It doesn’t take Tasseography – or, the reading of tea leaves – to foretell that Sanjiv Sarin’s new job is a challenging one. The former regional president, Asia-Pacific, at '5,783-crore Tata Global Beverages (TBG) recently replaced the high-profile Sangeeta Talwar as regional president, South Asia, at a time when the beverages major seeks to not only consolidate its volume leadership in tea, but also find new avenues of growth.
The 54-year-old Mumbai University gold medallist in economics, who began his professional career 30 years ago with thread and yarn firm Madura Coats, certainly has his task cut out for him. Though over 70 per cent of TBG’s revenues come from international markets, tea-drinking India is a region it cannot ignore as there is enormous potential for allied beverages, particularly among the youth.
Sarin, who has been closely associated with the integration and transformation of the firm from Tata Tea to TBG, is all too aware of this. Tea accounts for roughly 67 per cent of the firm’s turnover, according to its 2009-10 annual report. This is down from over 90 per cent five years ago. The challenge for Sarin, who was with Cadbury Schweppes prior to TBG, is to close the gaps in the firm’s product portfolio.
And that will take brewing up some pretty smart strategies.
