October 25, 2005 

Tata Tea Buys U.S. Brand Good Earth

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's Tata Tea Ltd. said on Thursday it would acquire U.S. specialty tea brand Good Earth for an undisclosed sum, sending its shares higher. The world's second-largest branded tea company will buy Santa Cruz, California-based FMALI Herb Inc. and Good Earth Corp., which sells herbal, fruit- flavored, medicinal and traditional teas, through its subsidiary, Tetley US Holdings Ltd. Read more...

Cancer Survivor Brews Up Tea Business

Cancer survivor Audrey Darrow samples one of the eight signature organic teas she developed while recovering from two surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Simply put, Audrey Darrow got cancer, but it didn’t get her. Instead, she fought back in a most unusual way using her prolonged recovery from two mastectomies, chemotherapy and radiation to research and develop a signature line of eight organic teas that recently entered the marketplace under the name of Dr. B’s Teas. The teas, rich in flavonoids, anti-oxidants and organic ingredients, including pumpkin, schizandra berries and pomegranate, are named after her longtime physician, Dr. Malka Benoni, another cancer survivor, who has been Darrow’s inspiration during her two-year battle with breast cancer. Read more...

Ito En Introduces Tea Apple and Tea Lemon

New Varieties Are Company’s First Naturally Sweetened Ready-To-Drink Teas New York, NY -- ITO EN (North America), INC, has introduced their first sweetened ready-to-drink teas, Tea Apple and Tea Lemon. Like all ITO EN bottled teas, Tea Apple and Tea Lemon are authentically brewed from premium whole, loose tea leaves using state-of-the-art brewing techniques. Each variety is available in a 16.9 fluid oz bottle, contains 120 calories per serving with 40% of the suggested daily requirement of Vitamin C. The suggested retail price is $1.99 “Tea Apple and Tea Lemon are the perfect complement to our TEAS’ TEA line of all natural, unsweetened ready-to-drink teas,” said Rona Tison, vice president of corporate relations for ITO EN (North America), INC. “Our knowledge, experience and expertise have allowed us to create a product that is not sugary sweet but offers a more gentle, soft quality to the taste.” Read more...

Typhoo, a Leading Tea Brand of Britain, has Been Sold to Kolkatta-Based Apeejay Surrendra

Typhoo, a leading tea brand of Britain, has been sold to Kolkatta-based Apeejay Surrendra, one of India's largest tea producers, for 80 million pounds (US$141 million). Robert Schofield, chief executive of Premier Foods, which owns Typhoo, said the company has decided to concentrate on other brands which are leaders in their markets. "Typhoo is a big brand, it is an iconic brand, but it's number three in the market. It would take a lot of effort to make it number two," he said Read more...

Little Brew with Big Taste Finds a Home in Texas and Florida

Magnolia Spice Teas are also headed for Georgia, South Carolina, and Illinois Chicago, IL--(HISPANIC PR WIRE)--October 20, 2005- -Chicago’s own little brew Magnolia Spice Teas, Inc. comes to Texas and Florida. The beverage company has partnered with Wal-Mart stores to bring the Lone Star State and the Sunshine State a big taste in ready-to-drink ice tea. The company became a major contender in the ready-to-drink tea category when it Southern Style variety was crowned best ready-to-drink sweetened tea at the World Tea Expo held in Las Vegas in March 2005. The product has since picked up steam, surfacing at events sponsored by major corporations such as Burger King and Albertsons. Read more...

Iveta Pastry Mixes Have Oprah's Seal of Approval

A big boost came in June 2000, when Ivéta Gourmet’s Apricot scone mix was part of a Red Envelope "Mother’s Day" gift basket that made the very first "O List" in the premiere issue of O Magazine. (The "O List" contains products that Oprah Winfrey "thinks are just great.") In the May 8, 2002, issue of the New York Times, an Ivéta Gourmet product was front and center in a two- page layout ad for gift baskets sold by Bloomingdale’s. While participating in one of the many gourmet-food shows they attend, Yvette was hired to produce a Halloween pretzel kit for a private-label project for Martha Stewart in 2004. Read more...

Tea For Strength

Health findings make familiar drink a hot sip Remember when tea was just supposed to taste good? Now, many consumers are starting to consider tea, especially green tea, a health drink — something with antioxidants that can make you feel better and possibly prevent cancer or a heart attack. Though research on specific health benefits still is preliminary, beverage companies are boosting tea sales by playing to that perception. Read more...

Inko's White Tea Continues Brand Expansion with Launch of Four New Flavors, New Multipack Cases and Redesigned Labels

- Inko’s Lychee White Tea, Inko’s Apricot White Tea, Inko’s Cherry Vanilla White Tea And Inko’s Unsweetened Honeysuckle White Tea To Complement Five Existing Flavors- New York, NY (September 27, 2005) – Inko’s LLC, the first beverage company solely dedicated to producing a line of 100% natural iced white teas, today announced the launch of four more unique flavors and the availability of a new, specially wrapped multipack case, featuring three of Inko’s most popular flavors. Inko’s will also introduce beautifully redesigned labels on all of their award-winning varieties. Read more...

India Targeting Chinese Black Tea Market

14/10/2005 - The Indian tea industry has launched a determined bid to penetrate China's growing black tea market, industry sources said. "We are determined to launch Indian tea in the Chinese market," Rupali Datta, director of tea promotion with the Tea Board of India, told AsiaPulse. According to the report, the market is currently dominated by multinational brands and products from Kenya and Sri Lanka. However tea consumption in China is growing by only 2 per cent a year, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, and the Chinese themselves are boosting tea production. Read more...

The Problematic Brew of China's Tea Industry

JINHUA, China All the tea in China is proving to be a lot of tea these days, as hillsides across central and southern China are bulldozed to make way for tea farms even as many young Chinese are losing interest in the beverage. China still has millions of tea lovers who lavish the same attention on their beverage that oenophiles devote to wine. The finest grades of green tea, made from the most delicate baby leaves and roasted in a pan by hand, sell for hundreds of dollars a pound in Shanghai and Beijing. But Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, McDonald's, KFC and other Western businesses have come up with many other ways to slake thirsts in China. Shifting tides in tastes, especially among the young, are creating waves both at home and abroad. Teahouses in China already are being replaced by coffeehouses, and Starbucks, now with more than 140 stores, has spawned a cottage industry of copycats Read more...