Financial Times

Following in Dilmah's footsteps
Lankan entrepreneur successful with US-Sri Lanka tea project
By Quintus Perera
Following the Dilmah tea success of the producer-marketer chain, an enterprising Sri Lankan domiciled in the United States has launched a similar venture - blending and packeting the tea here and selling it through his own US marketing firm.

Jaliya Wickramasuriya, who runs a modern tea blending process in Colombo and markets tea through his own office in the US, says there is a tremendous market for 'Pure Ceylon Tea' if properly marketed. "If purity, standards and brand image are maintained, this huge market could be tapped," he said in an interview last week at his factory.

Though coffee is more popular than tea amongst Americans, tea is gaining ground with demand for tea increasing by 300 percent last year from 2003, he added.

Wickramasuriya began his own tea company, Ceylon Royal Tea & Supplies (Pvt) Ltd four years ago after working for 18 years at Dilmah Tea. He says his business mentor is Dilmah founder Merrill J Fernando.

Under the TIPS programme conducted by the USAID, which supports export based private companies to gain entry into the US, he was selected to participate in a trade show in New York. That was the turning point for his tea exports to US, gaining orders worth $100,000 to supply to this fair. His exports to the US increased by 100 percent each year but 2004 was particularly good as the increase has been 200 percent.

The suggestion to open an office in the US came at this trade fair. He immediately took steps to open his marketing company, Ceylon Royal Tea & Supplies LLC in McDonough, Georgia, the first Sri Lankan firm to do so.

Wickramasuriya said that most of the tea companies in US are brokers who act for buyers from Sri Lanka and a buyer in the US. "In our case, Ceylon Royal has the edge as the tea from our manufacturing company goes to its own marketing company in the US and it then sells direct to supermarkets in that country," he said.

Direct marketing has helped with Wickramasuriya inundated with hundreds of e-mails appreciating the fine taste of 'Pure Ceylon Tea'. As a BOI company, Ceylon Royal recently moved into its new modern factory at Katuwana Industrial Complex, Homagama built at a cost of Rs 40 million. The factory could process one container of tea per day. The company is negotiating with a foreign collaborator to infuse another Rs 40 million into the factory with more machines.

Wickramasuriya said that they are not still tapping large supermarket chains as they are unable to meet the demand. He urged more Sri Lankan firms to enter the US market but had one piece of advise - "keep up the Pure Ceylon Tea status and maintain the highest quality".

‘Ceylon Royal’ markets its teas under the main brand "Chami' and the product range extends to 190. It includes, green tea, black tea, herbal tea and flavoured tea among others. He said that the company is not doing much advertising, but he makes it a point to attend trade fairs and serve tea in their stalls, which helps improve sales.

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