Tata Global Beverages MD visits Watawala Plantations

Sharing India’s commitment towards innovation and research, a boon to Sri Lanka’s tea industry – Sunshine Holdings

The longstanding partnership between Tata Global Beverages and Watawala Plantation PLC has created a great platform for India to share the new clones and variants of teas they have developed with the Sri Lankan tea industry, says Harish Bhat, Managing Director of Tata Global Beverages Limited, who was on a recent visit to Sri Lanka.

India’s tea industry, he says, focuses mostly on innovation and research. India’s Tea Board, last week, had allocated a staggering Rs. 1.5 billion towards research and development. Also, it was reported that Rs. 200 million would be spent on developing weather resistant tea clones.

“The foundation of our partnership with Watawala Plantation is nothing but trust and transparency. We have a lot to share with each other. This partnership allows the Indian tea industry to share its commitment towards technology and innovation with Sri Lanka,” he said.

Tata Global Beverages who is strongly involved in Sri Lanka’s tea industry has a joint venture with Estate Management Services (Private) Limited, the company which manages the Sunshine Holdings subsidiary, Watawala Plantations PLC.  Bhat, a veteran of the industry who has been with the Tata group for nearly 25 years, is also a Board Director of Watawala Plantations PLC.

“We, as a company, are pleased to be engaged with the Sri Lankan tea industry. We have built a robust partnership with Sunshine Holdings through Watawala Plantation PLC spanning nearly 25 years. We have been together in good times and tough times. Both companies, I must say, have grown rapidly, particularly in the past several years, and we share a similar vision for the future” Bhagat said.

Tata Global Beverages, a 1.5 billion dollar company involved in the beverage industry, is a global industry leader with a wide investment portfolio covering tea, coffee and mineral water. The company whose history spans across two centuries unites the beverage interests of Tata under one umbrella.

Tetley, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Global Beverages, is the world’s second largest manufacturer and distributor of tea. Tetley’s manufacturing and distribution business, which spreads across 40 countries, sells over 60 branded tea bags. According to the Managing Director of Tata Global Beverages, the company wants to keep investing in the business while creating strong brands.

Commenting on their partnership with Sunshine’s Watawala Plantations, he said: “As a company we have grown substantially, both organically and through acquisition.  Sri Lanka has a strong and vibrant tea industry of which Watawala Plantations is a significant stakeholder. Watawala has created three powerful tea brands in Sri Lanka targeting three different segments of the tea market. We need to appreciate their excellent performance and the commitment they have shown in achieving their goals. We are proud to partner with them.”

“One of the plus points we see in them is the brilliant execution and excellent focus on their business and business results. Both on plantation and marketing fronts, it has achieved remarkable success. This speaks volumes of the leadership the brand ‘Watawala’ is giving to the Sri Lankan tea market. What we learned from Watawala was the fact that if you have a great determination and foresight, you can achieve highly successful results even if you start from the Zero base. The brands of Watawala Marketing, ‘Watawala Kahata’ and ‘Zesta’ reflect the success of the company. Also, Watawala Marketing has launched its third brand, Ran tea, which is also establishing its position in the market,” he added.

On the other hand, he said, Watawala Plantation kept investing in the business even during difficult times. This helped the business to remain strong in both good and bad years. Hence, both parties look forward to strengthen this partnership in the future both on plantation and brand marketing fronts, he stated. He also mentioned that Tata Global Beverages is in the process of marketing Sri Lankan tea in the markets where Tata Global Beverages holds a strong position. “There is also a great potential to grow this partnership into new areas where Tata Global Beverages is already strong,” he said.

Bhat said that the contribution of Vish Govindasamy, Group Managing Director of Sunshine Holdings, is of great value to Tata Global Beverages as far as global strategies are concerned. “He, as a member of the Global Executive Office of Tata Global Beverages, is contributing to our global strategies. His business acumen and expertise in the industry adds a lot of value to Tata Global Beverages,” he said, adding that his company is determined to further strengthen its partnership with Watawala Plantations and Sunshine Holdings as a Group.

He also stressed the need of strengthening the position of Ceylon Tea in markets in the international market, although it already has a strong equity in several key markets. Like Cambodian Coffee and Darjeeling Tea, Sri Lanka too should strengthen the position of its flagship brand ‘pure Ceylon Tea’ in the international market he said adding that Ceylon Tea has a strong demand from the international market, particularly from India, Russia, Australia and the Middle East.  

Vish Govindasamy, Group Managing Director of Sunshine Holdings, emphasising the importance of the company’s partnership with Tata Global Beverages stated that Sunshine Holdings is extremely eager to further strengthen existing markets and consolidate our International presence as well as to explore new markets in the near future.

“Throughout this close and cordial relationship, we have learnt a lot from each other. I must also note that we have a very promising future ahead,” the Managing Director of Sunshine Holdings, the parent company of Watawala Plantation PLC said, while reiterating Sunshine Holdings’ commitment towards repositioning teas as the preferred beverage among all facets of Sri Lankan Society.