STiR coffee and tea magazine

STiR coffee and tea 35 The size, age, and occupations of family members are the starting points for determining a tailored family living income. that process [over two decades] has overshot the mark, and a considerable amount of value has been removed from the category [commoditization]. This has resulted in lower returns for all concerned, not least farmers, producers and pluckers, and gives consumers generally less diverse, less interesting products. The need to reverse this process is now critical, lest we are to follow the same path as say a product like cocoa." What seems to have been lost in the com- petitive field of CPG is that driving down costs inevitably leads to efficiency drives by producers which, often, have an inverse impact on quality. In tea, we can grow leaf more quickly but not without diluting the quality quotient of the leaf and we can ram more through a factory but not without com- promising on finished in cup quality. So "Should we pay more?" This is a little more serious than that. This is a market in urgent need of revival from a crisis point created, over a num- ber of decades, by a combination of dislocated actors and their actions. From Retailers driving down prices and quality to the consumer accept- ing a decline in quality, to poor, politicized, policy- making at origin, all made possible by the lack of any single source of truth from which no one can hide, displaying the true cost/needs for a viable industry. There is no quick fix. Indeed, the number of farmers chained to the monoculture of tea is daunting, as is the likelihood of altering mass con- sumer optics on what tea is. So where to start must be an honest approach to costs and capabilities. 1. If you can measure it, then do and account for it in an auditable framework that can deliver the true cost of tea. Publish what the minimum sustainable price for a particular growth, region, season, make and grade is. 2. Set up minimum export/import quality cri- teria, specifically sensory, to ensure that the in- dustry is not, once again, hijacked by those with misguided agendas. The mainstream black tea price on the shelf has increased year on year despite the price paid for tea back to the farmer having reduced in real terms. These two easy to build criteria will bring foci for consumers and pro- ducers, while building much needed and desired ESG credentials for CPG companies and retailers, should they wish. NMteaB, utilizes these tools to advise others on their "valued competi- tiveness" against others. These attributes can and are used at the other end of the decision tree, to educate brand owners on what are the key attributes that consumers will pay for and defining meaningful steps in attribute scores that are discernible to consumers. If this sounds fanciful, consider the leading brand in the UK, Yorkshire tea, which came out of nowhere (in my lifetime in the trade) and has vanquished the largest brands to "also rans" based on an emphasis on quality; the consumer is not wrong. So, the question "How much should tea cost?" is relevant but not in iso- lation of quality and value distribution. While we cannot and should not try to manipulate markets, because it is impossible, we can connect the needs of those at both ends of the supply chain to better educate both to the needs and desires of the other. In the acknowledgement that commercial sustainability is an imperative, but not the only measure of success for tea. Joyce Maina of Cambridge Tea Consultancy states, "Like with everything else, you get what you pay for. By continuing to pay poor prices for tea we starve the industry and stifle quality and good innovation, and so we encour- age poor bulk standard production and quality. That's what we get. Let us drink better - pay a bit more and get better tea. Better in quality and ethics." Hear hear to that! NAME GENDER M/F AGE WORKINGY/N MANUALWORK OFFICE WORK SCHOOLY/N DAILY CALORIE REQ'D 1 M 29 Y Y 2600 2 F 25 Y Y 2200 3 F 7 N Y 1300 4 M 5 N Y 1300 5 M 60 N 1800 6 F 58 N 1700 TOTALS 6 10900 WEEKLY REQ'D 76300 FARMERNAME FARMERCODE TOTAL NUMBER HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS 6 Farmer Family Analysis Source: Office of National statistics(UK) RPI: Ave price-Tea bags, per 250g Pence 300 200 100 0 1986FEB 1995OCT 2005JUN 2015FEB 2024MAY RPl: Ave price-Tea bags, per 250g

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