Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/491377
66 STiR tea & coffee industry international / Issue 2, 2015 (April/May) These owners value tea as a reason to travel to develop direct links between tea pro- ducers in faraway places. They often work with family members or a small team and love their business more for its human values than for the monies they earn. All buy part of their teas directly from small gardens and attract the local customers with their good advice, fresh tea, and authentic stories. International players Foreign operators have also entered the market to promote their countries' fine teas. The old Japanese family company "Jugetsudo" has opened a Paris teahouse in the Latin Quarter in 2009, hosting tea ceremonies and Japanese style tea tastings and stock- ing a large range of high-end single-origin teas. Taiwan native Tseng Yu Hui sells a vast choice of vintage pu-erh teas in her "Maison des Trois Thés" near the Panthéon. Zhen Lui Xiang has a traditional choice of fine Chinese teas in her "Tch'a" tea house in the Latin Quarter. Thés de Chine is the oldest Chinese tea house in Paris. Established in 1992 by Yun Jing Zhong (now known as Vivien Messavant), his shop on the famous Boulevard de Saint Germain was a pioneer of fine Chinese teas. Messavant travels to China and Taiwan two or three times a year to bring back small lots of exclusive pickings and custom made teaware, some direct from the Jing de Zhen imperial porcelain factories. Commodity market leaders Most tea is sold in supermarkets. Bagged tea from the world's major brands include Lipton, Twining, and Tata. Together they account for 60% of tea volume with another 10% imported directly by tea packers and sold as private label brands. Private label accounts for 15% of sales. France established the National Commission of Fair Trade (CNCE) in 2010 which is one reason why organic and Fair Trade teas are popular at prices 10% to 30% above other brands. Since the 1970's Unilever France is the market leader with a 37% share in 2013. According to Euromonitor International. Foods International ranks second with 18% for their Twinings brand and La Tisanière. Pyramid bags were recently introduced in the market and are gaining favor. Fine tea importers and wholesalers formerly concentrated on selling to fine grocery shops and the HORECA channel but this has progressively given way since 2008/9 as they have now all gone retail. Making their prestigious brands directly available to the end consumer in their own branded tea shops and tea houses had become a must, in order to level out the playing field in this high added value market segment. Above, The sales counter at Thés de Chine tea house. Upper right, Palais des Thés François-Xavier Delmas, founder and c.e.o. of Palais des Thes