HLL announces Brooke Bond brand variation

In the run up to the movement towards flavoured tea, Hindustan Lever (HLL) recently announced a 'Natural Care' variation to their Brooke Bond brand which has flavours such as ginger, basil and cardamom added to it.

"The idea is to gain market share and add new consumers," said Vineet Taneja, vice-president, Tea, HLL.

Indian companies are slowly realising that flavoured tea, is an effective way of tapping new customers. Tata Tetley was the first to introduce tea bags in flavours ranging from ginger and earl grey to the all time Indian favourite, masala.

According to Sangeeta Talwar, executive director (marketing), Tata Tea, the company is happy with the response to the flavoured tea bags and is planning to introduce more varieties in India. Tetley has a comprehensive range of fruit and herbal teas, ranging from orange and peach to vanilla in the international market.

"Indians are very open to experimentation. We have drawn up a road map to introduce more products in the Indian market," says Talwar. It's a win-win situation for both, tea companies as well as consumers; one gets to increase the market share and the other has more options to choose from.

Considering India a country of tea drinkers, it's not surprising that almost everyone has a favourite ingredient that they like in their teas, be it ginger or lemon grass.

What is surprising though is the lack of choice in packaged flavoured teas.

For the longest taime now, packaged tea was synonymous with the standard tea, with the maximum variation available between an Assam and a Darjeeling blend.

Once Twinings entered the market, there was some choice available in the tea bags space, but that was largely a niche market and was found unaffordable by many.