MUMBAI: Seattle-based
Starbucks Corporation
is looking to grow its global tea business as it introduces its
Teavana
range in the world’s third-highest tea-consuming country. Teavana’s official launch in India on Wednesday comes a year after Starbucks’ global chief
Howard Schultz
had announced plans to introduce the company’s globally famous tea brand to Indians.
Schultz had said that tea was a multi-billion-dollar category, bigger than coffee, and that the company wanted to create a global footprint for Teavana, including India. He made the comments at the Tata Group’s senior leadership forum in January 2016, that included former chairman Cyrus Mistry.
Starbucks
operates in India through a partnership with the Tata Group and currently has 88 stores here.
The company, founded in 1971, is raising its bet on Asia’s third-largest economy, relying on Indians’ fixation for tea. “We want to double our tea sales at the Starbucks outlets through Teavana,” said Sumitro Ghosh, CEO of Tata Starbucks. According to industry estimates, Turkey was the top tea-drinking country in the world in 2016, followed by China, India and Kenya.
Starbucks acquired Teavana for $620 million in 2012 and, according to US media, it has either closed or converted the Teavana tea bars to Starbucks outlets. However, the Teavana retail stores, which sell packaged teas, remain in business. Ghosh said that the company will evaluate the launch of standalone Teavana tea bars in India in the future. Separately, Tata Group interim chairman Ratan Tata has an investment in Teabox, a speciality tea online startup that, in a way, competes with Teavana.
Starbucks has launched 18 lines of Teavana teas at the Starbucks India outlets, priced between Rs 150 and Rs 300. The Tata Starbucks joint venture reported a loss of Rs 40 crore on sales of Rs 235 crore in the fiscal 2015.
Stay informed with the latest Business News on Times of India. Explore updates on International Business, gain insights with Financial Literacy tips, and make use of Financial Calculators. Don’t forget to check the list of Bank Holidays in 2025, including Bank Holidays in January.
Ready to Master Stock Valuation? ET’s Workshop is just around the corner!
Reeba Zachariah is assistant corporate editor at The Times of Ind...
Read MoreReeba Zachariah is assistant corporate editor at The Times of India, Mumbai. She has been covering large Indian business houses such as the Tata Group. She also reports on a host of sectors like hospitality, retail, travel, liquor and consumer durables. She has been writing on mergers and acquisitions and private equity.
Read Less