• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• Business Line
• The Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Our Bureau

Kolkata , Nov. 15

NEWBY Teas Overseas Pvt Ltd, subsidiary of Newby Teas (UK) Ltd, may introduce its speciality teas in the Indian markets after studying the laws of the land.

Newby Teas (UK) is promoted by the N Sethia Group, based in London. Newby Teas has developed 100 varieties of speciality teas. The company has set up a packaging unit near Kolkata. It is a 100 per cent export oriented unit. The initial investment is Rs 15 crore. The company plans to invest up to Rs 50 crore in the next three to five years,

On Monday, the plant was inaugurated by the Union Civil Aviation Minister, Mr Praful Patel. At present, the unit will produce 40 million tea bags per annum; and within the next six months the capacity will increase to 80 million.

According to Mr N. Sethia, Chairman of the Sethia Group, this unit will cater to 50 per cent of the demand of Newby Teas (UK). Apart from Kolkata, the British company has another packaging unit in London and one in Germany.

"Demand for our products is so much that we will have to set up another factory, but we have not decided on the location. It can be anywhere in the globe," Mr Sethia told reporters after the inaugural function.

In 2005, Newby Teas registered a total business of $13 million, and in the current calendar year, it is expected to increase to $20 million. In the next five years, he said, it will be a $100-million company.

In the Indian venture, though the British company holds 80 per cent (rest 20 per cent stake is split between two individuals with 10 per cent each), Mr Sethia said that there are plans to buy out the remaining stake.

Whatever the Indian company produces, it will be exported directly to its parent company in London. Subsequently, the products will be marketed in Russia, other CIS countries, Japan and other European nations.

Newby is currently buying from all the global tea auction houses. In this context, he said, the Kolkata unit will package green teas from China, Japan and Taiwan apart from that of Assam and Darjeeling. Traditional speciality teas such as Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Ceylon and others will be packaged too from this unit.

Mr Sethia claimed that Newby produces a niche lifestyle drink product and so it enjoys an extremely high premium in the market.

"We are also setting up a research and experimental laboratory along with this unit. It will help us to enhance the quality of the product and find out newer methods for the preservation of teas," he said.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
FritoLay plans foray into low-fat salty snacks

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line