Impra tea maintains growth in Russian market

Ramani KANGARAARACHCHI

“Impra” the largest single brand of Pure Ceylon Tea in Russia identified with Tea Board’s Lion Logo is to expand its export by 20 per cent this year, Managing Director Imperial Tea Exports, Jayantha Karunaratna said.

Their annual Tea Distributor Conference was held in Sri Lanka recently.

A group of 15 Russian wholesalers from the regions along with their families arrived for the ten day conference held in Colombo and Bentota.

Marketing strategies for each distributor from the different regions in Russia were discussed during the conference.

Karunaratne said that Imperial Tea had been the market leader of Pure Ceylon Tea packed in Sri Lanka being sold in Russia during the past six years and the company hopes to increase their exports by 20 per cent this year.

He said the per capita consumption of the people in St. Petersburg and Moscow is around 2.5 Kgs as the income level of the people is considerably higher than in the regions. According to him the ideal tea for the Russian consumer is Black Loose tea rich in colour and aroma with a sharp taste.

Impra Tea is sold through supermarkets, mini supermarkets and independent retail outlets in the various regions of Russia and in 2006 it maintained the number one position with regard to Pure Ceylon Tea brands packed in Sri Lanka.
The current economic boom in Russia is in our favour. They use tea not only for drinking, but also for giving as gifts, he said.

Russians consider tea as a healthy drink and the demand for tea has increased by 31 per cent in terms of value and a survey conducted in Russia has revealed that 70 per cent of customers have shown continuous loyalty to a particular brand. Sri Lanka has around 40 per cent market share in Russia.

“Impra” as a branded tea has been able to maintain a steady growth rate year on year competing with multinationals and other established companies in Russia. A lot of our clients have grown with us and they are very appreciative of this, he said.