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Tag: Lipton

  • Marc Busain Assumes Ceo Role At Lipton Teas: A Strategic Move For Growth

    Marc Busain Assumes Ceo Role At Lipton Teas: A Strategic Move For Growth

    Marc Busain has officially assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Lipton Teas and Infusions, effective from October 1. He takes over from Pierre Laubies, who served in the position for one year before returning to his duties on the company’s supervisory board.

    Marc Busain’s New Role

    Busain’s appointment comes with high expectations and excitement, as he said, “Tea, in all its varied forms, is an exciting growth category and I look forward to working with the talented team at Lipton Teas and Infusions to ensure there’s a tea for everyone.”

    Busain brings with him a massive wealth of experience in the consumer goods sector. He spent the majority of his professional career at Heineken, starting as a member of the finance team in 1995. Over years of dedicated service, he ascended into several leadership positions spanning Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

    Busain’s commitment and leadership ability led him to join Heineken’s global executive team as the President for the Americas in 2015.

    Leadership Confidence in Busain

    Jean-Remy Roussel, the current chair of the supervisory board, praises Busain’s appointment as a strategic move for the company. “Marc has tremendous global experience in the consumer packaged goods sector and a track record of consistently delivering growth,” Roussel commented. “With his strong commercial acumen and leadership, I have every confidence that the world’s leading tea business is in good hands.”

    Busain’s appointment signifies a strategic move for Lipton Teas and Infusions. His broad experience and proven track record in the consumer packaged goods sector are seen as assets that will steer the company towards its growth goals.

    Questions & Answers

    Who is the new CEO of Lipton Teas and Infusions?
    Marc Busain has been appointed as the new CEO of Lipton Teas and Infusions, effective from October 1.

    Who did Marc Busain replace as CEO of Lipton Teas and Infusions?
    Busain replaced Pierre Laubies, who served as CEO for a year before returning to his duties on the company’s supervisory board.

    What experience does Marc Busain bring to his new role as CEO of Lipton Teas and Infusions?
    Busain brings a wealth of global experience in the consumer packaged goods sector, having spent most of his career at Heineken. He held several leadership roles across Europe, Africa, and the Americas, and served as the President for the Americas in Heineken’s global executive team in 2015.

  • Unilever sells 34 tea brands

    Unilever sells 34 tea brands

    Unilever has sold its global tea business – including T2 – to private equity company CVC Capital Partners, for €4.5 billion ($A7 billion)

    The business, called Ekaterra, owns 34 brands including Lipton, PG tips, Pukka, T2 and Tazo and turned over €2 billion ($A3.1 billion) last year. The company has 11 production factories on four continents and tea estates in three countries.

    “The evolution of our portfolio into higher-growth spaces is an important part of our growth strategy for Unilever,” said CEO Alan Jope of the reason for the divestment. “Our decision to sell Ekaterra demonstrates further progress in delivering against our plans.

    “We are proud of the place that our tea business has in our company’s history. We look forward to seeing Ekaterra, with its strong brands and global footprint, prosper under CVC’s ownership.”

    The sale is scheduled to be settled during the second half of next year and is subject to receipt of regulatory approvals. The deal excludes Unilever’s tea business in India, Nepal, and Indonesia, as well as its joint venture with Pepsi Lipton covering ready-to-drink teas, and any associated distribution business.

    Pev Hooper, a managing partner at CVC Capital Partners described Ekaterra as “a great business, built on strong foundations of leading brands and a purpose-driven approach to its products, people and communities”.

    “Ekaterra is well-positioned in an attractive market to accelerate its future growth, and to lead the category’s sustainable development. We look forward to working with the team to realise Ekaterra’s full potential,” said Hooper.

    Inside FMCG understands rival private-equity firms Advent and Carlyle unsuccessfully bid for the business.

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  • T2 Singapore launches with kaya toast brew

    T2 Singapore launches with kaya toast brew

    For its first outlet in Asia, Australian tea chain T2 Singapore has launched with a new brew that pays homage to local breakfast staple kaya toast.

    Its Singapore Breakfast tea is a blend of pu’er (Chinese fermented tea), green tea, coconut flakes and roasted rice. It is among more than 150 types of teas at the new store, in the 313@Somerset mall.

    T2 CEO Nicky Sparshott says Singapore was picked for the company’s Asian debut because of its “strong tea-drinking culture with multicultural influences, from black tea dating back to the colonial period to Asian tea beverages such as teh tarik – Malay for pulled tea – and green tea”.

    Covering 550 sqft (51 sqm), the store offers myriad teas, from black, green and white to rooibos, and herbal and fruit-based tisanes.

    Bestsellers for the company include French Earl Grey, which has bergamot-infused black tea perfumed with rose and sunflower petals and hibiscus; Green Rose, green tea paired with mango, papaya and rose petals; and Fruitalicious tisane, a blend of cranberries, blueberries, dragon fruit and goji berries.

    t2-tea-c

    Singapore has been among T2’s top five markets in online sales over the past two years, and Sparshott hopes the country’s reputation as a tourism hub can expose the tea company to visitors in Asia.

    “Infinite possibilities”

    “Tea has moved from being a beverage for old people to having infinite possibilities … there is an appetite for new invention in teas,” she says.

    Like its more than 75 outlets in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the US, the T2 shop in Singapore has black floor-to-ceiling shelves lined with brightly coloured tea boxes, tea pots, cups and accessories. Taking centre stage is an island brew bar with tea-making apparatus, where six types of hot and iced tea beverages are brewed daily for customers to sample.

    Sparshott says customers can also attend regular tea masterclasses and tea-blending sessions through the tea community group T2 Society, which is free to join.

    She says T2 intends to open another three or four outlets in Singapore in the coming year.

    Started in Melbourne in 1996, T2 was acquired by Unilever in 2013, which owns such tea brands as Lipton.

    Other tea boutiques in Singapore include the TWG Tea chain and The 1872 Clipper Tea Company, which opened a tea retail shop-cum-bar in Ion Orchard last April.

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