Aggressive promotion plan for tea industry in 2012

Friday, 16 December 2011 01:57 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Cheranka Mendis

The local tea industry will step into the New Year with an aggressive marketing and promotion plan of the Ceylon Tea brand and the lion logo across a number of key markets.

The industry will celebrate 145 years since the commencement of the Sri Lanka tea industry on a commercial scale in 2012.

With the special levy imposed on the industry from November 2010, the Sri Lanka Tea Board has collected in excess of Rs. 1 billion which would be directed towards the promotional campaign.

The Tea Board, which has been acting as a custodian of the money, will make the funds available for the private sector, which is expected to fully drive the campaign forward, Sri Lanka Tea Board Chairman Susantha Ratnayake said.

“Even though the sum might look small, we are confident that with the help of the private sector we would be able to use the money efficiently.”

Being the only country for ‘ozone friendly tea’ in the world, 30 key markets have been identified for the promotion and registering of the logo of ‘ozone friendly pure Ceylon tea’.

Plans are also underway to internationally register the Ceylon Tea name and to promote it in 25 markets. A global campaign for the promotion of Ceylon Tea will also be launched for which the monies collected through the special levy will be utilised.

Hoping to maintain Sri Lanka’s premium position, the country will also host three key tea-related conferences during the end January-early February period. Ratnayake stated that an “upliftment in price” could be expected as a result of the conferences.

Colombo Tea Traders Association Chairman Jayantha Keragala expressed that even though the private sector earlier ran individual campaigns to drive forward, the industry has agreed to drive the ‘Ceylon Tea’ brand forward during the next few years.