Close on the heels of launching a tea lounge at the Tea Board office here, Goodricke Group Ltd. (GGL) is readying a similar outlet in Mumbai. To be launched this weekend, this too will be on the Tea Board of India (TBI)’s premises.
The space at Mumbai, located in upscale Church Gate is spread over 4,000 sq.ft., while the one at Kolkata is smaller at 1,420 sq.ft. Goodricke had won the tender to operate tea boutiques at these two places against annual lease rentals of about ₹7 lakh.
The initiative is part of TBI’s plan to utilise its idle assets besides popularising tea among youth. GGL MD Atul Asthana told The Hindu this would be developed under the Tea Pot vertical of the company.
With gardens in Assam, Dooars and Darjeeling, GGL has major presence in the branded segment.
However, this is mostly in the north and eastern States. The firm already has a tea room — Margaret’s Deck — in Darjeeling district.
“The main aim is to develop the lounges as a vertical and promote tea drinking,” P.T. Krishnan, vice-president, Consumer Division GGL, said. It plans to call the Mumbai lounge Queen’s Deck.
Mr. Asthana said while this would help the company enter the Maharashtra market, the lounge would showcase all types of tea grown in the North Indian tea growing regions. “India’s per capita tea consumption is low at 780 gm against 2.2 kg of Great Britain,” he said.
According to a study, 80% of the tea produced in India is consumed domestically, although per capita consumption in the country is low when compared with global standards. Ready-to-drink tea accounted for 5% of the market and tea drinking was skewed towards the north and west, with these two regions accounting for 63% of the consumption, followed by the east and the south.
