Williamson Magor (WM), the tea-making division of Calcutta-based and BM Khaitan-promoted Eveready Industries India Ltd, aims to emerge as number three in the branded tea sector, after Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) and Tata Tea, managers with WM told a group of mediapersons visiting Dooars in the northern part of West Bengal. Already the biggest exporter of tea, WM is right now "cruising between the fourth and fifth positions" in the market, they said.

Managers with WM say that the 125-year-old company enjoys considerable brand equity in the market. However, the company started branding its products for the retail market only in 1997. "We are confident that we would be able to position our brands," said MM Singh, adviser to WM at their Chuapara Tea Estate.

WM already has two brands in the market, Tez and Premium Gold, which have carved 9 per cent market share in the branded segment. While Tez is doing very well in Assam, Punjab and a few other states, Premium Gold is becoming very popular in states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana, Singh said.

WM set up its mechanised polypack unit at Chuapara Tea Estate in the Dooars region at an investment of Rs 10 crore. The processing and packaging capacity is 15,000 kg per day. Around 90 per cent of the tea processed and packaged here comes from the tea estates of WM spread over mostly in Assam and Dooars, Singh said.

WM managers say that the company would be able to increase its branded tea sale from 10 million kg at present to 30 million kg in the next three years. However, most of WM's growth is still happening in the commodity section. For, while the company registered a growth of 16 per cent in 1999, the packed tea segment grew only be 9 per cent. WM will soon come out with a new logo so that it could be distinguished in the market, Singh said.