Tata Consumer Products is an Indian fast-moving consumer goods company and a part of the

Tata Group The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest conglomerate, with products and services in over 150 countries, and operations in 100 countries across six continents ...

. Its registered office is located in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

while its corporate headquarters is in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

. It is the world's second-largest manufacturer and distributor of

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...

and a major producer of

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

. Formerly known as Tata Global Beverages Limited (TGBL), Tata Consumer Products was formed when the consumer products business of

Tata Chemicals Tata Chemicals Limited is an Indian global company with interests in chemicals, crop protection and specialty chemistry products headquartered in Mumbai, India. The company is one of the largest chemical companies in India with operations in In ...

merged with Tata Global Beverages in February 2020. The company now operates in the food and beverages industry, with ~56% of their revenue coming from India while the rest is from their international businesses. After the merger, the company controls Indian and international brands like Tata Salt,

Tata Tea Tata Consumer Products is an Indian fast-moving consumer goods company and a part of the Tata Group. Its registered office is located in Kolkata while its corporate headquarters is in Mumbai. It is the world's second-largest manufacturer and di ...

Tetley Tetley is an English beverage manufacturer founded in 1837 in Yorkshire. It is the largest tea company in the United Kingdom and Canada, and the second largest in the United States by volume. Since 2000, Tetley has been a wholly owned subsidiar ...

Eight O'Clock Coffee Eight O'Clock Coffee is an American brand of coffee products currently manufactured by the Eight O'Clock Coffee Company, a subsidiary of Tata Consumer Products, which is headquartered in Mumbai, India; its coffee production plant is in Landover, ...

, Good Earth Tea, Tata Sampann and

Tata Starbucks Tata Starbucks Private Limited, formerly known as Tata Starbucks Limited, is a 50:50 joint venture company, owned by Tata Consumer Products and Starbucks Corporation, that owns and operates Starbucks outlets in India. The outlets are branded ' ...

. Tata Tea is the biggest-selling tea brand in India.

is the biggest-selling tea brand in Canada and the second-biggest-selling in the United Kingdom and the United States.

History

1980 to 1990

In the early 1980s, the tea industry in India was experiencing rising input and labour costs and dwindling margins as well as high taxes. India was facing competition on the world market not just from China, but also from other countries entering the business. In 1983, Tata Tea bought the stake belonging to the

James Finlay James Finlay was a Scotland international rugby union player.Bath, p136 Rugby Union career Amateur career Finlay played for . Provincial career Finlay was capped for Edinburgh District, playing in the very first inter-city match in 187 ...

group to form the individual entity Tata Tea. In the same year, the company decided to move from the commodities business to consumer branding. The first brand Tata Tea was introduced. This was followed by other brands like Kannan Devan, Agni, Gemini and Chakra Gold. In spite of being the largest market in the world, the concept of branded tea took time to be accepted. In 1987, Tata Tea set up a fully owned subsidiary, Tata Tea Inc., in United States.

1990 to 2000

In the 1990s, Tata Tea decided to take its brands into the global markets. It formed an export joint venture with

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

's Tetley Tea in 1992. Other new enterprises included a majority interest in Consolidated Coffee Ltd. (Tata Coffee Ltd.) and a joint venture to manage agricultural estates in Sri Lanka. Tata Tea Inc. in United States processed and marketed instant tea from its facility in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, based on sourcing of instant tea products out of

Munnar Munnar () is a town and hill station in the Idukki district of the southwestern Indian state of Kerala. Munnar is situated at around above mean sea level, in the Western Ghats mountain range. Munnar is also called the "Kashmir of South Indi ...

and

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. In 1993, they entered into a joint venture with

Allied Lyons Allied Domecq PLC was an international company, headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom, that operated spirits, wine, and quick service restaurant businesses. It was once a FTSE 100 Index constituent but has been acquired by Pernod Ricard. The ...

PLC in UK to form Estate Tata Tetley. In the mid-1990s, Tata Tea attempted to buy Tetley and the Lankan JVC acquired 51% shareholding in

Watawala Plantations Watawala is a village in Sri Lanka. It is located within Central Province. See also *List of towns in Central Province, Sri Lanka Central Province is a province of Sri Lanka, containing the Kandy District, Matale District, and Nuwara Eliya Di ...

Ltd. In 1997 the company was embroiled in a major scandal known as the "

Tata Tapes controversy The "Tata Tapes" controversy was a political scandal in India that was the culmination of a series of allegations of anti-national conduct levied by the then Chief Minister of Assam, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, against the Tatas – their company Ta ...

" which related to funds the company provided to the outlawed

United Liberation Front of Assam The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) (Assamese: সংযুক্ত মুক্তি বাহিনী, অসম) is an armed separatist organisation operating in the Northeast Indian state of Assam. It seeks to establish an indep ...

(ULFA), an armed-struggle group operating in

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

. By 1999, Tata Tea's brands had a combined market share of 25% in India. The company had 74 tea gardens and was producing 6.2 crore kilograms of tea a year, two-thirds of it packaged and branded. Towards the end of the year, the tea business was hit by a drought in much of India. In addition, Russia, once the largest buyer of Indian tea, temporarily withdrew from the market.

2000 to 2010

An important step for Tata Tea was the acquisition of the Tetley Group (based in United Kingdom) in 2000. It was a £271 million ($432 million) leveraged buyout. Tata Tea reportedly outbid the American conglomerate Sara Lee in what was described, at the time, as the largest takeover of a foreign company by an Indian company. At the time, Tetley was the world's second-largest tea company after

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy dri ...

Brooke Bond Brooke Bond is a brand of tea owned by Ekaterra, formerly an independent tea- trading and manufacturing company in the United Kingdom, known for its PG Tips brand and its Brooke Bond tea cards. History Brooke Bond & Company was founded by ...

- Lipton and had an annual turnover of £300 million. It was the market leader in Britain and Canada and a popular brand in United States, Australia and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

. Established in 1837, Tetley was the first

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

tea company to introduce the tea bag to UK in 1953. The tea bag was followed by the first round tea bag in 1989 and the 'no drip, no mess'

drawstring A drawstring (draw string, draw-string) is a string, cord, lace, or rope used to " draw" (gather, or shorten) fabric or other material. Ends of a drawstring are often terminated with a sheath called an aglet. The ends may be tied to hold the d ...

bag in 1997. Tetley now contributes for around two-thirds of the total turnover of Tata Tea. From 2005, Tata Tea began a restructuring exercise to divest direct ownership of plantations in India, a process facilitated by subsidised loans from the World Bank's

International Finance Corporation The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international financial institution that offers investment, advisory, and asset-management services to encourage private-sector development in less developed countries. The IFC is a member of ...

. In 2006, Tata Tea acquired

, a U.S.-based coffee producer from Gryphon Investors for $220m; before being sold to Gryphon, the Eight O'Clock Coffee brand was originally owned by

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P, was an American chain of grocery stores that operated from 1859 to 2015. From 1915 through 1975, A&P was the largest grocery retailer in the United States (and, until 1965, the lar ...

from its beginnings in 1859 to 2003. In 2007, Tata Tea launched the campaign Jaago Re! to awaken youth to social issues. The campaign was extended into 2008. In 2009, their campaign revolve around the issue of corruption with a new adline 'Ab Se Khilana Bandh, Pilana Shuru'. The international

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

IUF criticized the company in 2009 for not allowing statutory

maternity leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, Paternity (law), paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" an ...

to pregnant tea pluckers, and for locking out 1,000 workers on the Nowera Nuddy Tea Estate in

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

for so long that the local government began distributing food coupons for emergency rations to workers and their families. In May 2010, a crop sprayer died of suspected poisoning on a Tata estate in

, leading to protests at which two more workers were shot dead by riot police.

2010 to 2019

On 30 January 2012, Tata Consumer Products Limited and Starbucks announced the creation of a 50:50 joint venture called

Limited, which will own and operate Starbucks outlets branded as ''Starbucks Coffee "A Tata Alliance"'' in India. The stores started operating in 2012, launching initially in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

and

. The coffee shops source coffee beans from Tata Coffee, a subsidiary company of Tata Consumer Products Limited.

2019 to present

On May 15, 2019, Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL) announced the de-merger of the Consumer Products Business of TCL and into TGBL through a National Company Law Tribunal (“NCLT”) approved scheme of arrangement (“Scheme”) to become Tata Consumer. In the beverages business, Tata Consumer brands include Tata Tea, Tetley, Vitax, Eight O’Clock Coffee, Himalayan Natural Mineral Water, Grand Coffee and Joekels. In the food segment, the brands include Tata Salt and Tata Sampann. Tata Global Beverages Limited (TGBL) and Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL) announced that the Scheme of Arrangement between TGBL and TCL regarding the Consumer Products Business of TCL is now operational, effective from 7 February 2020. Following this, TGBL has been renamed Tata Consumer Products Limited. Tata Consumer Products combines the food and beverages brands, which include Tata Salt, Tata Tea, Tata Sampann, Tetley, Soulfull and Himalayan mineral water, under a single umbrella. Tata Consumer Products acquired complete control of Tata SmartFoodz Limited from Tata Industries Limited for on 12 November 2021. On 1 May 2022, Tata Consumer Products announced that Tata Coffee would merge with itself as part of a reorganization plan. The company stated that the merger was expected to be completed in late 2023, with shareholders of Tata Coffee receiving 3 shares in Tata Consumer Products for every 10 shares of Tata Coffee. In July 2022, Tata Consumer Products launched premuim honey products and flavoured preserves, under the company's Himalayan brand name. Also in July 2022, the company launched

plant-based meat A meat alternative or meat substitute (also called plant-based meat or fake meat, sometimes pejoratively) is a food product made from vegetarian or vegan ingredients, eaten as a replacement for meat. Meat alternatives typically approximate qu ...

products under the brand name, Tata Simply Better.

Operations

The company was renamed as Tata Global Beverages (now Tata Consumer Products Limited) to include the range of health and nutritional beverages it wants to enter into. Via subsidiary companies, Tata Consumer Products Limited manufactures 7 crore kilograms of tea in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, controls 54 tea estates, ten tea blending and packaging factories and employs around 59,000 people. The company owns 51 tea estates in

and Sri Lanka, especially in

in eastern India and

in the south. The company is the largest manufacturer of

Assam tea Assam tea is a black tea named after the region of its production, Assam, India. It is manufactured specifically from the plant '' Camellia sinensis'' var. ''assamica'' (Masters). The Assam tea plant is indigenous to Assam—initial efforts to pl ...

and

Darjeeling tea Darjeeling tea is a tea made from ''Camellia sinensis var. sinensis'' that is grown and processed in Darjeeling or Kalimpong Districts in West Bengal, India. Since 2004, the term ''Darjeeling tea'' has been a registered geographical indication ...

and the second-largest manufacturer of

Ceylon tea Ceylon tea is both the brand of tea which is produced in Sri Lanka and a historic term describing tea from that land. Ceylon tea has been described as not only a geographical descriptor but also a pillar of Sri Lankan culture, heritage and ident ...

. Set up in 1964 as a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and economic risk, risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four rea ...

with UK based James Finlay and Company to develop value-added tea, Tata Consumer Products Limited has now product and brand presence in 50 countries. It is one of India's first multinational companies. The operations of Tata Consumer Products Limited and its subsidiaries focus on branded product offerings in tea, but with a significant presence in plantation activity in India and Sri Lanka. The consolidated worldwide branded tea business of Tata Consumer Products Limited contributes to around 86% of its consolidated turnover with the remaining 14 per cent coming from bulk tea,

and investment income. With an area of approximately under tea cultivation, Tata Consumer Products Limited produces around 30 million kg of

black tea Black tea, also translated to red tea in various East Asian languages, is a type of tea that is more oxidized than oolong, yellow, white and green teas. Black tea is generally stronger in flavour than other teas. All five types are made from ...

annually. Instant tea is used for light density 100% teas, iced tea mixes and in the preparation of ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages. Tata Consumer Products Limited owns five brands in India: Tata Tea, Tetley, Kannan Devan, Chakra Gold, and Gemini. The company has a 100% export-oriented unit (KOSHER and HACCP certified) manufacturing instant tea in

, which is the largest such facility outside United States. Tata Consumer Products Limited has subsidiaries in Australia,

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

The United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Czechia The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The Cz ...

and

Marketing strategy

In spite of a global presence, the brands are distributed differently depending on the location. As Tata tea is far better known in India and a powerful brand there, it is pushed on this market and countries with a large Indian population. Therefore, Tetley is the company's global face and the largest markets focus on the Tetley brand. Where both brands co-exist in one market, Tetley is positioned as the premium tea.

Social initiatives

Jaago Re!

Tata Global Beverages worked with Janaagraha on a

voter registration drive A voter registration campaign or voter registration drive is an effort by a government authority, political party or other entity to register to vote persons otherwise entitled to vote. In some countries, voter registration is automatic, and is ca ...

, with the campaign name "''Jaago Re!''" ("Wake Up!"). Following this, the company moved the campaign on to opposing corruption. The Jaago Re! website encourages discussion on this and other social issues.

Scholarships

Tata Global Beverages awarded the Tata Global Beverages Re-imagination Scholarships on 17 March 2013 to eight students from the 'Urban Scholars' program at

Brunel University Brunel University London is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In June ...

in London. The participating students were required to write an essay based on the following topic "A hot cup of tea on a cold morning, sharing a joke over a cup of coffee, a sip of cool water after a long trek. Beverages are part of our everyday life and yet they also sprinkle some magic on it—moments of reflection, sharing, inspiration and laughter...moments which take us away from the ordinary. What do you think makes a magical beverage moment?"

Criticism

In January 2014, Tata Consumer Products Limited and International Finance Corporation (IFC) which is part of

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

were criticized for poor working conditions, low wages, and gross human rights violations in a report released by Human Rights Institute at Columbia Law School. The report alleges Amalgamated Plantations Private Limited (APPL) that is partly owned by Tata Tea and IFC is in violation of many of provisions of Indian Plantation Labor Act (PLA) on its tea plantations in Assam and West Bengal. In March 2014 a documentary on The Guardian news web site claims that Tata Global Beverages is underpaying the minimum Indian wage at an Assam tea plantation that Tata co-owns with Tetley and other major tea producers. In October 2015, a movement of 6,000 female labourers calling themselves "Pempilai Orumai", or women's unity laid siege to the Munnar tea estates, one of Kerala's most popular tourist destinations and owned subsidiary of Tata Tea's plantation in Kerala. Trade and tourism were brought to a near standstill but, after nine days of protest and marathon negotiations overseen by the chief minister of the state, it gave in. The spark that ignited the protest was a decision to cut the 20% bonus paid to tea pickers, but its roots go much deeper than that. "Part of the women's complaint is that they live in one-bed huts without toilets and other basic amenities and, while they earn significantly more than the tea workers in Assam, they say the (£2.30) they are paid for a day's work is half what a daily wage laborer in Kerala would get."

Shareholding pattern

The maximum stake is being held with Indian promoters of the business i.e., Tata Group with a percentage share of 34.66%. Mutual funds hold a 14.86% share and FPIs hold a 17.05% stake in the company. Non-institutional individuals hold a 20.38% share in the company.

References

External links

* {{Nifty 200 companies Tata Sons subsidiaries Drink companies of India Manufacturing companies based in Kolkata Indian companies established in 1964 Indian brands Food and drink companies established in 1964 Tea companies of India Tata Consumer Products 1964 establishments in West Bengal Companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange