President William Ruto, left, saluted the first shipments of processed Ketepa Pride tea on its way to Ghana under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.
Kenya’s New President Announces Investment in Value Addition for Tea Exports
President Ruto makes value addition in tea exports a priority and announces a new public-privately funded tea processing and packaging facility in Dongo Kundu, Mombasa
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In London, the International Tea Committee revises the per capita benchmark globally to an average of 800 grams, noting a 113% increase in tea consumption during the past 20 years.
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Caption: ITC Chairman Ian Gibbs presents new benchmark at the North American Tea Conference on Sept. 27.
“Sustainability: it’s great in theory, but things like recycling and composting only get us so far in helping the earth. We should (and can) do a lot more. Going regenerative means improving every aspect of TAZO’s business: from how we make our tea to ensuring that our farming partners get the fair wages and treatment they deserve. TAZO reformulated and relaunched four of its leading blends this summer. TAZO’s long-term ambition is to transform its products and the brand’s entire business operations into a regenerative approach that challenges what the tea industry can do and gives back to people and the planet.” — TAZO
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Jami Lewchik discusses TAZO’s new regenerative approach to business.Jami Lewchik, Head of TAZO and Portfolio Sustainability, ekaterra Americas
Regenerative: Tea Supply Chain Reimagined
In releasing four new TAZO Regenerative products, parent tea company ekaterra committed to a sizeable long-term investment in its tea supply chain. Jami Lewchik who manages the sustainability portfolio for ekaterra Americas, said the intent is to support farmers, encouraging them to implement practices to increase soil health and assure fairness to farm workers. Third-party certifierRegenerative Organic Alliance (ROA) praises ekaterra for “aligning with our mission: to heal a broken system, repair a damaged planet, and empower farmers and eaters to create a better future through regenerative organic agriculture.”
Dan Bolton: Jami, will you describe how TAZO’s decision to adopt a regenerative business approach expands on the basic concept of fair trade and sourcing from organic and sustainable suppliers?
Jami Lewchik: Fair Trade and sustainability, of course, are two critical pillars supporting what we’re trying to do. And we’re looking through the lens of regenerative to say, ‘how can we start there?’ and then go further, to get to a place where we’re actually giving back to people and the planet?
What else will it take to improve the way that tea is grown? And that’s where we layered in the regenerative practices and principles.
Fundamentally, from the perspective of the agriculture, we are looking at things such as pollinator pathways for protecting biodiversity, and protecting waterways that may be on the land or adjacent land, ensuring those are cared for.
Many people, I think, are familiar with organic practices and principles, and are now interested in learning more about regenerative but for us, it also goes beyond the land. We’re trying to focus on some key levers to deliver this regenerative ambition. We’re looking at procurement. We’re looking at partnerships, and we’re looking at innovation.
Procurement is where it becomes very interesting, and I think has real implications across the industry, potentially. Packaging materials is another example. We have a commitment that by 2023 will ensure our priority materials like tree fiber, sugar, and tea are sourced from suppliers that have eliminated any deforestation from their supply chains. And by 2025, we are striving to make 100% of our packaging reusable, recyclable, or compostable.
Building resilient communities is one of the first principles, and to address on-the-ground challenges with these experts and partnerships that already exist but are looking for more support from corporate partners like us.
HarmonyInvigorateComfort Herbal Chai | $14TAZO’s four most popular blends are reformulated
Dan: The initial reformulations begin a long process of achieving third-party certification by the Regenerative Organic Alliance for the full range of TAZO tea. Will you describe the process and milestones?
Jami: We have been working towards this for more than two years. We started by partnering with Pure Strategies, [a consultancy based in Massachusetts] which is our environmental consulting firm. And they helped us do an audit of our existing footprint, first from a product lens, but also from a business and social lens. So, we knew where we were. And then we said where we wanted to go.
We were hoping to find a third party, an independent certification, that would reassure people that there was transparency and that we weren’t grading our own homework. That’s when we first learned of the Regenerative Organic Alliance. We are a proud ally of ROA, but we are not yet certified by them. I do want to make that clear. We are working towards their standards. We understand their framework. And that’s where we brought in the elements of the regenerative practices and principles at farms, and Fair Trade USA and the USDA’s National Organic Program certification as well.
Dan: Marketing should simplify decision-making, and while third-party certifications are powerful endorsements that build trust, labels crowded with too many certification emblems and seals are confusing and dilute the significance of individual claims. In contrast, TAZO’s rebranding incorporates regenerative in the name and displays only two seals on the front of the package. Messaging emphasizes three tea growing principles: organic, conservation, and fair trade.
Jami: It’s a great point, there’s such a world of information out there — and misinformation out there, unfortunately. Right? I’ll use Fair Trade USA as one example. When you see [the certification emblem it represents] the work that’s being done to ensure responsible farming practices and safe, healthy working conditions on the farms, things like gender equity and community development funds to address local needs, and that the farmers and the workers themselves are voting on what those funds are going to be used for. I think there are such rich, informational, educational materials at each of the partners, websites on their social pages, on their LinkedIn. I think that whether it’s the Rodale Institute, the Regenerative Organic Alliance, or Fair Trade USA, these entities are doing a great job of collecting important bits of information for consumers.
It’s my job as a brand owner to then say, ‘here is that information. Here’s why this is important. We’re putting it all together in a box, a literal box for you to enjoy our TAZO tea.’ And so, we feature some of their stories on our website, or in our social conversations on Instagram, for example, or TikTok trying to meet our consumers where they are, where they might be looking for information, and then make that available to them.
TAZO is going regenerative and 1 view = $1 towards fighting the climate crisis. EVERY VIEW is a $1 donation to the #RodaleInstitute, a non-profit and global leader in regenerative organic agriculture for 70+ years
– TikTok reel
Dan: Reports of climate disasters that put tea in harm’s way increased this summer globally, with droughts, floods, and extreme heat in China all impacting yields and tea quality. Will you talk about aspirational aspects of the brand, such as challenging the status quo?
Jami: I want to take a moment to acknowledge especially the situation that’s still unfolding in Pakistan and India. TAZO is an ekaterra brand and this is something that’s near and dear and painful to our hearts, and we are working with the communities on the ground there to ensure that these unprecedented humanitarian issues are being addressed.
We have responsibility here in the US as well. TAZO is a US born brand. We are calling attention to the climate crisis and how it disproportionately impacts our communities even beyond the tea growing community.
TAZO is partnering with American Forests, a nonprofit that goes back to the 1800s, that is challenging the status quo in a very real and meaningful way with urban forestry and restoring the urban tree canopy. They’re restoring some of the beautiful things that trees give to neighborhoods that have been taken away from communities of color in inner city neighborhoods. Trees contribute to better mental health, better air quality and lower, lower heating and cooling bills — in general, a better quality of life can directly be linked to the amount of trees in your community. We are in five cities, working with Davy Tree certified arborists to recruit and train people in these communities not just to plant a tree and walk away, but to care for it.
TAZO reformulated ZEN™, Awake® English Breakfast, Chai, and Darjeeling are branded “regenerative” as will every other future new teabag product. These first TAZO Regenerative blends are USDA Organic Certified, made with Fair Trade USA Certified™ ingredients, made with Rainforest Alliance Certified teas, and are made with ingredients grown with verified regenerative organic agriculture practices that help conserve nature and protect biodiversity. )
Dan: Earlier this year, the NewClimate Institute issued a report critical of companies trumpeting “ambitious sounding” carbon goals. Nestle and Unilever offered rebuttals. Last month, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority banned advertising a popular Unilever detergent for unsupported claims about its sustainability. Listeners will find it helpful in your role as head of sustainability if you share insights about consumers’ expectations.
Jami: It’s a very important question. And I think the answers might be something that the consumer has never thought of. In my opinion, consumers are looking for is transparency, and some sort of reliability and reassurance that what the company is promising is true.
I will say for us, we see that businesses must play a role in addressing climate change, because we played such a large role in creating it. Companies, throughout the tea industry, all need to step up and reduce our contributions to greenhouse gas, and address the full climate impact that we’ve created. To make sure that this is done in in a way that is impactful, and measurable, and authentic, and transparent, we think targets for greenhouse gas emissions should be science based [Science Based Targets, initiative]. Validation of science based targets (SBTi) is critical.
At TAZO, our goal is to achieve carbon neutral operations by 2026. And to be on the path to science based net zero emissions, including a 45% absolute reduction of scopes, one, two, and three greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (our base year is 2020 in that calculation). So that’s first and foremost, I believe that SBTi, the Science Based Targets initiative has built a program, a framework, essentially, that the industry could and should leverage in order to reassure consumers and in order to actually make measurable change.
TAZO is working on our full climate impact by completely overhauling our means of production and transitioning to regenerative organic, as we talked about at the top of the call. So, this is encompassing everything from soil health to worker fairness. You know, we’re a proud ally of the ROA and the Rodale Institute in this space.
We are putting our money where our mouth is. I mentioned how farmers are making real life choices every day on how to address the impacts of climate change on their land. So right now, we are we are raising funds towards the Rodale Institute up to $250,000 to give to them to support farmers who are looking to transition to organic farming. And we are doing that in a, hopefully a cheeky and fun way with a TikTok ad.
We didn’t spend a lot of money to buy media, we didn’t buy TV, we didn’t buy print. We went without paid media, hoping that people would talk about it and generate views. Instead of spending that money on media we’re saying that for each view, it’s $1 donated to the Rodale Institute up to $250,000.
Because by starting a conversation, people start to discuss: What is regenerative agriculture? Why is it important? What are regenerative business practices? Why is fair trade important?
We want to build momentum, we want the conversation to keep going and for consumers to learn more about it, to ask for more of it to drive that sort of flywheel, that virtuous cycle of growth, where the demand increases, where more people want Fair Trade certification. So more farmers and communities are earn Fair Trade certification and earn Fair Trade money.. This is why we’re gonna transition our entire range to be regenerative organic.
We’re setting stringent ambitions. We’re looking for at least 80% of our ingredient volume to meet regenerative organic standards by 2029. The remaining 20% are things like citric acid that aren’t necessarily covered by those standards at this moment in time.
Finally, and most importantly, we are working with our sustainability consulting firm, Pure Strategies, to measure this progress step by step. And we will be keeping our community updated on milestones, through our website and through our social pages.
So, we know we owe those answers to our consumers.
Sustainability remains a priority and is trending, but the implementation of the UN FAO’s Agriculture goals has been greatly hampered by war, COVID-19, and climate change
| Tea Relief for Pakistan | MK Shah Exports vs. Outsider in Bidding Contest for McLeod Russel India | PLUS PLUS Jami Lewchik discusses TAZO’s long-term ambition to transform its products and the brand’s entire business operations into a regenerative approach. Listen to the interview
Caption: Jami Lewchik, Head of TAZO and Portfolio Sustainability, eketerra Americas
Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since gaining independence. Following the pandemic, many industries on the island ceased to exist due to political and financial difficulties. However, the island’s tea industry continues to battle on. Tea Biz correspondent and PMD Tea MD Dananjaya Silva discusses with Dr. Roshan Rajadurai, the Managing Director of Hayleys’ plantationshow Hayleys’ plantations have adapted and continue to produce tea, given the economic hardships.
Caption: Dr. Roshan Rajadurai, the Managing Director of Hayleys Plantations, left, discusses with Tea Biz correspondent and PMD Tea MD Dananjaya Silva how organizational discipline and adaptations enabled tea production to continue during the pandemic and recent economic hardships.
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Dr. Roshan Rajadurai, MD, Hayleys PlantationsFounded in 1992, there are 25 estates in the valley covering 13,000 hectares. Photo courtesy Kelani Valley Plantations
How Sri Lanka’s Tea Industry is Coping with Continual Crisis
Production is down and export volume declined compared to last year but auction prices are at a high mark and Ceylon tea remains in demand. I traveled to Sri Lanka to assess the condition of a resilient tea industry following an unsettling spring marred by high unemployment in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. For several months tens of thousands protested the inflation-driven cost of food and shortages of basics, including fuel, cooking gas, and electrical power. The upheaval led to the resignations of both the prime minister in May and the nation’s president, who fled the country in July.
Dananjaya Silva – How did the COVID pandemic restrictions show Sri Lanka’s plantation sector to be resilient and adaptive?
RoshanRajadurai – The plantation sector has a legacy of 150 years of very well-organized, centralized management structure, so when this pandemic situation suddenly came up the government imposed a three-day curfew which we had to abide by. But on the fourth day onwards, we quickly got on board, and made things as normal as normal could be.
The moment we caught wind of this pandemic situation, we put in place a series of measures at our 60 tea and rubber plantations. First, of course, we made our people aware of what this is all about.
There was an influx of people from Colombo and outstations, flowing back to the estates. So, we made sure their names were recorded, and if they showed signs of infection, we had isolation quarters. We isolated them for 14 days, and kept the medical and other authorities informed when they returned to the community. The organized sector has one million people living in a village-style setups in close confines. The measure we took were effective. Up to about the end of last year, we didn’t have a single casualty arising out of COVID. That is because we identified and limited exposure to the people who were coming from outside.
In addition, we did fumigating and provided simple medicines. And most importantly, we ensured that people didn’t have to congregate and that they didn’t have to go to bazaars and townships.
We organized distribution with the large food suppliers, like the government warehouse system, and brought in food in lorries. And we had stocks for two or three months. We delivered food packets practically to their doorstep. What is important is that we ensure that the workers did not spread this COVID.
There was also a group of people who had no other means of earning more income. Although last year was not a good year financially, we ensured that their wages were paid. And as a means of helping the people in this situation, we opened our industry to those who arrived from Colombo and elsewhere, and gave them work in areas that we could not manage with our regular workforce. So, their family unit had more opportunities to earn more when sons and daughters returned.
We already had in place a revenue share model, so we expanded it. There were a lot of people who didn’t want to be registered workers but they still got into the earning pool for their family and were able to enhance their family income.
So we had a very, very tough and a very well disciplined control system and to the credit of workers, I must say they cooperated fully.
They listen to the management; they follow the advice of health departments. So that’s an example of success and how after long years of practice the plantation sector was able to manage a crisis like this.
Dananjaya Silva – How did adaptations forced by the pandemic help Hayleys prepare for the political turmoil of 2022?
Roshan – After COVID came the financial crisis. There was no work to go back to in the construction industry as it had crashed, and also the eateries and small hotels. So, all the people came back to the estates and we made available opportunities for employment. One example is paying workers to remove weeds. We said we will pay you by the kilo and that was a very good intervention as people who don’t want to return to sort of plucking or harvesting work, they go to the field, remove the weeds and we pay them. This was essential because of the limitations on fertilizer. We convert the weeds to compost. Soil augers were given to each division and placement of holes tracked. Once the compost is made, we filled the holes and incorporated the bulk material and the compost into the soil so that it enhances the soil fertility.
Dananjaya – What you’re saying is that this 150-year-old industry, that has been the backbone of the Sri Lanka economy, continues to be that because workers who are from plantation backgrounds who’ve worked in hotels, construction, they once again come back to live on the estate.
Roshan – Actually, Dananjaya employment is only part of the solution that we provided, because there was an influx of workers. And it’s actually stretched our services. But we made sure that we accommodated them, that we looked after them in terms of food supply, because there was no food because the COVID curfew and restrictions. So our managers went out and bought curfew passes, they really did a great job on the ground. I mean, they volunteered – they could have waited and said, look, we don’t want to expose ourselves. But every company, every manager, every planter, took it upon himself to look after his community on the discharge of food, medicine or the wherewithal. Everything was provided and absolutely no breakdown. And ours is the only industry right now maintaining the industry as it was before a lot of challenges, a lot of stress, a lot of issues, but we still maintained the industry as it was.
Dananjaya Silva – Fertilizer was banned last year then the government subsequently reversed the policy. How is this affected Hayleys estates?
Roshan – Well, on the whole, banning of fertilizer was a shock and surprise to all of us due to the ill effect and the consequences of this hasty, unscientific and illogical strategy. We made significant protests, voicing opposition in media and TV talk shows and whatever but to no avail.
We are a large organization and we stock sufficient fertilizer for one or two applications ahead. Last year I did not plan for the banning, but I thought that we learned some lessons on logistical problems, with fewer ships coming, curfews on crews and the slowed movement of goods. So we gave instructions to our managers to store fertilizer for six months, anticipating a breakdown of logistics. Then, in the meantime, they banned the fertilizer, and therefore we had some stocks. Uncertain supply and high prices completely changed the way we apply fertilizer now because we know that for a year or two, we might not get cost effective fertilizer.
In the past we used to broadcast fertilizer but we quickly reverted to a system called placement where we dig a hole and put in a measured 24 grams of fertilizer per bush. In this way, you’re reducing the wastage from volatilization, and leaching while improving efficiency by a significant level. We are also stretching the fertilizer as one application done in this manner means we can sit out two or three future applications. Fortunately for Haley’s group, although we didn’t plan for the ban, we had planned for something else. It also gave us sufficient fertilizer and for food crops raised by workers, so they could infuse some so that they are not going to go without food.
Tea factory at Tallawakelle Tea Estate. Photo courtesy Hayleys Plantations.
Dananjaya – When you talk about ensuring food for workers, that’s a stark contrast to the situation for someone living in an urban area, isn’t it? People there don’t have the opportunity to stock food, and are relying on retail supply. There is no guarantee for them, as they might find themselves standing in a queue for days, and not be guaranteed any food at the end of it.
Roshan – The plantations you know, care for not only the direct workers, but all dependent family members. So if someone has got COVID, we say, don’t worry, we have given the family food over the year in some cases, we can recover it. So by that action, people have confidence in the management that we have looked after them in a very, very critical time. And when they were sick, we made sure that the government medical authorities or personal care management were involved. We offer a holistic total system of care for our people.
In towns, as you said, we all have to stand in queues, and those who do are not sure there’s stocks, but in our case, we bagged provisions and dry rations and brought it to their home so that they don’t have to come and interact or mix with people and spread COVID. So that way, I think we got a huge boost in terms of human resources. When we gave very tough guidelines and instructions, they followed the advice like keeping a distance while working whereas traditionally they were together in a row. We said you have to separate immediately and without any protest they showed wholehearted obedience and support for us.
Dananjaya Silva – Fuel shortages have crippled and decimated many sectors of the country what provisions and adaptations Hayleys have made to ensure the smooth running of operations.
Roshan – After the crisis came on, definitely we have taken radical measures to reduce the running of unnecessary trips and vehicles. We have mapped out all the roads in each division and compared distances and identified the shortest routes to make transport more efficient.
We also introduced some innovations like ziplines. These were built before the crisis, but came in handy. We can save about 90 kilometers a day on trips to the factory because the tea otherwise has to be driven along a circuitous route. It’s eco-friendly and does not use fossil fuel. We have instituted several eco-friendly practices. Now our managers and assistant managers are provided with good Push bicycles, and they have resorted to more walking,
“ We are maintaining the tea industry as it was before in spite of a lot of challenges, a lot of stress, a lot of issues.”
– Roshan Rajadurai
Dananjaya – One area that you touched on was moving tea from estates down to Colombo, there has been some disruption. How are you working through that situation because because the logistics are provided from from outside of the estate.
Roshan – Normally, we manufactured and made arrangements to send our produce to Colombo, and to ship it out. What we do is provide measured fuel to take the tea down to Colombo and even for firewood suppliers because we need firewood to run our dryers. So we assist them in some form. Because of the fuel shortage we are trying to harvest wood that is already grown on the estate for this purpose and adding branches cut to reduce some excessive shade.
All those initiatives and energy efficient measures add up. We are relying more on hydropower and we are trying to put almost 60 to 70% of our roofs in solar. So all those things can happen after the crisis. These are interventions that happened before COVID and the financial crisis, which have a beneficial use for us right at this moment.
Dananjaya Silva is the managing director of London-based PMD Tea and a third-generation tea man whose family business, P.M. David Silva & Sons, dates to 1945 during the Plantation Raj in Ceylon’s Maskeliya Valley.
