• The Cost of Producing Specialty Tea


    Consumers who pay a premium at retail for specialty tea often leave growers to foot the bill. The costs of producing the distinctive taste of the authentic, transparent, eco-friendly, clean-label teas that are so popular with Millennial and Gen Z cohorts are significantly higher than what growers spend supplying conventional tea. A preference for chemical-free cultivation, third-party certifications, energy-efficient, carbon-neutral processing and transport, and recyclable and biodegradable packaging further erode margins along the length of the supply chain. This raises a fundamental question: Is anyone making money making specialty tea?


    Listen to the interview

    Will Battle discusses the additional expense of producing the best specialty teas

    Artisan teas require time and hands-on attention to detail
    Artisan teas require time and hands-on attention to detail that add significant costs. Photo courtesy Folklore Tea.

    An Investment in Quality

    In this post, Will Battle, author, consultant, and enthusiast for all things tea describes the additional costs to growers producing top-quality tea. Will trained as a taster in India, Sri Lanka, Kenya, and Malawi and has more than 20 years of experience sourcing tea. He is the author of The World Tea Encyclopaedia and founder and managing director of Fine Tea Merchants, Ltd., a wholesale tea importer and export venture that supplies tea merchants with mainstream offerings as well as rare teas and herbals. Will sees growers taking initiatives on quality at all levels of the cultivation and manufacture process and so regards the lines between the everyday and specialty sectors to be blurred, but here he focuses on the costs of creating the very best teas.

    Dan Bolton: Will, from a grower’s perspective, is manufacturing specialty tea worth the effort?

    Will Battle: I think frequently it probably isn’t. I look at some of the growers I deal with and the amount that they need to invest from a financial and human resources perspective and it’s so much greater in almost every area.

    Costs are higher at pretty much all stages of the chain. In my experience, Dan, whether it’s the approach to pruning, to leaf quality stipulated to pluckers, or to those buying leaf on the open market; the level of detail that the factory needs to apply to the processing of the leaf, right on through storage, shipping, all of those processes costs a lot more in the specialty tea industry.

    I struggle to see many instances where that’s appropriately rewarded.

    Dan: Let’s talk specifics, what costs are unique to producing specialty tea?

    Will: Let’s take Darjeeling for example, and their approach to the pruning cycle. A good case in point would be my experience with Jay Shree’s Darjeeling this year. They pruned more than they did in previous years, more than most other producers.

    That effectively writes off your first flush, but it might give you a better second flush, and then next year, you probably have an improved quality as well. But to write off your first flush is just an enormous financial handicap to impose on yourself and that’s your start point.

    Now consider the costs of for a kilo of fine plucked leaf. Let’s take the experiences of Tumoi in Nandi, Kenya.

    • In Part II Tea Biz will interview brands and category managers on costs they incur in bringing specialty tea to market.

    It might be seen in the wage pricing of seven to nine Kenyan shillings an hour for mainstream leaf, but around 25 [shillings] per hour for specialty leaf. You see, you’ve not even got the leaf to the factory yet and you’ve got an enormous margin to make up in the final product cost. And don’t forget, you’ve got 4.2 to 4.6 kilos of your green leaf for a kilo of made tea. So you’ve, got a big headway to make up on the final product cost and you haven’t even got the leaf  to the factory yet.

    Another example might be transport. The traditional way of getting green leaf to the factory might be to dump it in a pickup. But at Tumoi, in Nandi, they put it in some special aerated baskets to get it to the factory in optimal condition and that’s two or three pickup trucks getting the leaf there rather than one or a tractor adding fuel costs and wages. So again, another increment onto the final product cost.

    Packaging is a really, really good point. Let’s take Satemwa Tea Estate in Malawi. They are a great example because they make mainstream tea and they make some lovely specialty tea as well. The mainstream tea which I buy and use happily in my blends is lovely tea, but it’ll come in a paper sack and you get 60 kilos in a sack and more or less a ton on a pallet.

    The specialty tea. In fact, I’ve got one here that four is kilos net, eight kilos, 8.2 kilos, gross. So you’re shipping more air than product. And it’s in an expensive cardboard carton. So you can probably get nine of those on a pallet that’s just 720 kg in a 40-foot container. That means that the freight alone is almost $5.

    So when you get a freight rate increase like we’ve had this year, you have to automatically add another dollar to the cost. So that’s another cost and, here again, you’re not even taking into account the tea cost yet.

    The product that everyone wants is whole leaf. But for every kilo of whole leaf there is perhaps 25% waste or broken leaf that people won’t pay up for. It’s not as if every kilo that goes out of the factory is getting rewarded at the top price, because there’ll be some by-product as well. I think that is another instance where these guys aren’t always appropriately remunerated.

    It’s easy sometimes to say, I include myself in this, that we were supporting the specialty industry, but supporting the specialty industry is also remembering those other grades that they’re making, the leaf grades where they’re not always recovering a high margin on.

    You can go on and on. I see higher costs right through the process, along every stage of the supply chain but particularly labor because of the attention to detail, and in packaging, because of the attention to quality.

    Dan: When consumers pay a premium for specialty tea, what is the value received?

    Will: I think you’re ultimately investing in quality and an approach to creating a product, that is the best it can be. It’s worth remembering that those people who are making good specialty tea are also improving their mainstream quality as well.

    A large proportion [of that investment] should end up back in the communities that have spent the time in trying to create it for you. So wherever that specialty tea comes from ? whether it’s Japan, Darjeeling, Assam, Dimbula, or Malawi ? that investment in the regions and the districts where the tea is made is something really worthwhile.

    Dan: Why is it good practice to pay farm gate prices that allow sustainable production not just for specialty tea, as you mentioned, but commodity tea as well?

    Will: It’s a good practice because ultimately, we have an obligation to make sure our industry survives and that is reliant upon the people who grow and pluck and process tea. If we don’t pay a sustainable price, they will do something else. Without an appropriate farmgate price we don’t have an industry in my view, and it’s our obligation to make sure that any producer is appropriately remunerated.

    Otherwise, why would you grow it?

    A. Tosh & Sons tea warehouse
    UK-based Fine Tea Merchants partners with India-based A. Tosh and Sons, enabling multiple formats of tea bag and caddy packing as well as bulk exports from internationally accredited manufacturing facilities.

    Fine Tea Merchants

    FTM is a business-to-business supplier of tearooms, tea merchants and small packers in the UK, Continental Europe and further afield. The company imports direct from origin and stores a broad assortment of teas and botanicals in its warehouse in Lincolnshire. FTM specializes in fine and rare teas as well as high quality, mainstream teas and a selection of flavored-, herbal-, and fruit-blends.

    Tea may be ordered in quantities from 1 kilo to multiple containers and shipped as straight-lines, blends formulated to perform well in your local water, or custom blended against your own recipe.

    The World Tea Enclopaedia

    The award-winning book The World Tea Encyclopaedia was published in January 2017, with a second edition in November 2020. It covers every tea-producing country and advises tea lovers on tea cultivation and manufacture, origin, seasonality and local ‘terroir’ and tries to de-bunk tea myths and snobbishness. ? Will Battle

    Publisher: Troubador Publishing
    Hardback | 400 pages | £22.96


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  • Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 38

    Tea Biz Podcast Logo

    Listen on your favorite player

    Hear the Headlines

    | India Adopts Tea Industry Reforms
    | US Considers Granting Exemptions from Chinese Tariffs
    | A Tribute to Nepal Tea Maker Morris Orchard

    Seven-minute Tea News Recap

    Tea Price Report
    Oct 2 – Sale 39

    India Tea Price Watch

    India Tea Price Watch | Aravinda Anantharaman
    The Tea Board of India announced a mechanization subsidy for smallholders to address the problem of labor shortages in tea gardens. India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry extended its tea development and promotion program through 2025-26 discontinuing subsidies for Orthodox production that includes $40 million for clearing subsidies in the tea sector. Learn more…

    Aravinda Anantharaman

    Features

    This week Tea Biz travels to Alberta, Canada, high in the Canadian Rockies to visit one of several Swiss-inspired tea houses designed to provide high-mountain trekkers shelter and warmth.

    … and then we visit Tokyo, Japan to meet tech and tea entrepreneur Hiroshi Takatoh whose Teatis blends of brown seaweed and matcha and seaweed and botanicals are formulated to help diabetics control high blood sugar levels.

    Jolene Brewster, left, with partner Jess McNally in front of Jolene’s Tea House located in the historic Crag Cabin, Banff.

    Jolene’s Tea House

    By Jessica Natale Woollard

    The rugged Canadian Rocky Mountains thrust nearly 20,000 feet into the sky, a haven for hikers that inspired a unique style of high-mountain tea houses built to provide warmth and shelter along the trail. In Banff, Alberta, Tea Biz correspondent Jessica Natale Woollard visits Jolene’s Tea House – a refuge for mind and body. Read more…

    Listen to the Interview
    Jolene Brewster on the launch of Jolene’s Tea House

    Hiroshi Takatoh, CEO Teatis Tea
    Hiroshi Takatoh, CEO and Founder Teatis Tea

    A Medicinal Tea from the Sea

    By Dan Bolton

    Tea has an ancient history of medicinal applications, many of which have been validated by scientific research. The same is true of seaweed which contains antioxidants (vitamins A, C, and E) as well as trace minerals and protective pigments. Joining us from Tokyo for this week’s podcast is Hiroshi Takatoh, CEO, founder, and blender at Japan-based Teatis Tea. Takatoh is exploring, with his team of food scientists and doctors, tea formulations to assist diabetics and pre-diabetics control their blood sugar levels. Read more…

    Listen to the Interview
    Teatis Tea founder Hiroshi Takatoh discusses the medicinal benefits of blending brown seaweed and tea.

    News

    India will no longer require permits to grow tea, one of several reforms gradually deregulating the tea industry.

    India Adopts Tea Industry Reforms

    By Dan Bolton

    Facing continuing declines in export revenue, India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry has funded several programs and instituted fundamental reforms in tea.

    In September the Tea Board of India said it will suspend seven sections of the Tea Act of 1953 following the commerce ministry’s decision to amend regulations governing the sector. Seventeen of the Act’s 51 provisions are no longer enforced as India gradually deregulates the tea sector.

    Permits to grow tea will no longer be required, a decision that is likely to increase unregulated production by smallholders who now account for 52% of India’s tea by volume. Tea production has rebounded in 2021, up 18% compared to the first eight months of 2020 to total 792 million kilos. Read more…

    A Tribute to Teamaker Morris Orchard

    The death of Nepal teamaker Morris Orchard due to COVID-19 is a sad reminder of the pandemic’s toll on the global tea community. Orchard, general manager at Jun Chiyabari Tea Estate and a third-generation tea man, was 58. Kevin Gascoyne, a partner at Montreal’s Camellia Sinensis tea company and a long-time buyer of Nepal tea shares how Orchard advanced tea making in his lifetime. View on YouTube.

    Jun Chiyabari Teamaker Morris Orchard (1963-2021)
    Listen to the Interview
    Montreal-based Camellia Sinensis tea buyer Kevin Gascoyne pays tribute to teamaker Morris Orchard

    US Considers Exemptions from Chinese Tariffs

    Trade talks between the US and China will resume but there is little hope the Biden Administration will do away with tariffs that have depressed tea imports from China for the past three years. However, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced the US will resume a program that allows companies importing some product categories to apply for exemptions, relieving them from paying the tariff.

    Applications for exclusions were suspended in 2018. USTR writes that of the initial 2,200 exclusions granted, 549 were extended through Dec. 31, 2020. Criteria to qualify is based on economic hardship and whether the product is available only from China, which is true of several categories of tea.

    The US currently charges duties on $350 billion of Chinese goods, penalizing importers who often pass the added expense to consumers. Tariffs add 7.5% to the price of Chinese tea. Tai said the US “does not want to inflame trade tensions with China” but made it clear additional duties and restrictions could be imposed.

    Biz Insight – Tariffs on tea are insignificant compared to those levied on steel, agricultural food products and create no hardship for the Chinese who annually export $2 billion worth of tea. The 50-day public comment period on why the USTR should reinstate exemptions opens on Oct. 12. The list of previous exemptions is posted on the USTR website. None of the 549 exemptions were granted to tea companies but companies importing ink cartridges, submersible pumps, lampshades, bottle caps, and electric motors all made the list.

    — Dan Bolton

    • Read more… links indicate the article continues. Learn more… links to additional information from reliable outside sources.

    Upcoming Events

    October 2021
    Duyun Maojian International Forum for Tea Lovers | Dunyun, Guizhou, China |
    6th Annual Conference for China Tea Import and Export Trade | Oct. 21-22
    The co-located events showcase the production of Maojian green tea. China quarantine and travel restrictions apply. Website | Brochure (PDF)

    December 2021

    World Tea & Coffee Expo | Gandhinagar, India | December 2-4
    Launched in 2013 and now operated by Messe Muenchen India, this hybrid virtual and in-person event for tea and coffee professionals is now scheduled for the Helipad Exhibition Centre, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India. Website | Register

    Click to view more upcoming events.


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  • Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 37

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    Listen on your favorite player

    Hear the Headlines

    | Kenya Exports Saturate Black Tea Market
    | COVID Depresses Japanese Tea Business in Unique Ways
    | Unilever is Recognized as the Top Food and Agriculture Benchmark

    Seven-minute Tea News Recap

    Tea Price Report
    Sept 25 – Sale 38

    India Tea Price Watch

    India Tea Price Watch | Aravinda Anantharaman
    The Tea Board of India announced a mechanization subsidy for smallholders to address the problem of labor shortages in tea gardens. India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry extended its tea development and promotion program through 2025-26 discontinuing subsidies for Orthodox production that includes $40 million for clearing subsidies in the tea sector. Learn more…

    Aravinda Anantharaman

    Features

    This week Tea Biz travels to Monte Metilile in Mozambique, a country along the southern coast of East Africa where Mohit Agarwal, Director of the Asian Tea Group, has revived an abandoned 15,000-acre tea estate to demonstrate the viability of organic farming at scale.

    … and then we talk with supply chain and procurement expert John Snell about what makes Mozambique such an exceptional tea-producing region.

    Monte Metilile, TE Mozambique
    Monte Metilile Tea Estate in Mozambique is the world’s largest certified organic tea plantation.

    Organic Tea Farming at Scale

    By Dan Bolton

    Mozambique is the best-kept secret in the tea world, says Mohit Agarwal, Director of the Asian Tea Group, the company that owns Cha de Magoma and the Monte Metilile brand. Mohit is walking the garden as we speak via Zoom, describing the organic dairy herd, a forest of renewable eucalyptus used for fuel, the hydroelectric turbines that power the plantation’s three factories. Pointing to the brilliant green tea bushes that stretch as far as the eye can see he explains that during 15 years of civil war from 1977 until 1992 Mozambique’s tea plantations were abandoned. Read more…

    Listen to the Interview
    Mohit Agarwal, Managing Director at the Asia Tea Group, discusses the advantages of scale.

    John Snell
    Procurement expert John Snell, founder of NM Tea B Consulting and owner of Ela’s Tea.

    John Snell: Mozambique is God’s Country for Tea

    By Dan Bolton

    A century ago, when the Portuguese first planted tea in Gurúè, Mozambique they found gentle, well-drained slopes of rich red volcanic soils at 1,500 to 3,600 feet elevation – the same altitude as India’s Darjeeling mid-tier gardens. The climate there is cool and dry from May to September and hot and humid between October and April. Annual rainfall averages more than 3,000 millimeters. By 1950 production exceeded 20,000 metric tons a year and there was more land under tea in Mozambique than any country in Africa. Listen as procurement and supply chain expert John Snell explains why Mozambique is such a great place to source tea. Read more…

    Listen to the Interview
    John Snell on why Mozambique is a great place to source tea.

    News

    Kenya increased pay for green leaf and provided smallholders 65,000 metric tons of fertilizer to increase production.

    Kenya Exports Saturate Black Tea Market

    By Dan Bolton

    Kenya reported a 19% increase in exports totaling almost 300 million kilos through June despite falling production totals. In September Kenya increased fertilizer subsidies following an August increase in payments for green leaf sold to Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) factories. The combination will spur tea production and likely increase Kenya’s share of the global black tea market. Low prices led India to import 5 million kilos of Kenyan tea in the first half of 2021, compared to 1.5 million kilos during the previous year. Worldwide, tea supply continues to outstrip demand, continuing a downward trend dating to 2018. Read more…

    Japanese funeral
    Japanese funerals involved tea and generous tea gifting. Funeral directors note a steep decline since COVID-19.

    COVID Depresses Japanese Tea Market in Unique Ways

    By Dan Bolton

    Like the rest of the world, Japanese tea growers suffered as restaurants closed, social gatherings were canceled, and safety precautions limited harvest days and processing.

    The pandemic also inflicted setbacks unique to the market including a sharp decline in the gifting of tea at funerals.

    Japan’s Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry, reports that production of unrefined “aracha” declined by 15% in 2021 compared to the previous year. Year-on-year sales of first flush teas fell by 20% in Shizuoka prefecture and by 17% in Kagoshima, according to ministry figures.

    The Japanese Association of Tea Production reports that total production of sencha declined by 15% in 2020, compared to 2019.

    Japanese office workers are teleworking and drinking tea at home but tourism dollars are down 79% compared to 2019, despite the Olympiad and Japan’s popular rural ryokan inns are shuttered, according to the Japan Times.

    An article published in Japan News identifies money spent on gifting tea at funeral services is down 90% from a peak of 13.6 million yen in 2015.

    The publication quoted a tea association spokesperson, PAUSE “Even if the pandemic is brought under control, I doubt funeral services will ever go back to the way they were before.”

    Biz Insight – To boost sales city and regional governments in tea growing regions are providing subsidies. Shizuoka’s prefectural government is offering producers ¥5 million yen (about $30,000) to develop new tea products and ¥3 million yen (about $45,000) to develop new sales channels.

    Unilever Named Top Food and Agriculture Company by World Benchmarking Alliance

    The World Benchmarking Alliance has named Unilever its top Food and Agricultural Benchmark. The alliance, established in 2018, encourages seven transformations considered essential to put society and the worldwide economy on a more sustainable path.

    Annually the group evaluates 2000 of the world’s most influential businesses against its benchmarks.

    In a first, the alliance assessed transformation in the Food and Agriculture system globally, ranking 350 companies from farm to fork. Criteria include transforming nutrition, addressing environmental issues, and social inclusion. According to the Alliance, the findings reveal worrying gaps in the industry’s adaptation to climate change, progress on human rights, and contribute to healthy diets.

    “Only 26 of the 350 companies are working to reduce emissions from their direct activities through science-based targets set by the Paris Agreement,” writes the Alliance.

    Unilever Benchmarks

    Unilever, one of the world’s largest food companies, received a combined score of 71.7 out of 100, ranking ahead of Nestlé (which scored 68.5) and Danone (which scored 63.6). Retailer Tesco and beverage companies PepsiCo and Anheuser-Busch InBev were among the top 10. No foodservice company made it into the top 10. One hundred and nineteen companies scored between 10 and 25 points and 110 companies scored below 10 points out of 100.

  • Benchmarks for the world’s 350 most influential food and agriculture companies
Download Unilever’s World Benchmarking Scores (PDF)

Biz Insight – The Alliance writes that “while companies at the top of the ranking demonstrate that they are meeting societal expectations on a variety of topics, the overall average benchmark performance is low. Almost two-thirds of the companies in scope fail to obtain a quarter of total scores, demonstrating significant room for improvement across all measurement areas.”

— Dan Bolton


Upcoming Events

October 2021

World Tea & Coffee Expo | India
Postponed to December 2-4 | Launched in 2013 and now operated by Messe Muenchen India, this hybrid virtual and in-person event for tea and coffee professionals is now scheduled for the Helipad Exhibition Centre, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India. Website | Register

Click to view more upcoming events.


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  • Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 36

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    Hear the Headlines

    | Retail Sales Forecast Happy Holidays
    | Restaurant Reticence is Declining
    | A Restructured DAVIDsTEA Expands into Pharmacies

    Seven-minute Tea News Recap
    Tea Price Report
    Sept 18 – Sale 37

    India Tea Price Watch

    India Tea Price Watch | Aravinda Anantharaman
    The Indian Tea Association has asked the government to introduce a minimum import price for teas imported into India, to ensure they meet the requirements of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and to see that these teas are not sold in India as domestic tea. Learn more….

    Aravinda Anantharaman

    Features

    This week Tea Biz travels to Guwahati in Assam, India where the co-founders of Folklore Tea discuss how they engage customers at an unusual level of intimacy.

    Processing raw leaves at Folklore Tea in Assam. Photos courtesy Folklore Tea.
    Processing raw leaves at Folklore Tea in Assam

    Exceptionally Local Teas that Connect with Consumers

    By Aravinda Anantharaman

    A recent development in tea in India has been the rise of new brands, many that have their roots in tea regions. Almost all of them seek to bridge producers and consumers. Most rely on the narrative that accompanies a product from its place of origin. For consumers, it’s in part vicarious living and a window to another world. Folklore Tea is as good as it gets for those who want to know who made their tea and where it comes from. Read more…

    Listen to the Interview
    Folklore Tea introduces the growers, village and even includes an original poem describing its teas.

    News

    Shoppers weary of COVID lockdowns say they are eager to splurge.

    Retail Forecasters Predict Happy Holidays

    By Dan Bolton

    Marketers anticipate strong holiday sales despite fewer footfalls at physical outlets due to surging sales online.

    Projections range from $1.28 to $1.3 trillion during the November to January gifting season. Mastercard’s SpendingPulse projects a 7.4% holiday sales increase, and the widely cited Deloitte annual holiday forecast estimates US holiday spending will grow between 7% and 9% in 2021. Ecommerce sales are anticipated to be between $210 and $218 billion, a gain of 11% to 15%, according to Deloitte.

    Last year’s holiday sales came in higher than expected, increasing by 5.8%, according to Deloitte. The consensus is that consumers have spent down debt and are eager to counter a gloomy summer that curtailed entertainment, dining out, and travel as COVID restrictions forced many to vacation close to home. In the US consumers have an estimated $1.5 trillion in extra savings to splurge, according to Bloomberg.

    As restrictions lift, retail marketing group Shopper, in Australia, predicts consumers will embark on what has been coined as “revenge spending” sprees.

    The publication AdNews writes that Australian households squirreled away more than $100 billion (AUD$140 billion) during the COVID pandemic, with 26% of Australians saying their families are better off financially than this time last year. Shopper’s Urge to Splurge Post-Pandemic Revenge Spending Study, conducted in August, revealed that during the holidays:

    A consumer survey by AlexPartners found 88% of US consumers plan to spend the same or more this holiday season, up 12%, as reported by Chain Store Age. “There’s unprecedented pent-up demand out there, consumers have lots of money in their pockets, in part due to recent government programs,” according to the firm.

    Countering that optimism is the fact that in September new COVID cases are averaging 145,000 a day in the US with more than 2000 deaths. Consumer confidence declined mid-summer during the latest wave of infections. Market research firm Numerator reported that in July and August consumers expressed big concerns over the Delta variant with 46% reporting they were “highly concerned” a number that grew 10% between July and August as hospitals filled. The majority (51%) cited the Delta variant with 66% of vaccinated adults expressing worries about family and friends becoming infected.

    Vaccination mandates and more widespread use of masks are working to bring down case loads. California, a state with 39.5 million people that reported 65,000 cases a day last December, is now reporting fewer than 8,000 daily with an infection rate of 22 cases per 100,000. In contrast, Texas reported 44 cases per 100,000 the first week of September and Florida is experiencing 42 cases per 100,000.

    Deloitte vice chairman Rod Sides, the company’s US retail and distribution sector leader, writes that “While consumer concerns about health and safety have eased since the last holiday season, pandemic-influenced shopping behaviors continue to gain traction.”

    Biz Insight – The big question now is which channel will outperform? The majority of shoppers say they want to get out of the house and visit stores but that depends on local outbreaks. A big concern for online buyers is on-time delivery. Savvy tea retailers finalized preparations before September, borrowing in the spring to stock teaware and gift selections for the holidays. Manufacturing was in full swing across Asia all summer but shipping delays and the extraordinary spike in container charges make it imperative that holiday promotions begin early this year. MasterCard suggests Oct. 11 as a start date for a 75-day sales season. The president of international operations at UPS advises consumers to “Order your Christmas presents now because otherwise on Christmas day, there may just be a picture of something that’s not coming until February or March.”

    Proof of vaccination at restaurants is encouraging frequent diners to venture out

    Restaurant Reticence is Declining

    By Dan Bolton

    Frequent diners are determined to return to their normal routine of dining out.

    OpenTable’s most recent quarterly survey of 20,000 restaurant fans finds that 62% are now dining out at least once a week. During the first quarter, only 39% of frequent diners were eating out at least weekly. Takeout remains the most popular alternative to dining in with 34% of respondents ordering takeout at least once a week. In 2020 35% of all restaurant orders were from drive-throughs, according to NPD Group.

    OpenTable reported a pronounced decline in July and August over concerns about the spread of the Delta variant. Seated dining at US restaurants is down about 11% below 2019 levels. In August the National Restaurant Association found that 60% of restaurant-goers had changed their use during the pandemic with most opting to eat outdoors and 19% saying they completely stopped going out to restaurants.

    OpenTable found that 27% of Canadians intend on eating out more frequently than before the pandemic, citing a need to take a break from home cooking (40%) and support for local restaurants. Diners were more likely to have dined solo (33%) in 2020 and now eat earlier, making reservations for 5:30 and 6 pm.

    Proof of vaccination should be a requirement for staff, according to 46% of OpenTable diners, up from 25% during the first quarter. A 71% majority are willing to show their vaccine cards and 23% say that restaurants must require proof of vaccination before they will dine indoors. In the San Francisco Bay Area 37% say proof of vaccination is a must.

    Overall, 48% of frequent diners are willing to show proof of vaccination, but mandatory proof of vaccination isn’t necessary for them to dine in. Nationally 15% of respondents say they will refuse to show proof of vaccination if required for dining-in. In Florida, Nevada, and Arizona 23% say they are unwilling to show proof of vaccination*.

    Biz Insight – When asked what they miss, 93% of frequent diners cite dining at their favorite restaurant, another (42%) are longing for their favorite menu items with (39%) hoping to attend happy hours with friends and (26%) looking forward to wine and beer tastings.

    *Footnote: San Francisco Bay Area: 37% say vaccination proof is a must, the highest of any region. In Canada: 34% say vaccination proof is a must. In Vegas, Orlando, and Phoenix: 23% say they’re not willing to show vaccination cards, the highest of any region

    Restructured DAVIDsTEA
    Expands into Pharmacies

    North America’s largest tea retail chain has emerged from bankruptcy, named a new chairman to replace co-founder Hershel Segal and is now “moving forward with a number of initiatives,” according to CEO and Chief Brand Officer Sarah Segal.

    DAVIDsTEA display in Rexall Drug stores

    Jane Silverstone Segal, Herschel Segal’s spouse, was named director and chair of the board on Sept. 14. Hershel remains a strategic advisor and retains 46% of the company’s stock.

    During an earnings webcast Sarah Segal said that DAVIDsTEA is “successfully transitioning to a digital-first company.” The company is laying the groundwork for a successful omni-channel presence that retains key retail stores, a strong and growing online business and new emphasis on placing our products on the shelves of well-place retail partners, she said.

    In a release following the quarterly disclosure, Sarah Segal announced the expansion of a store-within-a-store concept to 156 Rexall pharmacies. The four-foot in-store displays showcase 25 SKUs. The Montreal-based chain offers a mix of tea and herbal infusions at 18 stand-alone locations with 3,300 retail partners including Canada’s major grocery outlets.

    Sales declined 18.6% or $4.3 million to $18.7 million during the quarter ending July 31. Pandemic-driven sales were $23 million during the same period in 2020.

    Biz Insight – During the earnings webcast, Sarah Segal said that “After a period of dramatic changes and transformation to our business over the past nearly 18 months, we are eager to connect with our customers in new ways.” “We are laying the foundation to scale and expand to become a truly global tea company,” she said.

    — Dan Bolton


    Upcoming Events

    September 2021

    Level Up, Virtual
    September 29 | The Tea & Herbal Association of Canada will host a mid-year Meet-Up from 10 am to noon. Admission $55 (CAD) Members $50. Agenda | Register

    Click to view more upcoming events.


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  • Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 35

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    | Bids Top $4 Billion for Unilever Tea Portfolio
    | India Considers Halting Imports of Nepal Tea
    | Sales of Herbal Supplements in US Top $10 Billion

    Seven-minute Tea News Recap
    Tea Price Report
    Sept 11 – Sale 36

    India Tea Price Watch

    Growers no longer must seek permission to plant tea in India, a move that could encourage new tea regions to add tea cultivation, increase the number of small growers cultivating tea, and possibly increase the volume of production.  Circulars from the Tea Board follow the Commerce Ministry’s announcement of new rules regarding permits. In Darjeeling, planters are calling for a ban on Nepal tea imports. Learn more….

    By Aravinda Anantharaman

    Features

    This week Tea Biz travels to Switzerland to learn from Caroline Giacomin at ETH Zurich the physics behind that colorful sheen that rises to the surface of black tea. Is tea scum just that or a revealing indication of goodness in the cup?

    … and then we travel to New Delhi, India where the Rainforest Alliance’s Madhuri Nanda reveals how practitioners of RA’s sustainable farming practices are evolving toward broader, more holistic ecosystems in Part 2 of our series on Regenerative Agriculture.

    Interfacial surface film that forms on black tea.
    Interfacial surface film that forms on black tea.

    The Physics of the Film that Forms on Black Tea

    By Dan Bolton

    Have you ever noticed a colorful sheen on the surface of your tea? It appears to break like ice floes in the arctic as the tea cools. Researchers once thought tea film was due to waxy substances contained in tea leaves released during steeping. That is not the case. The delicate film is an interfacial interaction of oxygen, tea polyphenols and calcium carbonate ions in water. It does not form on white, yellow, green, or lightly processed oolong teas, only black tea. In many parts of the world, soft water prevents the film from forming. Is tea film a fleeting glimmer of color to enjoy or an ugly scum to quickly dissipate with a squeeze of lemon? Caroline Giacomin, a physicist at ETH in Zürich, Switzerland joins us to explain the physics of tea film from a study she and colleague Peter Fischer recently published in the Physics of Fluids. Learn more…

    Listen to the Interview
    Physicist Caroline Giacomin explains the physics of black tea film
    Madhuri Nanda
    Madhuri Nanda, Rainforest Director, South Asia

    Regenerative Agriculture: A Holistic Approach

    By Dan Bolton

    Madhuri Nanda, the Rainforest Alliance’s director, South Asia, explains that while sustainable farming ensures that agricultural practices do not negatively impact and degrade the environmental, social, and economic aspects of the surrounding ecosystem ? the focus shifts in regenerative agriculture toward adopting a broader holistic approach that enhances biodiversity and improves soil health through increased microbial activities that build resilient systems capable of withstanding adverse climatic scenarios. Read more…

    Listen to the interview
    Madhuri Nanda Rainforest Director, South Asia, on the evolution of sustainable farming.

    News

    Bidding for Unilever’s tea portfolio underway. Photo Photo © Vladimir Akin`shin | Dreamstime.com

    Advent International Will Bid $4 Billion for Unilever’s Tea Portfolio

    By Dan Bolton

    Advent International and the Singapore Government Investment Corporation (GIC) will bid $4 billion in a joint offer for Unilever’s tea portfolio, according to a report by Sky News.

    The Advent-GIC consortium is competing with at least six other large private equity firms that hope to acquire fabled brands Lipton Yellow Label, PG Tips, Lipton Iced Tea, Australia-based T2, TAZO, Pukka Herbs and several other regional brands.

    Unilever will retain its most profitable tea holdings in India and Indonesia as well as the Lipton-PepsiCo partnership in the US.

    Bloomberg estimates Unilever’s entire tea business to be worth $5.7 billion. Other bidders expected to meet next week’s deadline are the Dhabi Investment Authority, KKR and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice.

    Biz Insight In a July earnings call, Unilever CEO Alan Jope said “The balance of Unilever’s tea brands and geographies and all of our tea estates have a very exciting future, but this potential can be best achieved we believe as a separate entity.”

    The divestiture is expected to conclude by the end of the year.

    Tea factory and garden in Nepal
    Tea factory and garden in Nepal. Photo by © Ar-tem | Dreamstime.com

    India Considers Halting Imports of Nepal Tea

    By Dan Bolton

    The Terai Indian Planters’ Association (TIPA) and the Darjeeling Tea Association (DTA) are seeking a “blanket ban” on the import of Nepal tea.

    DTA Chairman BK Saria complained to the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that a decline in production from 9.5 million kilos to 6 million kilos in 2020, and rising costs of production have affected both the domestic market and exports. He writes that “The crisis has been further compounded by the sale of deceptive Nepal tea being sold in the Indian market as ‘Darjeeling Tea’.” Immediate action is essential to save the industry’s 87 registered gardens, he said.

    Nepal is a landlocked tea producer that relies on India’s much more developed tea industry for re-export, shipping about 69.4 million kilos there in the past four years, according to the Tea Board of India. Tea board data shows that only 26.6 million kilos have been re-exported during this time, making it likely that 42.8 million kilos were sold domestically, exempt from import duties, and in direct competition with Darjeeling producers. Teas exported from India pay a 40% tariff to enter Nepal but Nepal pays no tariffs to ship tea to India due to terms of the South Asian Free Trade Agreement.

    Imports of tea to India are up a surprising 176% year-on-year, according to the Tea Board of India. Growers in Nepal and Kenya shipped 12 million kilos to India during the first six months of 2021, more than three-fourths of the full-year average for 2019. Traders pay as little as $1.70 per kilo for Kenyan tea, compared to the $2.50 per kilo all-India average. India’s thirst for tea has increased as COVID restrictions and drought significantly lowered yields of tea grown in India. Since there is no country of origin labeling requirements, it is likely the imported tea is being blended and marketed domestically as Indian tea.

    “Nepal tea is sold at a much cheaper rate than the Darjeeling cuppa as its cost of production is very low owing to rampant use of child labor and gross violation of labor laws,” according to DTA.

    DTA Advisor Sandeep Mukherjee told the Times of India, that “unless import of Nepal Tea into India is banned, the livelihood of those dependent on it would be at risk and may reach a point of no return, where more tea gardens in the Hill would shut down.”

    Biz Insight – Indian efforts to limit Nepal tea imports have ebbed and flowed over the past decade. In May 2020 India halted tea shipments from Nepal for several weeks by imposing non-tariff barriers tied to sanitation and quality control. India growers complain that bulk tea shipments do not require a label of origin, FSSAI (food safety compliance), or rigorous customs checks. Low prices induce tea brands such as Tata Consumer Products (TCP) and bulk exporters to rely on Nepal to supply India’s domestic blenders, but do not purchase direct.

    US Herbal Supplement Sales Set Record $10 Billion in 2020

    Sales of herbal supplements in the US grew a record 17.3% in 2020 exceeding $10 billion for the first time. The total excludes brewed teas but includes green tea powders marketed as supplements.

    The 2020 Herbal Market Report, released annually by the American Botanical Council, using transaction data from SPINS, reveals sales in the mass market channel grew by 25.1% to $2.1 billion in 2020. Direct sales, including online, grew 23.7% about twice the rate reported in 2019. Sales in traditional natural and health food stores grew 1.6% to $2.95 billion. Total supplement sales were $11.26 billion.

    Elderberry, known for its immune boosting properties was the top seller along with apple cider vinegar and ashwagandha. Sales of Elderberry grew by 150% to $275 million in mass market and $54 million in the natural food channel.

    CBD sales plummeted 36.9% to $57 million in the natural channel and declined 30% in mainstream outlets during the first year of the pandemic, the first decline in sales since 2017.

    Sales of dry and bottled green tea soared in mainstream outlets last year, but sales of green tea supplements declined 7.9% in 2020, falling to $31 million to rank 13th among the top-selling herbal supplements, according to SPINS.

    Biz Insight – “US consumers spent more than ever on herbal dietary supplements for immune health and stress relief in 2020,” according to the report. “During a year in which much was out of control, many consumers seemed to take control of their own health and prioritized selfcare with herbal and fungi-based dietary supplements. As the pandemic stretches into its 20th month it remains to be seen whether these trends and record-breaking sales will continue in 2021.”

    Click to download 2020 Herbal Market Report PDF

    — Dan Bolton


    Upcoming Events

    September 2021

    Level Up, Virtual
    September 29 | The Tea & Herbal Association of Canada will host a mid-year Meet-Up from 10 am to noon. Admission $55 (CAD) Members $50. Agenda | Register

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