Godfrey Phillips exits tea biz, sells 8 brands to Goodricke for Rs 20 cr

Tea producer Goodricke Group today said it has acquired eight tea brands of Godfrey Phillips India (GPI) for Rs 20 crore as part of its expansion of packaged tea business.

Godfrey Philips is one the leading tobacco manufacturers in India. The deal will mark GPI's exit from the packaged tea business. 

Goodricke Group, under the deal, will have rights on trademarks, titles and brands associated with the tea business, the company said in a statement.

The brands acquired are Tea City, SC Gold, Symphony, Samovar, SC Premium, Super Cup, Rangoli and Utsav.

"This acquisition will bring synergy to our branded tea business and help us integrate all channels and develop this department further," Goodricke Group CEO and MD AN Singh said.

The producer of Darjeeling tea, Goodricke Group is a constituent of Camellia Plc, UK a global conglomerate, which is into agriculture, engineering, financial services and food distribution.

The sale is in line with Godfrey Phillips' decision to exit the packaged tea business which contributed less than 3 per cent of the gross turnover of the company, Godfrey Phillips said.

"With the acquisition of these brands, the size of the packet tea business will increase from 25 per cent to 33 per cent and is expected to bring in revenue of Rs 100 crore," Singh told PTI.

Goodricke is presently managing a business of nine million kilograms of packet tea through the FMCG route. It hopes to sustain 14 million kilograms after acquiring the Godfrey Phillips brands, its distributions and operation rights in the markets of J&K, Punjab, UP, Bihar, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, the spokesman added.