Assam Tea Company Launches Retail Brand 'Rujani Tea'

Guwahati, Jul 12 (PTI) Assam's 125-year-old Aideobarie Tea Estates has forayed into the retail segment and launched two CTC variants in the state, its proprietor said on Friday.

The company unveiled ‘Rujani Tea' brand in Guwahati, while it was made available in Jorhat markets from mid-June, he said.

“We are bringing our experience of 125 years of tea making and the vast resources of selling premium quality tea in our home state. We will soon expand to other cities and towns of Assam, other parts of the northeastern region and then beyond,” Aideobarie Tea Estates proprietor Raj Barooah said.

The company has been selling its tea through e-commerce since 2016 when its website was launched in India.

It started selling tea in Australia through online channels in 2019.

“This is the first time we are venturing into the physical retail market. Our tea will be available in stores from the next month,” Barooah said.

The marketing and expansion strategies will evolve in due course of time, highlighting that the retail segment is highly competitive with tea a ‘personalised commodity'.

“We conducted surveys in Guwahati and Jorhat before the launch. We are trying to take the product as close to customer's preference as possible,” he said.

Barooah said the need of the hour to branch out from its traditional role as producers and wholesalers led Aideobarie Tea Estates to foray into physical retailing.

“Supply of tea is high and price realisation low, especially in Assam where 60-65 per cent of production cost goes into labour expenses. We felt that it was essential to enter the frontal business to sustain ourselves,” he added.

'Rujani Tea' will sell two variants of CTC tea, which will initially be available in 250-gram pack size. These will soon be available in 25-gram and 500-gram packs. It will also launch a one-kilogram value pack