tea intends to consolidate its management and administrative workforce to cut costs. It is planning to integrate the five pillars of its business products and categories,brands,distribution,people and processes under an over-arching management. However,the company refrained from commenting on financial consolidation amongst its different entities. Tata Tea vice-chairman and Tata Sons director R Krishna Kumar will be responsible for stewarding the Tata Tea Group.

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