Multinationals losing out in the tea category in India ?

 In the packet tea business there have been shifts in the taste and preferences of customers .

Much has been decided by first movers like Vikram Tea , Society and Wagh Bakri . 

The early movers like Brooke Bond , Lipton , Goodricke could easily be falling behind due to lack of creativity at their end on blend formulations . 

The above companies have been focused on margins , incurring large spends on advertising , have been tight on trade margins and have been surviving with psychographic play on customers . 

Gujarat based players have created an ownership of taste , used blends with Upper Assam Teas and have stayed close to retailers to build a close contact with trade , depending less on distributors and superstockists . Their customer contact and feedback has been exemplary and on many occasions have visited customers at their residence to understand their preferences . 

While most businesses have to fund on their own , the Gujarat players have focused on spending their budgets on good teas , keeping the MRP competitive and squeezing trade margins . 

In the Darjeeling category while Green Label has been generic , the twins Makaibari and Lopchu have controlled and owned the taste and often sacrificed garden areas to let natural vegetation grow . These floral attributes have added to the uniqueness of their tea tastes and fetched them handsome margins . 

The Multinationals over time have developed professional distribution networks ,but over time would fade out due to relatively poor product and advertising to cover for it or free gifts /promotions .