The Hindu Business Line : Promote tea as a health beverage

CREATING a right demand for the teas with a stress on the benefits to the consumers and then fulfilling the created demand through a supply of the right quality in the right volume at the right price at the right time is the secret to marketing success for tea.

The stress should be on the direct benefits to the consumers in respect of health, hospitality, alertness and mental pleasure.

Scientists s in India, Sri Lanka, the UK, the US, Japan and Germany have come out with findings on tea that could have a positive health benefit to the consumers. But there has hardly been any campaign to promote tea as a health beverage or a drink that suits the different body constitution, preferences and proclivities.

A campaign can convey to the people on scientists findings that both black and green tea have effective anti-oxidants indicating that tea drinking can help reduce the risk of common degenerative disorders, including heart attacks, strokes and cancer.

Scientists have gone on record that tea has the ability to inhibit lipid oxidation and plaque formation which reduces the risk of heart diseases. Scientists have also proved that tea drinking can reduce cholesterol levels.

Producers have not effectively communicated that tea polyphenols can neutralise chemical carcinogens, thereby reducing the risk of cancer.

Villagers still believe that tea-drinking spoils teeth, but planters have missed conveying the reality to them that scientists have proved that tea could inhibit the growth of harmful micro-organisms in the oral cavity which means, tea could improve the oral health.

Recent studies have gone a step further to prove that tea polyphenols could contribute to reducing blood glucose level which means, tea is beneficial to diabetic patients as well. Tea also reduces inflammation and the ill effects of bacteria in intestines and elsewhere in the body.

Barring the individual cases requiring specific medical advice, by now, there are plenty of research results in both the tea growing and consuming countries to hail tea generally as a safe health drink.

Nevertheless, the industry for all its organised status and the Tea Board for all its statutory support, have not done enough campaign to market tea as a health beverage.

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