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Paint Industry Branch Supervisor Plettenberg Bay

New life for SA tea market

4 Jun 2009

South Africa is thriving with development and growth brought on by the opportunities presented by the upcoming 2010 Soccer World Cup, the Gautrain and BRT initiatives amongst others. However, the decline in market prices and the pull-out of major investors has left the future of South Africa's black tea producing estates in disarray.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

One encouraging initiative however, is The Tshivhase Tea Estates outside Thohoyandou, Limpopo, which has recently been revived due to the vested interest of the local community and the collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, who devoted substantial financial support into the rehabilitation of the tea factory.

The rehiring of the work force from the local community has empowered these communities, as they depend on the tea production for their livelihood. This initiative gives them a share in the success of the project and the chance to greatly improve their lives and those of future generations. This revitalisation initiative will serve as a model to revive the tea producing industry in other regions.

The Tshivhase Tea Estates previously produced black tea in bulk, however the resulting opportunities stemming from the new ownership has led to the production of a truly 100% South African Premium quality tea brand destined for local shelves.

New Midi Tea

This rich blend of local tea is being packaged and branded 'Midi' Black Tea, which will be available in three different packaging formats: Midi Gold Tagged Tea Bags, Midi Tagless Tea Bags and Midi Leaf Tea.

The launch of Midi Tea will assist in rejuvenating the black tea market and drive sustainable profitability within the sector and the overall tea category.

South Africans now have the opportunity to invest in a local, quality brand, while retailers can show their support by partaking in a sustainable plan to empower local production.

A strong marketing & sales strategy has been put into place by Greenstone Marketing, to ensure the brand becomes known and stimulate consumer demand for South Africa's first home grown black tea brand.

Research has shown that South Africans prefer to support local brands as long as there is no compromise in taste and quality. Midi Tea is the ideal opportunity to provide such a brand and consumer support has the knock-on effects of stimulating job creation as the tea market grows.