By Bl Kolkata Bureau

Copyright thehindubusinessline

FMCG major Tata Consumer Products, currently the second largest player in the packaged tea segment, “is putting a lot of effort into ensuring that the company keeps winning across markets.”

The company, which sells packaged teas under brands like Tata Tea Gold, Tetley, Tata Tea Premium, Chakra Gold, Tata Tea Agni and Kanan Devan, is currently witnessing that volume growth is coming back in both urban and rural areas as tea prices decline.

TCPL has already slashed prices of its packaged teas under different brands after auction prices of the brew came down significantly compared to last year. The company is likely to continue cutting prices till around the third quarter this fiscal.

“In the height of inflation, the volume growth was muted. Now, as the prices are coming down, volume should grow. We are seeing that volume growth is coming back,” Puneet Das, President – Packaged Beverages, India & South Asia, Tata Consumer Products, said on Tuesday.

“In terms of macros, tea prices right now, as of the latest auction, are about 13 per cent to 15 per cent below last year at the same time,” Sunil D’Souza, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, said in July at the Q1 FY26 earnings conference call of the company.

“As and when the (tea) prices are getting corrected, we are seeing volume growth in urban areas. It also depends on channels. For example, we are a leading player in e-commerce. We are seeing a lot of premiumisation happening. Consumers are choosing quality products and willing to pay the price,” said Das.

He was talking to the media on the sidelines of an event organised by the company in Kolkata to launch limited edition festive packs of Tata Tea Gold, designed in collaboration with local Bengali artists.

Currently, Hindustan Unilever holds the top spot in the packaged tea segment. TCPL had lost the top spot in 2017-18, and slipped to the second spot.

Asked about Tata Consumer Products’s plans going forward to become numero uno in the segment, Das said it is a different task across markets. “We lead the category in the East and the North parts of the country. In the South, we are a strong number two player. So, there are a lot of efforts in ensuring that we keep winning across markets. But even within that, there are a lot of pockets of opportunity.”

He said Tata Tea Gold is currently the no. 1 brand in West Bengal, and there is a big opportunity for the company to grow this brand in the other parts of the country like South and North.

The company is also strengthening its distribution network in south India. “Rural distribution is a big unlock for us in South. In South, when it comes to consumer packs, which is bigger and larger packs, our gap (from Hindustan Unilever) is much lesser. But in small packs, which is ₹10 and the lower packs, our gap is much more. So there distribution can play a big role for us,” Das added.

Published on September 16, 2025