Tata coffee plans to convert its product into branded operations

Bangalore, Feb 23 (UNI) Tata Coffee, a leading Indian coffee company with 16 coffee estates, is contemplating to convert its entire production of soluble coffee and new freeze dried coffee into branded operations in next three years.

Announcing this to newsmen here, Tata Coffee Managing Director M H Ashroff said keeping this in view, the company had acquired the US-based Eight O'clock Coffee, the third largest coffee brand, in June last. The acquisition gave Tata Coffee a ready made platform to convert all its instant soluble coffee and the upcoming freeze-dried coffee products into the Eight O'clock coffee brand and penetrate countries like Russia, Ukraine and the Commonwealth Independent States (CIS).

Replying to queries he said the Tata Coffee already had two brands in Russian market and a new brand would be launched through the Eight O'clock. Tata Coffee would promote the new brand while leaving the other two brands to its local partner, he explained.

He said markets such as the US were of great interest because they were high beverage markets.

There were new forms of tea and coffee products that were coming in, which were ready to drink and an interesting area to jointly examine. The move would also help the company to grow into a significant beverage player in the US, he hoped.

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