Super green tea: Tata Global’s rejuvenated offering for the health-conscious

Tata Global Beverages Ltd (TGBL) had a challenge on its hands.

With 2.5 million cups of green tea consumed everyday in the UK, and one in three consumers taking vitamins or supplements on a daily basis, the challenge for the company was to make its green tea infused with vitamins everyone’s favourite cuppa.

TGBL was eager to ensure that the vitamins in the tea could withstand the brewing brewed process, and were evenly distributed in the product, without affecting the infusion taste.

The resultant product is super green teas, the first functional green teas to be launched in the UK with approved health benefits.

The company defined the manufacturing process in such as way that every single tea bag has the right amount of vitamins based on the product claim.

Health claims are strictly regulated in the European Union to protect consumers, says an official.

The European Food Standards Agency (EFSA) has developed processes to ensure claims are fully substantiated and do not mislead consumers.

The super green teas contain Vitamin C and Vitamin B6. Tetley’s four super green teas are supported by EFSA-approved health claims, relating to supporting the immune system and helping reduce tiredness and fatigue.

Though there is a strong market for Tetley super green teas in India, it will be a while before the company introduces the super green teas here.

Not that there is no market here. In fact, it’s quite the contrary. The green tea segment in India is growing at an exponential rate of around 50 per cent annually, says Ajoy Misra, CEO, TGBL.

“The green tea market in India is estimated at around ₹400 crore.”

For now, though, the company is reaching out to varied consumer segments with its many offerings, which are specially crafted keeping in mind Indian tastes. The aim is to popularise green tea and make it accessible to a wider consumer base.

Last year, Tata Tea, from the house of TGBL, launched a new variant in the green tea category—Acti Green.

With milder blends, the flavours are customised for the India palate such as ‘elaichi’ (cardamom) and ‘tulsi-nimbu’ (tulsi-lemon).

The Tetley brand, acquired by TGBL in 2001, had pioneered green tea in the Indian market around eight years ago. It has rejuvenated the flavoured green tea category in the country by introducing variants.

In 2014, Tetley was relaunched in the Indian market, urging consumers to cleanse from within, with the debut of Tetley’s ‘inside walaah snaan’ (an inside bath) advertising campaign, designed to inspire consumers to wash out toxins with Tetley green tea.

As CEO Misra points out, Tetley has been one of the pioneers of green tea in India, and recently launched a range of flavours such as citrus and spice, cinnamon and honey and aloe vera.

“With Tata Tea Acti Green, we are widening the consumer base for green tea. It’s available at convenient price points to encourage trial.”

Misra assures that green tea is a focus area for TGBL across geographies.

The company has also set out to demystify the notion of green tea being highly priced, and has offered it in smaller packaged quantities, for experimental first time consumers, who just might make it their preferred cup of tea.

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