India's Tata Tea Ltd. is exploring a joint venture in China to make and market green tea and aims to add more non-tea beverages to its portfolio to tap shifting consumer preferences, company officials said. 

Tata Tea, part of the salt-to-software Tata group, is considering a joint venture in China to produce and market green, white and instant teas that would tap growth in Japan and the Far East.

"Consumer demand is shifting from carbonated soft drinks to non-carbonated, functional beverages," Tata Tea Managing Director Percy Siganporia said.

"Developed markets show a clear trend in favour of unconventional beverages such as enhanced water, and tea is morphing into a health beverage," he said

Enhanced water is a fast-growing, high-margin category in the United States, where Glaceau is the number two brand with nearly 17 percent of the market after PepsiCo Inc.'s Propel, with nearly 36 percent.

The segment is forecast to grow to $8.6 billion in 2010, indicating a compounded annual growth rate of nearly 32 percent, Tata Tea said.

"Our focus will be to support Glaceau in every possible way, and the focus will be the United States market," Tata Tea Vice Chairman R. Krishna Kumar said.

"If in two to three years' time, Glaceau decides to go international, then India will feature prominently in that plan."

Source:佚名