The majority of the major changes in India’s tea history appear to have happened before independence, whether it was the end of the Chinese monopoly on tea or the emergence of a nation of tea consumers. Post-independence success stories seem to be hard to find.
I had this in mind as I read the obituaries for Padma Shri recipient R.K. Krishna Kumar, who passed away on January 1 and was instrumental in the development of the tea business. Krishna Kumar spent his whole career working for the Tata group, where he also held the positions of managing director and vice-chairman of Tata Tea.
Author and Tata brand custodian Harish Bhat has written down a legendary tale about KK, as he was known to his friends. He claims that KK realized the company needed to go global in 1989 while watching the Berlin Wall fall. It took ten years to get there, but the Tatas and the Indian tea business credited it with turning things around.
This involved the purchase of Tetley, a business with twice the income of Tata Tea and a net worth that was roughly two-thirds higher. The tale starts in 1991 when a joint venture called Tata Tetley was formed to make tea bags for Tetley’s markets. When Tetley was put up for sale four years later, KK made an offer on behalf of the Tata group with the support of his superiors, displaying an audacious ambition we were not known for. The transaction was unsuccessful. However, Tetley was once more offered for sale in February 1999, and KK got a call inquiring if the Tatas were still interested. Tetley changed its name to Tata corporation at the beginning of the new millennium.
Backtracking a little, Darbari Seth, KK’s employer at Tata Tea, has a different tale to tell. Seth supported KK every step of the way as they set out to acquire Tetley. He, unfortunately, passed away before the deal could be finalized.
Seth and KK became a powerful duo. Following the termination of its two-decade joint venture with the Finlay group, Tata Tea was founded as a business in 1982. It was a plantation business having properties in Assam, Munnar, and Kerala. By the end of the 1980s, vice-chairman KK and chairman Seth of Tata Tea felt it was time to start branding tea.
A plantation business had to contend with a volatile market that was subject to the whims of the elements and price swings. Stability would come from a brand. Since the tea would be packaged on the farms themselves, it would also offer fresher teas.
Early attempts to package tea, however, had failed because tea absorbs flavors and odors. Poly packs, laminated packets that keep out both air and moisture, are credited to Seth. Seth revolutionized the availability and perception of estate-fresh tea for Indian consumers by building a brand around taazgi (freshness). As poly packaging became the norm, various regional brands flourished.
Although the fact that it arrives in a laminated packet may seem like a minor point, it has a significant impact on the Indian tea story.
News Mania Desk
