Rural India is buying more packet tea: study

Rural India is now buying more packet tea, especially in the southern and western markets, with taste and strength of the liquor being important factors, according to a study commissioned by the Tea Board.

The preference for dark color teas, especially in the south, is also leading some packet tea players to use coloring agents at a time when the tea is being promoted as a health drink.

Tea consumption in India is skewed towards the northern and the western parts which together consume 63 % of the beverage, south accounted for 18 % of the domestic consumption and east and north-east had 19 % share while accounting for 75% of the annual output. Awareness about Assam teas is highest across India followed by Darjeeling tea. The trend to drink tea outside the home, too, is increasing in western and southern states led mainly by urbanization and industrialization. Neighborhood Kirana stores are still the point of purchase with modern retail being the second largest channel for tea purchase. However, indications were that with many supermarkets in tier 2 and 3 cities, it may become the biggest source of packet teas for a majority of the people covered by the study.

Promoting consumption

Industry and trade expect to get some cues from the study to promote per capita consumption in India which is low at about 700 grams. India is the second-largest producer of tea after China with an average output of 1,200 million kg and domestic consumption of about 80% of the output. However this translates to about one cup a person daily, Indian Tea Association officials said. Presently, only about 64% of India’s total population drinks tea, according to the report.

Although India is among the highest consumers of tea (backed by its population), it has now become important to bring the millennials into the tea-drinking fold. The report is important for the Tea Board which plans to rest its tea-promotion strategy on the findings. Industry and trade hope to get cues from this to sell more teas by distributing more packets to rural areas or introducing targeted promotion schemes.

A 2016 industry campaign in college campuses and malls generated enthusiasm among the youth with tea being promoted as a “cool” beverage while awakening the industry to offer the traditional brew in non-traditional forms to woo the young population. Awareness about green tea as a wellness product is also growing, the study showed.

Indrani Dutta

SOURCE - THE HINDU