Health is one of the major concerns of people all over the world. Individuals and governments dedicate a significant portion of resources to preventing and fighting diseases that threaten to mitigate the health and well being of a person. What if there was a way to increase the chances of achieving positive health outcome while at the same time enjoying yourself? Such a proposition is appealing to many people who wish to enjoy good health without dedicating too much time or financial resources to the project.
Some of the solutions for achieving good health include sticking to diets designed to optimize health or consuming exotic products that are said to have health benefits. These solutions require a lot of effort from the individual and they may be expensive. Luckily, there is an option that promises to deliver health benefits to a person at a minimal cost and without any special effort. This solution is tea.
Humans have known about the health effects of tea for thousands of years. Yongping and Fenwick reveal that as early as 3000BC, the Chinese were using tea as a medicinal drink (193). It is well established that tea contains some chemicals that give it medicinal values. The drink has an attractive aroma and a good taste making it popular all over the world. From personal experience with family and friends, I understand that regular consumption of tea can play a curative and preventative health role.
Recently, many cafes and tea shops all over the country have started promoting tea as a beverage with medicinal value. However, most of the claims made by the tea promoters are unsubstantiated by research and often false. For example, there are instances where tea is promoted as a weight loss product or an alternative to conventional medicine.
As a tea enthusiast, I am aware of the various health benefits and limitations of tea consumption. This is therefore an appropriate research topic for my paper because it I have a personal interest in the beverage and it is popular all over the world. In addition to this, there is an abundance of information on the topic making it easy to determine the truth of the health effects of tea.
Personal Significance
I have a strong interest in the topic because there is a history of cardiovascular diseases in my family. Naturally, I would like to look for ways to prevent these life threatening diseases from afflicting me or the people that I love. I am motivated to discover solutions that are not only low cost but can be easily integrated into the daily life of an individual. My research will help me better understand the effects that consumption of tea has in mitigating the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases.
There are many different types of tea available in the market today. Yongping and Fenwick reveal that there are hundreds of teas in production and they fall under different categories (193). The composition of the different teas varies significantly according to species, season, age of the leaf and climate. This suggests that the health effects of tea will vary depending on the particular type of tea being consumed. As a tea enthusiast, I have been exposed to a wide variety of teas.
It would be beneficial for me to discover the particular teas that have the greatest health benefits. Through my research, I will be able to review the properties of the different teas and therefore positively identify the most health beneficial tea. I will be able to share this information with my family and friends therefore ensuring that they are able to derive the most benefit from tea consumption.
Another reason why this topic interests me is because I would like to discover ways of reduce the financial burden of diseases in the country. Many people agree that part of the reason why health care costs are high is because most people rely on curative health care services instead of working to prevent diseases.
However, research shows that preventative care is cheaper and more beneficial. Studying research on the health benefits of tea is therefore important to me because I believe that preventative healthcare is better than curative health care services. Preventative strategies have the potential to significantly reduce the mortality and costs associated with the healthcare industry. Some of the diseases that tea protects the individual against are life threatening and very expensive to cure.
By adopting preventative care, people can mitigate the occurrence of these illnesses which include cardiovascular diseases and cancers. By doing this, the enormous costs needed to treat the individual in hospital after succumbing to the disease and the consequential outpatient costs can be avoided. This will lead to significant financial savings by the person.
Finally, this topic best suits me since I am something of a tea enthusiast. While coffee is the drink of choice for many of my peers, I prefer tea. Even before I know of the pharmaceutical activities of tea, I enjoyed this drink due to its attractive aroma and good taste. Over the years, I have sampled many flavors of tea cultivated from different regions of the world including Southeast Asia, Central Africa and South America.
Once I became aware of the health benefits of tea, I was even more drawn to it. Carrying out research on a beverage that interests me will be a hugely satisfying activity. I will be passionate about my work and will find real life applications for the information that my research produces. In addition to this, the research will provide me with solid facts which I will use to convince more people to start consuming tea.
Broader Significance
This topics significance goes far beyond my personal interest. The subject of tea and health is of importance to the global community. The demand for health care services is on the rise and more people are afflicted by diseases that can be prevented or cured by tea each year. As it currently stands, tea is already a very popular drink. Yashin and Boris declare that more than 4 billion people in the world drink tea today (226).
However, most of these consumers are unaware of the health benefits of specific types of tea. They therefore miss out on the opportunity to improve their health by consuming their beverage of choice. By being aware of the potency of specific tea varieties, consumers can benefit from tea consumption. Yashin and Boris confirm that among the different types of tea, green tea has the most potent health improving effects (226).
Studies confirm that green tea catechins reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancers due to their high antioxidant activities (Ruxton 287). This topic will have broad significance by bringing about greater awareness of the health effects of various tea species. It will help dispense of the wrong information given to people by unscrupulous tea merchants.
This is a very opportune time to engage in an in-depth research on the health benefits of tea for a number of reasons. To begin with, the cost of healthcare services is very high making it unaffordable to many people. Diseases are imposing a significant financial burden on individuals and the nation as a whole. A solution that promises to prevent or even cure certain illnesses at a reduced cost is welcome.
Through its medicinal properties, tea proposes to do this hence having a positive impact on the nation by reducing the financial cost of diseases. This is also a good time to increase the popularity of tea among US citizens.
While tea is a popular drink all over the world, its consumption levels in the US are not impressive. Coffee, which does not have medicinal values, is a far more popular beverage among Americans. This research will help popularize tea to a population that does not currently appreciate the many benefits that this drink has on health.
Researchability
Before delving into a topic, it is important to ensure that there is adequate information available for an in-depth analysis of the subject to be undertaken. I have taken care to ensure that there is a wide range of information on my topic from credible sources. Even before I carried out a preliminary search on the topic, I was confident that I would find good sources since the topic of tea and health has been popular for years. Typing in tea and health in a search engine produced millions of hits.
This confirmed my previous premise that this subject is popular and a lot has been written on the topic. There were entire books dedicated to the subject of tea and its many health benefits. The book Phytochemicals in Health and Disease by Yongping Bao and Roger Fenwick provided a good preliminary review of tea and its health impacts. The authors highlighted the various chemicals available in tea and how they react to bring about pharmaceutical effects.
In addition to this, I found Journal articles that discuss the beneficial effects of tea on human health. These articles expound on the studies that have been carried out to discover the bioactive compounds found in tea and how they react to being about health benefits (Ruxton 287). I have collected a number of journal articles and I am sure that they will be of invaluable use when coming up with the final research paper on the topic.
Conclusion
I am very excited about the prospects of carrying out research on the health benefits of tea. In addition to being a tea enthusiast, I have a vested interest in acquiring in-depth knowledge on the health benefits of tea. I have already confirmed that there is adequate and credible information available to make it possible for me to write a good research paper.
Going though these sources as I work on the assignment will be a very fulfilling endeavor for me. I have some knowledge gaps on the subject and I am convinced that this assignment will ensure that I am not only fully informed but that I can pass on the information to others. I look forward to beginning my research on this topic and I am convinced that it is the best topic for this assignment.
The influence of individual growers on the price of tea
The individual growers do not have much influence on the price of tea. The major influence on the price of tea comes from the forces of demand on the market. In the case where the supply is much far more than the demand for the tea, the price is brought down. On the other hand, in the case where demand is above the quantity supplied, the price will go up as well. In some cases, the individual growers make attempts to influence the price, but then they do not succeed.
The dictation of the tea prices is carried out by auction and this implies that the cost of production is not considered in determining the price of tea on the market. It is not the producers to determine the price but rather, it is the buyers who determine the price at which the tea has to be sold (Anonymous, Never so good for British tea drinkers, 2007).
Role of transnational corporations in the tea market
Taking the case of India as a tea-producing country and also as a major tea consumer, in this country two major transnational corporations deal in the tea market. These corporations are Unilever and Tata Tea. The corporations are dominant in the tea market and had a market share of 60 percent in 2005 of the branded tea sales. The corporations have played a major role in being significant employers in the tea sector. They have been employing thousands of people to work in the plantation for the corporations have been engaging in tea growing.
However, there has been a shift in regard to the operations these corporations have been in engaging in. Beginning from the year 2007, these corporations have opted to shift the operations from tea production to concentrate on purchasing the tea. The companies have realized that by engaging in buying and selling branded and processed tea products; they would bring up the level of their profits as compared to concentration on the tea production on the plantations. Between the years 2006 and 2005 Unilever was able to divest itself of the accountability of over ten thousand permanent employees.
Effects in changes in tea prices on the economies of the producing countries
According to Anonymous (TED case studies: India Tea and environment, 1997), India being the largest producer of tea is encountering stiff competition in the tea market. This problem is also faced with the other producer and powerful competitors of India in the industry. The tea prices have been going down the world over for the reason of having excess supply on the market. In addition, the major tea buyers such as Iraq, Russia and Iran have turned out not to be active following political reasons. The variations in the consumption trends have as well led to the falling in the prices. Despite the concerns Sri Lanka has regarding the tea market, it has acquired momentum over India in this market (Ali, Choudhry, and Lister,1997).
According to Anonymous (Never so good for British tea drinkers, 2007), taking the case in Uganda as a tea producing country, in this Country tea is the third biggest export earner. There has been the demonstration that failure of tea prices to move in line with inflation is a calamity for the economy of the nation and the growers as well as tea workers.
The increase in the prices in the shops of the manufactured tea does not necessarily translate into increased prices for the growers and the wages of the workers. Tea prices on the market are determined by way of auction and this implies that production cost is not very much taken into account in determining the prices of tea on the market.
This implies that there is need for the government concerned with tea production to intervene in offering better prices to the tea farmers as well as better wages for those people who work on the tea plantations. In the case where there are higher prices on the market, efforts should be made to ensure this translates into higher wages to workers and higher prices to the farmers. In the case where the prices go down, the farmer and the worker should be protected against low prices and wages respectively (Anonymous, Forecast for tea prices, 2009).
Demand factors that led to the rise in tea prices since 1995 and tea price volatility
According to Anonymous (Price of tea, 2009), tea prices were predicted to go over four dollars. This price increase was two times the price that was realized in the year 2005. This is due to the demand factors. There has been a stable strong demand even if there is an economic downturn. This implies that, even if there is a falling level of income among the consumers, these people have to still consume tea as it is an essential commodity.
Another reason for the rise in prices is the demand from China that is increasing, which is building up a taste for consuming more and more tea. More so, demand does not price elastic. Consumers are not prevented from consuming tea due to a price increase. Few substitutes for tea do exist and it only takes a very small portion of ones income (Anonymous: forecasts of tea prices, 2009).
Tea is different from other agricultural products such as cocoa and coffee in that it did not use to be vulnerable to price volatility. The tea prices remained stable in relative terms in comparison to the rest of the commodities in the course of the 1980s (Singh, S., et al., 1977). However, in the cause of the 1990s, there were fluctuations. Taking the case in India, as the level of uncertainty regarding agricultural operations, with higher reliance of tea production on the environment, the effectiveness, as well as efficiency of its manufacturing, is determined by the weather conditions (Anonymous, TED case studies: India Tea and environment, 1997). The price of the made tea is volatile and it is very difficult to forecast this price. This volatility in the price of tea results from such factors as international supply and demand (Roy, 2007). Price volatility can also result from other factors such as the fluctuations in the exchange rate and changeable demand. An example of changeable demand can be given by the collapse of the former Soviet Unions economy and this nation was a major buyer of the tea from India (Anonymous: Tea market a background study, 2002).
Reference
Ali R., Choudhry Y., and Lister D. W., 1997. Sri Lankas tea industry: succeeding in the global market, Parts 63-368. Washington: World Bank Publications.
Anonymous, 2009. Forecast for tea prices. Web.
Anonymous, 2007. Never so good for British tea drinkers. Web.
Tea and More (TAM), a large tea company, was founded in Los Angeles in 1985 under the name Global Tea. In its early days, the founders did not chase money and focused on finding the finest tea sorts and shipping them from specific suppliers overseas. When Jack Reynolds took over the company in 1992, the focus shifted toward marketing, expanding the stock, and ramping up production. By the 2000s, the businesses had increased the annual revenue but run into a common problem commonly referred to as growing pains.
Major Problems
Tea production happens in several stages with the primary being shipping, packaging, and selling. Due to the complicated nature of the process and the only production facility located far away from the headquarters, the company has been experiencing problems with customer service. Customer dissatisfaction is a complex, multi-level issue, and as of now, it is clear that employee turnover, sales representatives demotivation, the lack of new ideas, and management style are all at fault. To untangle this, Reynolds and his team need to start with one underlying problem and then proceed with the others.
Possible Solutions
TAM might brainstorm for ideas and try to launch new products in line with customers tastes and expectations. This might generate a spike of interest and an increase in sales, but in the long perspective, experimentation might not be sustainable if the core issues remain untackled.
Reynolds seems to experience a lot of pressure and stress out over the companys prospects which pushes him to take up too many responsibilities. He might consider changing his management style by reading self-development literature and hiring a business coach. In the process, he might feel relief and even adjust the workflow, but changes in a single person do not impact the entire company radically.
Addressing sales representatives demotivation, which accounts for the high turnover rate, might be time-consuming but worth it in the long run.
Choice and Rationale
Tea and More should consider Option C and focus on the employees engagement. They are the brands ambassadors and the mediators between the managing board and the customers. TAM needs a change that would come from within, and enhancing the corporate culture could be the key. Reconnecting with the sales representatives will help address all the other issues. A decreased employee turnover will mean a more effective passing of knowledge to new personnel. Engaged and happy staff will be more creative and generate more ideas regarding products and marketing strategies. Lastly, they will go the extra mile to check with the clients, remind them about payment dates, and gain feedback.
Implementation
The first way to achieve the goal would be by organizing coaching sessions where each employees potential would be recognized and motivation discovered. Facilitated small-group sessions were found to be beneficial for employees performance and showed long-term results (West et al., 2014). Second, it would be naive to think that the mission alone could drive a sales representative without appropriate monetary compensation. Reynolds needs to start listening to the employees complaints about transportation and out-of-pocket expenses and find a way to cover them. If the companys budget allows for such a measure, it would not be unreasonable to entertain the idea of acknowledging individual achievements through bonuses. Lastly, the staff needs to know what is expected of them. Hence, the managing board could set weekly, monthly, and yearly goals to stimulate performance.
Appendix
What can we do about lost sales due to poor customer service by outside contract sales staff?
It is evident that sales representatives are demotivated and no longer want to make an effort. Jack should not blame them for being discouraged and instead, help them unlock their potential. First, his human resource team and should investigate the everyday stressors and try to eliminate them. Second, the worlds most successful companies pay plenty of attention to building a corporate culture. Strengthening social ties, organizing events, and fostering horizontal relationships might be the answer. Third, Jack needs to understand that while money cannot buy happiness, the lack thereof most certainly will make an employee unhappy. If he rejects the idea of raising salaries, he should pay for gas.
How can we restore the attractiveness and power of the TAM brand for major customers so they arent lured away by low-cost, low-quality competitors?
The brand has always capitalized on uniqueness and sophistication, which justified higher prices. TAM might want to continue showing customers what makes the company stand out among the contenders. For example, it might market its products as ethical and organic. Nowadays, many customers consider a producers vision and reputation when purchasing so that they might be won over by the green rebranding.
How can we minimize stock outages and other inventory problems caused by the unpredictable customer ordering patterns and the continuing difficulty of getting faster production and delivery from EML in London?
TAM might benefit from past data analysis to predict future sales. Customers can be outstandingly unreasonable in their decisions, but a business owner can only do this much to motivate them to plan. First, since the company noticed that the same things happen every year, it can stock up on the most popular products and ensure that they are available up until the high season. Second, each interaction with a client can and should be personalized. A customer does not have a malicious intention by not purchasing enough and then demanding more products. Humans are forgetful and caught up in their routines, so a friendly, non-aggressive reminder via email might help.
How can we reduce collection time from 54 days to less than 40 days without alienating the very customer base TAM is trying to attract and retain?
When a business has to wait for the postal office to proceed with a payment, it might lose one to three days to the collection. Blaming customers for delayed payments is a natural but fairly unproductive way to react to the situation on hand. Now, payables and receivables can be easily calculated and terms adjusted so that the float time is reduced. The main problem is enforcing collection policies without repelling customers. One way to go about the issue is training personnel to use tracking software and making calls or sending letters with the payment is due. This strategy, however, might prove to be ineffective, and in this case, TAM might want to consider setting up a bank account for automated payments. This way, customers needs for easier money transfers would be met, and they would be more willing to comply.
What decisions should we make regarding experimentation with new tea varieties, such as the Christmas Mint tea that fell flat last season? Can we afford to continue such experiments? Can TAM afford to stick only to its basic teas and not compete in the new and improved tea market so heavily advertised by competitors?
It appears that the Christmas Mint flopped not because of its taste properties or overall quality but due to the poor effort to market it. Tea and More cannot afford to experiment with launching new products before developing a solid strategy. The marketing director might want to research the target audience and find appropriate advertising channels, be it traditional media or social networking. Apart from advertising, there is plenty of theoretical approaches such as VRIO-analysis that could be used to evaluate the uniqueness of an upcoming product. That being said, sticking to basic teas only contradicts the philosophy of the company built around rarity and sophistication.
What havent we thought of? Where else can financial advantages and process efficiencies be achieved?
Jacks leadership style seems to be somewhat overbearing and could be classified as micromanagement. While caring about the companys growth is a positive thing, his apprehension, and inability to delegate put a strain on his mental health and employees engagement. There is not enough information on how Tea and More handle human resources development issues, but the business would sure benefit from hiring a specialist that would evaluate the inner climate and offer solutions. Such a specialist could study the companys vision closely and hire new staff in accordance with the companys values. Further measures aimed at fostering a friendly corporate culture would reduce the turnover rate.
Reference
West, C. P., Dyrbye, L. N., Rabatin, J. T., Call, T. G., Davidson, J. H., Multari, A.,& & Shanafelt, T. D. (2014). Intervention to promote physician well-being, job satisfaction, and professionalism: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Internal Medicine, 174(4), 527-533.
The performance level of any product in the marketplace depends on its reception by the target consumers relative to other competing brands placed in the same market. Marketing encompasses one of the noble activities adopted by any organisation in an effort to create awareness of value for its products and services. A fundamental interpretation of the marketing function in an organisation is that marketing entails the art of selling.
However, selling is only a small fraction of concerns of marketing for a product like the Dilmah Ceylon tea brand since selling is accomplished in an environment dominated by various multinational competing brands such as the Unilever tea.
Marketing products involving stiff competition in terms of both value and volume entails market research, market segmentation, setting of marketing strategies, evaluation of the marketing environment, and positioning (Kotler et al. 2009). This paper considers these aspects of marketing in the discussion of the marketing of the Dilmah Pure Ceylon Tea brand in the Australian market.
Background to Dilmah Ceylon Tea brand
Ceylon (Sri Lanka) is located in the Indian Ocean and historically, the nation is famous for spices, beauty, and tea coupled with gems (Herath 2004). Natural resources coupled with the strategic location of the island made it primary area of interest for foreigners. In particular, foreign inversion by the Europeans was driven by spices coupled with the need to establish a base for control of India (Herath 2004).
The presence of the Europeans in Sri Lanka was particularly important in the development of Ceylon as an agricultural nation. According to Herath (2004, p.1), by 1948, the most important export crops were tea (65%), rubber (13%), and coconut products (19%). Despite the size of Ceylon in the mid 1950s and 1960s, the country accounted for 20 per cent of all tea consumed across the globe. As depicted by appendix 1, tea has been an important crop grown in Ceylon between 1965 and 1998.
Although Ceylon tea was consumed in many countries since the commencement of tea exportation from Sri Lanka, the largest exportation to Australia took place between 1960s and 1970s. This exportation accounted for 70 per cent of the total tea consumed (Arambewela 2013).
Nevertheless, as Arambewela (2013, p.506) notes, the Ceylon tea market share started to decline in the early 1980s, both in terms of volume and value, and an overhaul of the Ceylon tea marketing strategy was thus considered necessary to arrest this decline. One of the adopted strategies involved rebranding Ceylon tea brand, while ensuring that the new brand continued to represent quality perceptions of the Ceylon tea brand amongst its consumers.
The above concern led to the creation of the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand in 1984. During this period, the Australian tea market had many other competing brands at multinational and national levels. According to Arambewela (2013, p.506), these brands included Lipton, Bushells, Lanchoo, Tetleys, Harris, and Twining.
The brands had managed to establish an immense market share for tea Australia. This aspect made Dilmah Pure Ceylon Tea brand to encounter an immense threat whilst making a new entry in the market. This assertion means that marketing environment for the new brand was not welcoming. Any effort to develop a marketing strategy aimed at winning back the market share for Ceylon Tea brand established in the early 1960 to late 1970s called for scrutiny of the marketing environment for the brand.
Marketing environment for Dilmah Ceylon Tea
Products are offered for sale in a market comprising of substitutes. This assertion means that various factors influence successful placement and the actual sale of products in the marketplace. At an organisational level, such factors emanate either internally within an organisation or externally.
In an attempt to develop a successful marketing plan, it is crucial to conduct a thorough analysis of internal and external factors that affect the performance of a product in the market environment. Competition entails one of the factors, which shape the marketing environment. The figure below shows various factors, which shape competition.
Factors shaping competition in a marketing environment
Source: (Keller 2004, p.71)
A number of factors influence decisions made by the marketing team for any product including the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand. From the PEST EL organisational analysis approach, these factors are political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors (Gerry, Kevan & Whittington 2005).
For the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand, political environment affects the performance of the product via taxing policies since taxes are levied from the profit margins upon the selling of a product. These taxes are incorporated in setting of price of the tea products sold in Australia.
Since profit margins per item are lower for cheaper products, which may be of equal quantity and quality with Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand, cheaper brands are more likely to make higher sales volumes in comparison to Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand. The overall effect of this scenario in performance of a brand is more pronounced where the market demand is driven by price concerns.
From the perspective of economic factors, the selling economic environment for Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand is characterised by intensive competition and influx of various imported tea product brands from Sri Lanka and other parts of the world including East Africa, into the Australian market.
The influx of new tea product brands emanates from new importing organisations seeking to acquire part of the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brands market share in the Australian market.
Social factors act as an immense success factor for the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand. Arambewela (2013, p.506) confirms that the marketing environment of Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand is affected by social factors when he states that the advent of tea bags, green tea, and herbal tea products was a direct result of trends towards convenience and healthy lifestyles.
This trend has had a major impact on the marketing of tea in Australia. In search of convenience, tea consumers also try other alternative products such as coffee. This aspect implies that the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand faces major marketing challenge for ensuring customer loyalty to the product.
Managing a product delivered in the national market calls for the need of embracing technology in management of chain supplies and logistics. The Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea-brand management team handles large size of information relating to purchases, sales, and even the workforce data.
Fhe ever-changing technological developments and challenges of increased costs of learning business underscore yet a major challenge encountered in the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand marketing environment. These challenges are articulated to the needs of keeping software application updated in an effort to ensure competitiveness in terms of effectiveness in handling all product-related information.
Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand embraces the use of tea bags as a means of packaging. This aspect creates the concern of environmental impacts of the brand in the manner of disposal of these bags.
Environmental concern for the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand varieties is of great concern to the company especially given that Australia has policy frameworks to guide disposal of products and products associated wastes with the best practice being entirely environmentally green. Such legal provisions have the impact of increasing the costs of packaging of tea products. The tea bags used must be biodegradable.
Even though the above factors affecting the operation environment for any product are important, they are incomplete without discussing the competitive force in the market place. From the context of substitutes, the greatest threat for the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand emanates from carbonated beverages coupled with coffee.
The main driver for consumption of these substitutes in comparison to tea mainly entails search for convenience coupled with search for variety (Arambewela 2013). This realisation suggests that the creation of a variety of the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand to suit different consumer needs especially differing levels of convenience may help to reverse the consumption of alternative products in favour of tea.
Australia constitutes an attractive market for various tea brands. Arambewela (2013, p.506) supports this assertion by noting that Australia is among the largest tea-consuming countries in the world, with per capita consumption of around 0.55 kilograms. Table 1 below shows the extent and the degree of rivalry of competition of tea brands in the Australian market.
Table 1: competitions of tea brands in Australia
Company/brand
Value %
Volume%
Unilever
34.9
35.5
AB Food & Beverage
20.8
21.0
Dilmah
13.9
11.7
Tata global
11.5
11.5
Nerada
5.7
7.1
Madura
4.5
3.5
Private labels
2.3
3.5
Others
6.4
6.1
Source: (Arambewela 2013, p.506)
From the table above, AB foods coupled with Unilever constitute the major key multinational players in the Australian tea market. The two players account for 56 per cent of the total tea market share. This aspect means that other competing brands including the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand battle to gain dominance for the remaining 44 per cent market share. Arguably, this aspect implies that the competitive market environment for the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand in incredibly fragmented.
In comparison to the competing tea brands, the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand has the advantage of higher brand value in relation to product-sales market volume. This aspect is evident as Arambewela (2013, p.506) notes that in the year 2010, the grocery value of tea was estimated at $294.5 million, while the total volume stood at 11,184 tons.
This value was accompanied by 2.3 per cent rise in the tea market value nationally and 2.1 per cent rise of tea sales volume. Although market share competition from various rival multinational organisations was immense, Dilmah acquired 14 per cent market share from the paradigms of market value and 12 per cent market share in the context of tea market volume. The aforementioned statistics suggest the existence of room to capitalise on positioning the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand as a high-value quality tea product.
However, as argued before, the consumption trends of tea products are subject to social factors manifesting themselves in terms of changing lifestyles depending on demographic characteristics of consumers. This assertion implies that while attempting to position the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand appropriately, focus on mechanisms of market segmentation is important to prevent the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand loyal consumers from trying new alternatives to tea in the quest to satisfy their emerging lifestyles.
Market segmentation for Dilmah Ceylon Tea
For a firm to succeed in placing its brand strongly, it needs to determine its market segment precisely. Market segmentation encompasses division of consumers into subsets constituted by common needs in terms of consumption of goods and services offered for sale (Yelkur 2007). Figure 2 below shows various ways of segmenting a market
Fig 2: levels of segmentation
Source: (Yelkur 2007, p.107)
After segmentation, appropriate market campaigns are set to target the subsets. For the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand, market segmentation can be accomplished in two main ways, viz. demographic segmentation, and psychographic segmentation. Demographics refer to the characteristics of people such as age, religion, gender/sex, and social class among others (Menon et al. 1999).
Psychographic segmentation is based on the reason why people buy products and services. According to Xiaoni and Prybutok (2008, p.9), by creating psychographic profiles, marketers are in a position to understand the motivation and conscious drives of a target audience. In terms of segmentation, psychographics encompass the peoples opinions and interests coupled with opinion variables. Pictures 1 below shows how psychographic segmentation may be accomplished
Picture 1: psychographic segmentation
Source: (Xiaoni & Prybutok 2008, p.9)
From the context of demographic segmentation, through new media, the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea-brand target group is young people who are highly accessible to social media and Internet-based buying and selling systems. Studies show that people whose age falls between 10 and 45 years highly embrace the Internet (Maktoba, Ian & Sonny 2011).
This aspect means that such people are more likely to use the social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace among others. This group of people forms the main target subsets for marketing campaigns employing the benefits of the social media such as speed and cost-effectiveness in the promotion of brand or brand varieties.
The attitudes and interests of people for different products are dependent on various variables such as preferences. From the paradigms of psychographic segmentation, the target populations are the Australian people and other people from different nations residing in Australia.
These segments are divided into the middle class and working class persons. Offering products for sale at large retail shops such as supermarkets can be the most effective way of reaching out for the middle class and working class as such classes are likely to shop in supermarkets as opposed to small stores (Simon 2007).
While targeting this group of people, it is important to maintain high quality and value-driving forces for sale of the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand varieties, since the middle class and the working class people are highly responsive to quality standards of products and services (Philport & Arbittier 2007). This assertion means that for success in restoring the early 1960s to 1970s dominance of the Ceylon tea in the Australian marketplace, an effective Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand positioning strategy is of great importance.
Brand positioning is enhanced through developing unique identifiers of an organisation so that when customers see the identifiers, the images of the products and services offered by the organisation are invoked. Customers not only buy a product or pay for a service, but also they pay for the brand image (Holt & Quelch 2004).
According to Keller (1998, p.27), brand image is a perception of customers when they see a brand and reflected by brand associations in their mind. This aspect implies that brand positioning refers to the manner in which an organisation wants its customers to think about its products or services. Ceylon tea is not a new brand in Australia (Arambewela 2013); hence, great efforts are required to ensure that the target market segments are aware of the continued quality presence of the Ceylon tea in the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand.
For an organisation to penetrate the target markets effectively, it requires to differentiate its brand from all other brand of the competitors. Brand differentiation refers to the unique symbols or any other means of identifying and distinguishing an organisation from other organisations even though two or more organisations offer similar products or services (Hill & Ettenson 2005). Organisations not only sell products or charge for their services, they also sell their brands.
A number of elements including the brand name, logo sounds, tagline, tastes, and scents among others identify brands. Dilmah should deploy a unique logo in the Australian market in an attempt to make the target market perceive it as uniquely offering tea product varieties. Slogans such as I like Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand experience can incredibly aid in soliciting for happy thoughts amongst customers whenever they see Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea advert or even get the urge to take tea.
Management of the marketing mix variables for Dilmah Ceylon Tea brand
Marketing mix embraces various choices that organisations make to ensure that their products or services are availed to the market (place) at the right price using the appropriate promotional strategies (Menon et al. 1999). Marketing mix for the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand encompasses four mains aspects, which include place, price, promotion, and the product.
Place
The place of sale of the product is in all supermarkets, hypermarkets chain stores, and even in local stores across Australia. This place is justified by the view that marketing of the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea targets people of all social economic status. This aspect makes it possible to place the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea.
Failure to offer the product at all the places where the Dilmah presence is felt is tantamount to breach of a strong brand positioning strategy pursued in the Australian tea market. In a place of sale, brand needs to present good features (Rust, Zeithaml & Lemon 2008). For instance, the brand should be appealing to the target market segments.
Product
The product offered for sale is the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea and its brand. In Australia, Dilmah presents a collection of product varieties represented by the brand of the Dilmah. Arambewela (2013, p.507) notes that these product varieties range from gourmet black tea, original gardens teas, green tea, decaffeinated tea, real white tea, organic tea, and real chai to a variety of herbal infusions.
Hence, the success of the Dilmah brand in the new market is a measure of the success of the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea. Ensuring that customers are connected and maintained requires the creation of a dialogue that is sensible with the customers. Holt and Quelch (2004, p.73) posit, the importance of brand in a business strategy affirms a paradigm of calculating its economic value called brand equity.
Brand equity entails a long-term investment that Dilmah has to manage effectively since it is the measure of economic value for a company. Without effective management of the brand equity for Dilmah, it is practically impossible to gain optimal profitability for the new Ceylon tea brand, viz. Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea.
Pricing strategy
Price is an important aspect for recapturing the 1960s to 1970s market share for the Ceylon tea brand in the Australian tea market. Since some multinational companies have been in a position to acquire some of the Ceylon tea brands market share through low pricing strategy, it is important for Dilmah to consider the possibility of deploying low-price strategy to re-penetrate the tea market.
However, Khosla (2010, p.220) warns that while employing this strategy, it is crucial to note that the price of a product involves the examination of customers perceptions and rival products and the costs of manufacture. The price of a product is set such that an organisation is in a position to cover its direct and indirect costs and earn a profit margin.
Price for the products offered by the Dilmah tea product in the Australian market should be set such that the target market population will buy large enough number of products for the company to make a significant profit margin that would make it break even and deliver value to its investors.
Promotional strategy
People share information on the experiences of consuming various products through various forms of media especially the Internet and social media.
Consequently, these platforms form some of the promotional media that the Dilmah should prioritise. In essence, through the social media and the Internet, it is possible to reach a large number of people globally with minimal expenditure of financial resources (Abhamid & McGrath 2005). Customers themselves share promotional information. Point of sale promotion is also an additional cost-effective promotional technique.
Incidences of negative profiling of the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand varieties may be spread through the social media and the Internet. This aspect implies that in an effort to build a strong brand in Australia that will overcome the brand positioning challenges in the future, the Internet and the social media form important promotional platforms. Multinational organisations offer cheap tea brands developed from tea produced in Sri Lanka and other places.
Pursuing low pricing strategy to compete effectively with the multinational organisations requires Dilmah to minimise costs. Apart from the limited use of traditional media such as newspapers and magazines coupled audio and audio visuals to alert people about the renewed brand of Ceylon tea in the Australian market, point of sale promotion is also incredible in retaining new and existing customers.
Conclusion
A major critical mechanism of inducing increased consumption of an organisations brand entails the development of customer satisfaction and loyalty to the brand through designing of an appropriate product marketing mix. Since this goal is unrealisable without prior knowledge of the marketing environment, this paper first discussed the nature of the marketing environment for Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea before progressing to offer a discussion of the product marketing mix of the Dilmah Ceylon tea brand.
The paper also argued that incorporation of brand in the design of marketing planning for the Dilmah Pure Ceylon tea brand is crucial since brand identifies and distinguishes an organisation from other organisations even though two or more organisations offer similar products or services.
Appendix 1: primary exports for Sri Lanka between 1965 and 1998: percentage composition at current prices, two-year averages
1965-66
1976-77
1979-80
1984-85
1989-90
1997-98
Primary exports
99.1
85.7
72.5
63.1
47.4
25.6
Tea
59.8
50.3
36.3
37.6
25.0
16.0
Rubber
17.2
16.4
15.5
8.0
4.7
1.3
Coconut products
13.1
8.7
8.7
6.5
4.4
2.3
Other primary products
9.0
10.3
12.0
11.0
13.3
6.0
Source: Herath (2004, p.3)
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Tea is one of the widely consumed beverages of all times. Amongst the black, white, and green tea types, the black tea accounts for three-quarter of the world’s tea consumption rate. Moreover, tea contains polyphenol substances and specifically catechins, which are antioxidants that are associated with many health benefits. Black tea is popular in the West, while green tea is highly consumed in the East (Ware par.24).
Similarly, the white and oolong tea forms are consumed the least according to the worlds’ tea consumption trends. Researchers have laid claims about the health benefits of tea with respect to its attributes and specifically the polyphenols, which are antioxidants and polychemicals. In the past, the majority of researchers dwelled on the common types of tea, viz. black and green, which are believed to contain higher percentages of the ingredients associated with health benefits than other forms. Evidently, tea has broad health benefits to consumers according to the available research. This paper will highlight the evidences to support the claim that tea can be used to prevent chronic diseases like cancer, heart diseases, and metabolic syndrome in respect to the researches conducted by different scholars.
Health benefits of tea consumption
According to a study by Ware, who is an associate professor, tea promotes health and helps in the prevention of chronic diseases (par.8). He further argues that several scientists base this claim on the polyphones components found in tea, which act as the main source of disease prevention. Some studies argue that some forms of tea assist in cancer, heart diseases, and diabetes prevention (Ware par.9).
Moreover, tea is considered to help in weight loss, through the breakdown of excess cholesterol and it keeps the mind alert. According to Thielecke and Bachmann, black tea increases the protective mechanisms in the body by reducing blood pressure and dangerous effects of fats in the arteries (25). The frequent and consistent consumption of tea reduces obesity by breaking down excess fats and it reduces the availability of type II diabetes, which is linked with the risk of coronary diseases. Ultimately, tea plays a very vital role in the body in the prevention of chronic diseases such as cancer, heart attack prevalence, and metabolic syndromes.
Role of tea in cancer prevention
Cancer has continued to be a threat to the modern society and this aspect requires the implementation of preventive measures. Cancer has the ability to multiply in the replication process limitlessly since the cells can grow fast (Kosuke and Nakachi 67). The green tea has polyphenols (antioxidants) that have free radical scavenging process, which prevents cells’ damage by cancer reactive oxygenated cells. According Carson and Riley, a certain study showed that men with prostate cancer who drank green tea experienced lesser tissue inflammation caused by the replication of cancer cells than those who do not take it (15). Furthermore, the study showed that the polyphenols could modify the inflammation of prostate cancer cells to prevent further replication (Carson and Riley 17).
Evidently, prostate cancer, which is common in the aged men, is comparatively lower in the Asian countries with high tea consumption rate than in the Western countries (Ware par.18). Prostate cancer is associated with inflammatory cells, which are controlled and contained by anti-inflammatory substances known as flavonoids in black tea. Flavonoids act as pathway signals to cells that counteract by reducing proliferation, and thus inducing apoptosis (Ware par. 27). Moreover, the body frequently secretes oxidants, which cause the friction of electrons that leads to the destruction of proteins and all genetic elements in the body. Consequently, the body is exposed to cancer prevalence. Fortunately, tea consumption helps to rectify such effects whereby the catechins, which are present in tea, inhibit several enzymatic activities that cause cancer.
Moreover, tea consumption assists in the protection against carcinogenic chemicals that causes skin cancer through polyphonic components. The prevention and treatment of cancer can be done through metastasis of skin cancer using green tea. According to Boon, Olatunde, and Zick, oral administration of green tea polyphenols can reduce the ultraviolet (UV), tumour growth, the multiplication, and the B-induced tumour conditions (19).
A research on this issue showed that individuals treated with UVB and given green tea polyphenols had reduced matrix metalloproteinase processes. The study further concluded that the administration of polyphonic constituents of green tea cause barriers to angiogenic conditions of cytotoxic T, which are cells necessary for tumour growth (Boon, Olatunde, and Zick 27). The research findings indicated that EGCG and ECG constituents, which are present in green tea, inhibit the adhesion process of melanoma cells found in upper human skin. Consequently, the prevalence of skin cancer can be reduced and treated through the polyphonic elements in green tea to reduce the UV concentration in the skin.
Furthermore, green tea apparently treats breast cancer using the EGCG, which is one of its constituents (Pisters et al. 124). A research conducted on the issue revealed that EGCG caused a decrease in ERK1/2 cell growth (Pisters et al. 124). In addition, research shows that EGCG could help in the reduction of breast cancer growth by inhibiting the replication of cells.
How tea contributes to weight and heart diseases reduction
Tea constituents such as flavonoids, kaempferol and myricetin are commonly associated with risk-reduction of heart attacks (Béliveau and Gingras 89). The main cause of the fatal coronary heart diseases is the heavy accumulation of high cholesterol in the blood. The main important “antioxidant in green is the EGCG, which plays an important role in boosting the rate of body metabolism and inhibiting the enzymes that break down the norepinephrine hormone” (Béliveau and Gingras 89). When this “hormone is inhibited, the norepinephrine levels increase, which is in turn, signals the break down of fat cells” (Béliveau and Gingras 89).
Therefore, the high availability of the norepinephrine hormone creates favourable conditions for the excess fat break down. Moreover, the EGCG continuously reduces the fat absorbed by the body at every meal intake. Consequently, it reduces the cholesterol level in the body, thus leading to weight loss with a healthy heart.
According to Ware, green tea is the healthiest among all other beverages that one can drink to reduce weight, boost the body metabolism processes, burn calories, and reduce calories in the body due to the vigorous thermogenic processes that it initiates in the body (par.12). Normally, the body usually converts both fat and sugar into triglyceride in the liver and ileum, which is transported to the entire body. The green tea has the capability to react to such body threats using the polyphenol content by activating the enzymes responsible for dissolving the triglyceride.
Furthermore, further studies show that in every commercial weight loss and fat burning supplement, a tea ingredient is present (Ware par.3). This assertion holds due to the ascertained claims that green tea increases the burning of fat during exercise. In an experiment, “men who drank green tea extracts during their exercise burned 17% more as compared to the other men who did not use the supplement” (Ware par.7). Moreover, another study revealed that green tea “increased fat burning rate during a vigorous exercise and rest” (Ware par.7).Several studies indicate that green tea makes the body burn more calories due to the presence of the EGCG constituent.
Interestingly, studies show that the use of “green tea can make the body burn more calories even at rest” (Kosuke and Nakachi 175). For instance, a person who is used to burning 200 calories per day, an increase of 3% was recorded amounting to 60-80 more calories burned than normal. In fact, in a study of 60 obese individuals, the group that drank green tea extracts burned 183 more calories and lost an average of 3.3 kg for 3 months (Kosuke and Nakachi 180). In addition, green tea has been identified to reduce appetite, thus leading to low intake of calories into the body. Conventionally, green tea has been identified in many weight loss and body-metabolism boost programs. However, some trends cannot be generalised to every person due to different body systems, environment, genetics, and size. Studies show that “green tea may reduce the levels of amyloid alpha protein, which is linked to heart diseases” (Kosuke and Nakachi 196).
Effects of tea on metabolic syndrome diseases
Metabolic syndrome is a condition “characterised by hypertension, disturbed glucose, insulin metabolism, and obesity” (Carson and Riley 65). Research by Carson and Riley indicates that metabolic syndrome leads to diabetes and obesity (65). Recently, studies conducted showed that green tea is linked to reducing risks of cardiovascular as well as weight loss. Metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity expose the body of an individual to many metabolic syndromes. Moreover, biochemical measurements portray that the EGCG present in green tea resists insulin and the availability of plasma cholesterol in the body (Carson and Riley 71). In addition, decreased liver weight and triglyceride content significantly decrease due to the intake of green tea. Many studies on green tea show that its extracts contain the EGCG anti-oxidant that helps to break down fat in the end.
A study conducted showed that the “EGCG combined with fish oil had significant effects in weight reduction, hence obesity reduction to individuals” (Ware par. 5). Studies conducted on obese people indicated that individuals taking green tea are likely to shed more weight as compared to their counterparts not taking the same (Ware par.5). The results from the study indicate that persistent and continued treatment with EGCG would decrease the risk of obesity conditions that come with metabolic syndromes. In addition, the combination of the EGCG with fish oil can significantly help to inhibit intestinal tumour genesis, hence a healthy body.
According to the “National Cancer Institute”, a study was conducted whereby scientists recruited 35 obese individuals with metabolic syndromes diseases (par. 5). The individuals were “grouped into three whereby the first group was given four cups of green tea per day, the second group received four cups of water with added two capsules of green tea, while the third group received four cups of water daily” (Muktar and Ahmad 1698). After a period of two months, the scientists noted that the two tea groups’ plasma antioxidant content and glutathione increased significantly (Muktar and Ahmad 1698). Nevertheless, there was no observable change that was noted on the level of caroteid and tocopherol in their blood. However, there was no observed change in the water group whatsoever (Muktar and Ahmad 1698).
Ultimately, the research provided novel evidence that green tea catechins control the antioxidant makers in the metabolic syndrome. Furthermore, it was evident that green tea manages the blood sugar levels in hypertensive individuals who consume it (Béliveau and Gingras 123).
In addition, the levels of the LDL and HDL cholesterol improved more in the green tea group as compared to the water group. Moreover, the insulin glucose level (sugar level) improved after two months with green tea supplementation, but to the water group, nothing changed. Generally, the researchers concluded that the anti-inflammatory reaction of the green tea extracts gives a clear reason for the lowering of the blood pressure (Béliveau and Gingras 135). Consequently, the cardio-protective effects and the general reduction in oxidative stress and the inflammation activity were due to the hypo-phonic constituents in the green tea extracts. Therefore, the researchers were in a better position to conclude that green tea extracts can reduce blood pressure, inflammatory biomarkers, and oxidative stress to improve conditions for insulin to resist obesity and hypertension in patients (Béliveau and Gingras 139).
Counterclaims of the study
Even though tea has been claimed to prevent metabolic syndromes, heart diseases, and cancer, some facts have not yet been fully established. The study and tests on the individuals to provide substantial evidence on green tea benefits vary according to individual’s body size, environment, type of food, financial stability, and many other factors (Pisters et al. 127). Moreover, taking a lot of tea can be as well dangerous to one’s health. Drinking more tea can lead to more harm than the benefits therein. For instance, taking more tea causes dilation, which is the widening of the artery due to high blood pressure (Pisters et al. 130).
Furthermore, excessive tea consumption leads to allergies to some people. Therefore, it is very important to those individuals who experience such conditions to refrain from taking tea. In addition, polyphonic constituents, which are present in green tea, are believed to cause nutritional complications when taken in large amounts (Ware par.15). Despite preventing many diseases, tea consumption causes petulance, anxiety, and vomiting to some individuals. Since tea is a stimulant, “persons with asymmetrical heartbeats or anxiety attacks should take a serious caution when drinking it” (Ware par.17). For instance, breastfeeding mothers ought to take green tea in small amount like 2 cups daily. Unfortunately, amounts above this level can lead to miscarriage and several negative results to both the infant and the expectant mother (Ware par.18).
Several studies have been inconsistent, but some have been linked to reducing risks of breast, prostate, lung, and liver cancers (Thielecke and Boschman 135). The inconsistency of these results arises due to differences in methods of tea preparations and consumption, the type of tea environment studied, variation in genetics, and different responses to the people’s body mechanisms and other many varying lifestyle factors. Some studies did not find any reducing effects in cancer reduction in green tea (Thielecke and Boschman 140).
This aspect has created a heated debate towards the acceptance of the medicinal value of green tea due to differences in research findings by different scientists. Many researchers claim that the antioxidants in green tea have severe high blood pleasure effects if consumed unnecessarily, which many people do not take into considerations (Muktar and Ahmad 1699).
Almost all researches on the health benefits of tea have been left for the individuals’ decision. The green tea health benefits are still accompanied with serious side effects that leave researchers in a dilemma to recommend specific medical or dietary directions. Green tea has a flavonoid antioxidant that has many health rewards, but risks too (Boon, Olatunde and Zick 76). Flavonoids are said to bind the iron found in plants food such as vegetables. When tea is taken with such foods, it may deprive the body iron intake (Boon, Olatunde and Zick 85).
Moreover, green tea has some caffeine content that leads to nervousness, irregular heartbeats, and insomnia. Unfortunately, market tea contains high calories levels due to added sugar, which accounts to 50 calories per cup while others may even be higher. With all those extra calories coming from added sugar that has no nutritional value, it exposes the consumers to health risks unknowingly (Boon, Olatunde and Zick 96). In addition, tea causes teeth discolouring that only a few realise. Moreover, the research towards the risk reduction in cancer prevalence is inconclusive and yet to be determined.
According to the “National Cancer Institute”, most researches on this issue are not environmentally universal, and thus their results have great variance towards the conclusive cancer reduction effects by green tea (par. 7). Some researches do not factor in the difference in body sizes and the metabolism rate of each individual to standardise the results. Different studies conducted using the green tea extracts do not specify the concentration of the ingredients in the burning supplements. This aspect creates a discrepancy and methodology friction towards the sampling and testing of green tea. However, the concept of sugar content concentration is not clearly outlined in the research methods to cater for the blood sugar level watch (Muktar and Ahmad 1700). This misconception of information leads to study conflicts with respect to the differences in study methodologies. Ultimately, the general research process of each scientist seems to differ on the tea health benefits that culminate to instability and lack of confidence towards the cancer risk reduction in tea research.
Conclusion
Tea has many benefits, hence this paper supports the view that consumption of tea reduces the risk of cancer, weight gain, and heart diseases coupled with preventing and controlling metabolic syndrome diseases. From the studies conducted, research shows that tea has both positive and negative effects. However, the effects affect consumers differently depending on the tea type, the body size, the environment, the preparation method, tea concentration, and other factors. This paper supports the claims highlighted here since scientists have provided several evidences to support the same. With controlled and monitored intake, tea has more benefits than health risks. Even though conclusive recommendations have not yet been established to support the claims substantially, the scientific evidence supports the view that tea is highly beneficial to one’s health.
Works Cited
Béliveau, Richard, and Denis Gingras. “Green Tea: Prevention and Treatment of Cancer by Nutraceuticals.” Lancet 364.9439 (2004): 1021-1022. Print.
Boon, Heather, Folashade Olatunde, and Suzanna Zick. “Trends in Complementary/ alternative Medicine Use by Breast Cancer Survivors: Comparing Survey Data from 1998 and 2005.” BMC Women’s Health 7.4(2009): 3-9. Print.
Carson, Christine, and Thomas Riley. “Non-antibiotic therapies for infectious diseases.” Antimicrobial Resistance in Australia 3.27 (2003): 144-147. Print.
Kosuke, Imai, and Kaikea Nakachi.” Cross study of effects of drinking green tea on cardiovascular and liver diseases.” British Medical Journal 310.6981(1995): 693-696. Print.
Muktar, Hasan, and Nihal Ahmad. Tea polyphenols: Prevention of Cancer and Optimising Health. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 71. 6 (2000): 1698-1702. Print.
National Cancer Institute: Tea and Cancer Prevention: Strengths and limits of Evidence. 2010. Web.
Thielecke, Frank, and Michael Boschmann. “The Potential Role of Green Tea Catechins in the Prevention of the Metabolic Syndrome – A Review.” Phytochemistry 70.1 (2009): 11-24. Print.
Pisters, Katherine, Robert Newman, Brenda Coldman, Dong Shin, Faldo Khuri, Waun Hong, Bonnie Glisson, and Jin Lee. “Phase I trial of oral green tea extract in adult patients with solid tumours.” Journal of Clinical Oncology 19.6(2001): 1830-8. Print.
The need for alternative diagnostic methods is on the rise, especially on the use of plant extracts and phytochemicals rather seeking medical care from doctors and physicians. Researchers are working on developing preventive and curative drugs that have the least added chemicals. Research records assert that tea consumption is one of the mechanisms of reducing the onset of chronic diseases; however, the clinical implications are not clear. In Australia, for example, more than 50% of the total population use non-medically prescribed alternative medicine (Carson and Riley 144). However, the arising biasness between the health care medical providers and the alternative medication experts raise a series of concern. Tea extraction is from the green leaves of a plant called Camellia sinensis.
Consuming tea helps in preventing chronic diseases
The key function of tea is to provide stimulation to the body. However, extracts from tea accomplish many other biological functions other than the stimulation. Tea comprises of polyphenols, alkaloids, amino acids, carbohydrates, proteins, chlorophyll, volatile organic compounds, fluoride, aluminium, minerals, and trace elements. In vitro and animal experiments indicate that polyphenols extracts from tea affect the parthogenesis of several chronic diseases (Beliveau and Gingras 1021). Tea catechins act as antitumerigenic agents and immune modulators in immunodysfunction of transplanted tissues or introduction of carcinogens.
Tea controls the emergence and re-emergence of leukaemia. A research on green pigment in tea, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) shows its ability to control the spread of the chronic lympocytic leukaemia B cells isolated from patients suffering from leukaemia. Beliveau and Gingras (1022) records that tea produces angiogenic cytokine that prevents the apoptosis due to secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor, reducing chances of contraction of the heart disease.
Tea is an essential component in the control of the degeneration diseases of the heart. A specific concentration of catechins, which is the pigment that contains medicinal properties in tea, if injected into the human plasma show protective effect against the degeneration of the tumour cells of the body. Consequently, consuming tea or applying tea on an individual’s body reduces sunburn from the ultraviolet radiation.
Green tea prevent the development of tumor cells by activating the detoxification of the glutathione S-transferase and quinone reductase responsible for the protection of the tumor cells that cause chronic diseases. The principal polyphenols in green tea, EGCG, EGC, ECG, and EC and the theaflavins and thearubigins in black teas contain antioxidant that prevent cells from DNA damage due to the reaction of oxygen with cells (Beliveau and Gingras 1022).
In addition, tea limits the proliferation of the tumor cells. The consumption of tea reduces the damage of the cells due to the ultraviolet rays from the sun. This prevention technique reduces the chances of development of tissue cancer, as well as that of organs such as spleen, pancreas, and liver. Even though most scientists believe that tea reduces the chances of contracting such cancer, there is still no established mechanism on how the polyphenols prevent cancer, however, several evidences from human studies show link to cancer prevention.
Epidemiologic studies indicate a relationship between tea consumption and the reduction of cancer of the colon, breast, ovary, prostrate and lung cancer. A study of the treatment of 60 Japanese, divided into two groups, with green tea after a year indicates that those that were treated with tea showed low level of the above cancers while those not treated developed the cancer (Carson and Riley 145). However, there is inconsistency in the results since most researchers are unable to determine the dosage of the tea used. Other limitations of the study are genetic variation whereby some people develop allergy to tea drinks, and, therefore, show contradicting results.
Clinical trials investigate the role of tea and tea polyphenols in the control of cardiovascular diseases such as blood flow and pressure as well as the regulation of cancer of the heart. Recently, a trial on the effectiveness of tea and their polyphenols using people with leukoplakia for oral and heart cancer lesions indicates that the polyphenols have a depressive factor that reduced the size of the lesions after a period of six months. The group that did not receive oral polyphenols showed an increase in the size of the lesions. This indicated that green tea has a protective effect to the development of oral cancer.
Research statistics show that tea supplements of caffeine reduce the occurrence of precancerous lesions of the esophagus. The worsening of the condition leads to the development of cancer of the throat. Besides, tea polyphenols reduces the gastric content in the stomach. Polyphenols reduce the amount of serum pepsinogen in the stomach reducing the chances of eruption of stomach cancer. A high level of serum pepsinogen is associated with gastric atrophy, which is an indication of stomach cancer. In addition, green tea catechins or green extracts reduce the risk of prostate cancer. The catechins inhibit the development of tumour cells in the prostate, thus minimizing the possible occurrence of cancer. Conversely, research indicates that men who consume seven or more cups of tea are likely to develop prostate cancer.
Conclusion
Regardless of the importance of tea consumption in the control of chronic diseases, excessive consumption of tea has adverse effects on the health of users. For instance, fluoride in the tea causes tooth decay and damaging of the bones. The oxidation of the carbohydrates initiates tooth decay. Excess consumption of aluminium lowers blood clotting and the formation of haemoglobin that transports oxygen to the tissue.
Works Cited
Beliveau, Richard, and Denis Gingras. “Green tea: prevention and treatment of cancer by nutraceuticals.” Lancet 364.9439 (2004):1021-22. Print.
Carson, Christine, and Thomas Riley. “Non-antibiotic therapies for infectious diseases.” Antimicrobial resistance in Australia 3.27 (2003): 144-147. Print.
Japanese tea ceremony is world renowned for its peculiarity in rituals and its connection to the culture and history of Japan. The origin of tea plant was in mountain region of south Asia, and from there it reached China. In China, tea was used as a medicine and later it acquired the status of a beverage. From China, tea was brought to Japan by Buddhist monks and gradually became the favorite drink of Japan. Tea is consumed as a part of religious ritual and it becomes the part of Japanese culture. Also, it can be considered as an art form. It is closely related to other art forms such as architecture, gardening and ceramics. This essay will discuss three important points.
The first point discuss the development of tea ceremony in early period, the second point discuss the connection between Shogunate and further developments in tea ceremony, and the third point discuss the circumstances and reason behind the participation of women in tea ceremony.
The early period of tea ceremony is connected to the spread of Buddhism in Japan. For the Buddhists, tea was a part of their religious life, especially in meditation. Origin of tea ceremony is before 700 years ago and it was practiced by Zen Buddhist monks. The rituals related to tea reached Japan through Buddhist monks, who acquired this from China in 6th century. The history of tea and tea plantation in Japan is related to the effort of a Buddhist monk named Eisai who introduced tea seeds in Japan for the first time. (Sado (or Chado)).
After 200 years, it became a common ritual among the people of Japan. One can see that tea and the culture of tea ceremony reached Japan from China. Some Buddhist monks who went to China for religious studies brought tea to Japan. When one try to trace the historical background of tea ceremony in Japan, it can be seen that it originated in medieval ages and it is able to continue in this modern world with few changes. From this fact, it is evident that tea ceremony is a cultural quality of Japan which is able to withstand the hard blow of time.
A popular story about the origin of tea in Japan is related to the spread of Zen Buddhism in China and Japan from India. The practice of tea ceremony began in the honor of Bodhidharma, who was the founder of Zen Buddhism, who reached China in 5200. He meditated continuously for 9 years, and when he woke up from meditation, became angry and tore off his own eyelids. Tea bushes sprung up from that spot.
Another fact about origin of tea ceremony is related to samurai, and it was a ritual of sharing a cup of tea among samurai warriors.(Turay). When one tries to glance at history to know more about the history of tea ceremony in Japan, it can be seen that there are several phases of usage of tea in Japan. Initially, tea was introduced in Japan by Buddhist monks. Then it became a part of Japanese culture and it became the tradition of the people to conduct parties and tea competitions. By this way tea was accepted in Japanese society, as a part of Zen Buddhism and as a cultural trait. In fact, there is a close relation between Zen philosophy and tea ceremony.
The origin of tea ceremony in Japan was between 11th and 16th centuries. In the case of culture, Japan is more rigid than any other country in Asia. Japan did not allow westerners to enter their country and to have trade relations with them. For centuries, Japan was closed to trade and commerce.The procedures and steps of Japanese tea ceremony are simple. Here, goal of the host who is preparing tea is to please the guests by serving it in a pleasing bowl, in a calm and quiet atmosphere. The first step is to clear the serving bowls which is the symbol of cleanliness and purity. The next step is to boil a pot of water. The green tea powder is mixed with the boiling water.
After mixing, tea is served to guests. Before serving tea, a sweet treat to guests is important. The simplicity of this ritual is that all the guests must kneel down on the mat, facing the Kama or the kettle and the brazier. Here, the brazier is used to heat water to proper temperature. One can see that the use of brazier can be considered as the proper management of resources for maximum efficiency. In additon to this, the arrangement of tea stools which are used as the part of ceremony is arranged in an artistic manner. While serving the tea, the same tea bowl is shared by the host and the guests. After the ceremony, guests complement the host, ask questions, and admire utensils which are used for the ceremony. (Quah, Teng, and Lim).
In Japan, there are several schools of tea ceremony. But the root of major schools in Japan is at Sen No Rikyu who was an eminent tea master. His initial connection with tea ceremony was the traditional style under the tutelage of Kitamuki Dochin. Later, he learned a contemporary style which was conducted in a small tea house from Takeno Jo-o. Gradually, he became an important tea master to Oda Nobunaga, which was the leading damiyo in Japan. Rikyu pointed out that there are four fundamental qualities for a tea ceremony. They are: harmony, respect, purity and tranquility. (Zen Stories Of The Zamurai).
His contribution to tea ceremony is that he used to popularize the use of stone lanterns as garden ornamentations. Another contribution is that he designed new utensils for serving tea and discarded formal Chinese designs and adopted simple and typical Japanese designs. Based on his services to Shogunate, he received the Buddhist rank of koji (honorary title for a lay person who had lived a pious faithful Buddhist) from the Emperor Ogimachi at the Imperial Palace in 1585.
The order, art and simplicity of tea ceremony in Japan are due to the involvement of Shoguns between 11th and 16th centuries. There were samurai warriors to serve and protect shoguns. They used to present tea to samurais in special jars. One can see that tea was considered as a valuable thing that can be given as a present for achievement in battlefield. Samurais considered this present as most valuable because they can invite their friends and family members to celebrate their victory by conducting a tea ceremony. Through this way, shoguns in Japan unknowingly played an important role to popularize tea and tea ceremony among the common people of Japan.
Later, Zen Buddhism, which became popular in Japan, began to encourage tea ceremony and they accepted this as the part of their religious belief. (Michaud). Drinking tea helped the monks to increase their ability to meditate and it complemented their health. After the World War II, people of Japan became more democratic and traditional, so it helped the survival of tea ceremony as a way of socialization. It is evident that tea ceremony was able to influence the Japanese society and culture.
When one try to evaluate the origin and development of this ceremony in Japanese society it can be seen that it is borrowed from china. W. G. Beasley is of the opinion that Japanese culture is to be considered as extension of Chinese culture and beliefs. This is because Japan borrowed most of the cultural factors including Zen Buddhism and the habit of drinking tea from china. It is evident that, by eleventh century, Japan was trying to shed the Chinese element and it was entering a new feudal period called shogun period. “By the eleventh century the Chinese element was waning and the country was entering a long and essentially “Japanese” feudal period–with two rulers, an emperor and a Shogun–which was to last until the nineteenth century.” (W.G Beasely).
The peculiarity of this period was that it comprise of two rulers, one an emperor, and other a shogun whose aim is to protect the emperor. This lasted up to the nineteenth century. The tea ceremony in Japan is to be considered more than a gathering with friends to enjoy a bowl of tea. The preparation for the ceremony is symbolic and there are so many things that are closely related to Japanese culture and society. For example in a tea ceremony, water represents yin and fire represents yang. (Woodworth). Fresh water symbolizes purity and it is touched only by the host. If the tea is served during the day time, a gong is sounded. When it is served in evening, a bell is rung.
Earlier the involvement of women in tea ceremony was low. It was because tea ceremony was strictly religious and it was conducted by monks who lived in Buddhist monasteries. Traditionally, authority and autonomy of women in Japan were confined to domestic matters. The role of women was to manage the day to day life of the family. Because of the gender divide in the society, women were expected to use more polite and formal style of speech.
To withstand this rigid circumstance, they had to find out an innovative way to regain their importance in family and society. So, women participation in tea ceremony can be considered as an attempt to regain their social acceptance. It was the duty of women to entertain guests through serving tea. In Japan, women are trained to perform tea ceremony in their houses. Usually women used to attend training courses to learn more about tea ceremony.
Here, women had to role play the roles of host and guest. (Tea Ceremony: The Way of Tea, p.2). When one confronts this ceremony from a cultural viewpoint, it can be seen that it is able to share the peculiarities of Japanese culture with other world cultures.It consists of a conversation about seasonal beauty and art objects which are displayed in Japanese tea house. When it comes to a cultural level, it is more than a tea party. It can be considered as a social gathering, cohesion, and spiritual experience. (Japanese Tea Ceremony).
The ceremony is capable to capture the attention of the guest towards nature. The tea house, where the tea is prepared ceremoniously, will be the place of high quality Japanese carpentry and sculpture. The magical setting of the ceremony provides much importance. So, it can be considered as a cultural aesthetic and cultural attitude of the people of Japan. In Japan Atlas-Magazine, the manufacturing of various utensils that are used for tea ceremony is vividly described and it is named as- A Traditional Craft that Combines Beautiful Form with Practical Function. In Japan, tea pots and kettles for the tea ceremony are made by hand. (Nambu Ironware: A Traditional Craft that Combines Beautiful Form with Practical Function).
Traditional techniques are used for the manufacturing. The iron content of the pans, which happen to dissolve into food while cooking and serving, is so helpful to prevent Anemia. So, the preparation of food is closely attached to preservation of health. Most of the western tourists feel so curious to attend a Japanese tea ceremony. In an Interview with Michael Ricci, By Terry Calamito one can see that, everything is Japan is connected to art. Michael Ricci pointed out that the people of Japan treats the tea ceremony as an art form. The people are so conscious to keep their tradition alive. (Calamito).
Japanese tea ceremony is closely connected to other art forms of Japan like flower arranging and calligraphy. The influence of tea ceremony in Japanese society is so strong because it is a part of Japanese life and culture. Moreover, it is the representative art of Japan. For this special occasion, a special dress is used namely kimono. (Quah, Teng, and Lim, The History And Culture Of Japanese Tea). Most of the Japanese houses comprise of a special room for tea ceremony.
There are so many tea schools working in Japan to train young generation to become best hosts. So, it can be seen that the tea ceremony in Japan is connected to the spread of Zen Buddhism from China. Earlier, the use of tea as a beverage, the ceremony for the preparation and serving tea was confined to the Buddhist monks. But gradually this ceremony infiltrated to the lower layers of the society.
Before summing up, it will be interesting to go through the points that are discussed in the essay. The first point that was discussed is the early period of tea ceremony. Here, the early history of tea, tea ceremony in Japan, and two important schools of tea ceremony were under discussion. Then the rituals of this ceremony is discussed and described. The rituals are more than religious beliefs and are closely related to the culture of the country.
The second point which was under discussion is how tea ceremony affected Shogun. Here, one is able to have a general and specific out look onthe relation between shoguns and tea ceremony. Shogunate in Japan caused the infiltration of tea ceremony to common people through samurais. The third point under discussion was how women participated in tea ceremony. Now in Japan women are the focus of tea ceremony.
Training in tea ceremony is considered as a unique quality and skill. Moreover, it is a status symbol for women. One can see that this ceremony is so influential in Japanese society. The people of Japan are so eager to preserve this ritual without any change. So as to preserve this ceremony with its purity and simplicity, there are so many schools for the training of tea ceremony. So, the future of tea ceremony in Japan is safe because the Japanese are aware to preserve their cultural traits for the fore coming generations.
Health is one of the major concerns of people all over the world. Individuals and governments dedicate a significant portion of resources to preventing and fighting diseases that threaten to mitigate the health and well being of a person. What if there was a way to increase the chances of achieving positive health outcome while at the same time enjoying yourself? Such a proposition is appealing to many people who wish to enjoy good health without dedicating too much time or financial resources to the project.
Some of the solutions for achieving good health include sticking to diets designed to optimize health or consuming exotic products that are said to have health benefits. These solutions require a lot of effort from the individual and they may be expensive. Luckily, there is an option that promises to deliver health benefits to a person at a minimal cost and without any special effort. This solution is tea.
Humans have known about the health effects of tea for thousands of years. Yongping and Fenwick reveal that as early as 3000BC, the Chinese were using tea as a medicinal drink (193). It is well established that tea contains some chemicals that give it medicinal values. The drink has an attractive aroma and a good taste making it popular all over the world. From personal experience with family and friends, I understand that regular consumption of tea can play a curative and preventative health role.
Recently, many cafes and tea shops all over the country have started promoting tea as a beverage with medicinal value. However, most of the claims made by the tea promoters are unsubstantiated by research and often false. For example, there are instances where tea is promoted as a weight loss product or an alternative to conventional medicine.
As a tea enthusiast, I am aware of the various health benefits and limitations of tea consumption. This is therefore an appropriate research topic for my paper because it I have a personal interest in the beverage and it is popular all over the world. In addition to this, there is an abundance of information on the topic making it easy to determine the truth of the health effects of tea.
Personal Significance
I have a strong interest in the topic because there is a history of cardiovascular diseases in my family. Naturally, I would like to look for ways to prevent these life threatening diseases from afflicting me or the people that I love. I am motivated to discover solutions that are not only low cost but can be easily integrated into the daily life of an individual. My research will help me better understand the effects that consumption of tea has in mitigating the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases.
There are many different types of tea available in the market today. Yongping and Fenwick reveal that there are hundreds of teas in production and they fall under different categories (193). The composition of the different teas varies significantly according to species, season, age of the leaf and climate. This suggests that the health effects of tea will vary depending on the particular type of tea being consumed. As a tea enthusiast, I have been exposed to a wide variety of teas.
It would be beneficial for me to discover the particular teas that have the greatest health benefits. Through my research, I will be able to review the properties of the different teas and therefore positively identify the most health beneficial tea. I will be able to share this information with my family and friends therefore ensuring that they are able to derive the most benefit from tea consumption.
Another reason why this topic interests me is because I would like to discover ways of reduce the financial burden of diseases in the country. Many people agree that part of the reason why health care costs are high is because most people rely on curative health care services instead of working to prevent diseases.
However, research shows that preventative care is cheaper and more beneficial. Studying research on the health benefits of tea is therefore important to me because I believe that preventative healthcare is better than curative health care services. Preventative strategies have the potential to significantly reduce the mortality and costs associated with the healthcare industry. Some of the diseases that tea protects the individual against are life threatening and very expensive to cure.
By adopting preventative care, people can mitigate the occurrence of these illnesses which include cardiovascular diseases and cancers. By doing this, the enormous costs needed to treat the individual in hospital after succumbing to the disease and the consequential outpatient costs can be avoided. This will lead to significant financial savings by the person.
Finally, this topic best suits me since I am something of a tea enthusiast. While coffee is the drink of choice for many of my peers, I prefer tea. Even before I know of the pharmaceutical activities of tea, I enjoyed this drink due to its attractive aroma and good taste. Over the years, I have sampled many flavors of tea cultivated from different regions of the world including Southeast Asia, Central Africa and South America.
Once I became aware of the health benefits of tea, I was even more drawn to it. Carrying out research on a beverage that interests me will be a hugely satisfying activity. I will be passionate about my work and will find real life applications for the information that my research produces. In addition to this, the research will provide me with solid facts which I will use to convince more people to start consuming tea.
Broader Significance
This topic’s significance goes far beyond my personal interest. The subject of tea and health is of importance to the global community. The demand for health care services is on the rise and more people are afflicted by diseases that can be prevented or cured by tea each year. As it currently stands, tea is already a very popular drink. Yashin and Boris declare that more than 4 billion people in the world drink tea today (226).
However, most of these consumers are unaware of the health benefits of specific types of tea. They therefore miss out on the opportunity to improve their health by consuming their beverage of choice. By being aware of the potency of specific tea varieties, consumers can benefit from tea consumption. Yashin and Boris confirm that among the different types of tea, green tea has the most potent health improving effects (226).
Studies confirm that green tea catechins reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancers due to their high antioxidant activities (Ruxton 287). This topic will have broad significance by bringing about greater awareness of the health effects of various tea species. It will help dispense of the wrong information given to people by unscrupulous tea merchants.
This is a very opportune time to engage in an in-depth research on the health benefits of tea for a number of reasons. To begin with, the cost of healthcare services is very high making it unaffordable to many people. Diseases are imposing a significant financial burden on individuals and the nation as a whole. A solution that promises to prevent or even cure certain illnesses at a reduced cost is welcome.
Through its medicinal properties, tea proposes to do this hence having a positive impact on the nation by reducing the financial cost of diseases. This is also a good time to increase the popularity of tea among US citizens.
While tea is a popular drink all over the world, its consumption levels in the US are not impressive. Coffee, which does not have medicinal values, is a far more popular beverage among Americans. This research will help popularize tea to a population that does not currently appreciate the many benefits that this drink has on health.
Researchability
Before delving into a topic, it is important to ensure that there is adequate information available for an in-depth analysis of the subject to be undertaken. I have taken care to ensure that there is a wide range of information on my topic from credible sources. Even before I carried out a preliminary search on the topic, I was confident that I would find good sources since the topic of tea and health has been popular for years. Typing in “tea and health” in a search engine produced millions of hits.
This confirmed my previous premise that this subject is popular and a lot has been written on the topic. There were entire books dedicated to the subject of tea and its many health benefits. The book “Phytochemicals in Health and Disease” by Yongping Bao and Roger Fenwick provided a good preliminary review of tea and its health impacts. The authors highlighted the various chemicals available in tea and how they react to bring about pharmaceutical effects.
In addition to this, I found Journal articles that discuss the beneficial effects of tea on human health. These articles expound on the studies that have been carried out to discover the bioactive compounds found in tea and how they react to being about health benefits (Ruxton 287). I have collected a number of journal articles and I am sure that they will be of invaluable use when coming up with the final research paper on the topic.
Conclusion
I am very excited about the prospects of carrying out research on the health benefits of tea. In addition to being a tea enthusiast, I have a vested interest in acquiring in-depth knowledge on the health benefits of tea. I have already confirmed that there is adequate and credible information available to make it possible for me to write a good research paper.
Going though these sources as I work on the assignment will be a very fulfilling endeavor for me. I have some knowledge gaps on the subject and I am convinced that this assignment will ensure that I am not only fully informed but that I can pass on the information to others. I look forward to beginning my research on this topic and I am convinced that it is the best topic for this assignment.
Tea for Trump campaign initiated by TE-A-ME Teas, a company from India, used the image of Donald Trump in their PR intervention. The company sent 6,000 bags of purifying green tea for Trump to provide him with the best tea for four years of his presidency (Tea for Trump). The campaign could be considered to be a joke, but it became viral on the Internet bringing more than three million views in about three days (Singh). The following analysis of this campaign is based on the ROPE model, which is applied to PR campaigns to assess their major components such as research, objective, programming, and evaluation (Finch).
Research
Client/organization
TE-A-ME is a part of Madhu Jayanti International Limited, a company with 70 years of experience in producing teas.
Vison: “to continuously flavor freshness in every sip of tea consumed around the world” (About Us).
Sales over ten million cups a day in 42 countries all over the world.
Opportunity/problem
To popularize drinking green tea: the company made use of the opportunity to spread the idea of their healthy and cleansing product – organic green tea. The whole tea culture is strong in the Asian region, the US.
Audiences
The analysis of audiences preceded the campaign, and India, as well as the United States, were selected to be the target ones.
Objective
Informational
To spread the power of tea on the global level. This objective involves the distribution of information about organic tea provided by Te-A-Me company to new locations, thus increasing the company sales.
Motivational
To stimulate the world to drink green tea since it has great purifying power. This objective was selected to motivate people to drink green tea and invite Donald Trump to do the same.
Reputational
The company has a good reputation all over the world due to providing high-quality organic green tea, and the campaign was planned to support this reputation among broad audiences.
Programming
Target audiences
India and the United States: the populations of these countries became target audiences for the Te-A-Me campaign because they both provide high-potential markets. India is the home country of the company, and the US was probably selected as a big multinational country worried because of the coming presidential elections.
Key message
“It is never too late to cleanse yourself” (Bulman). The key message of this campaign stimulates the audience to start cleaning themselves by drinking green tea.
Strategy
real-time marketing (it is a challenging strategy, but it proved to be effective for this campaign)
digital PR and content marketing
the critical role of the US media
creation of Content Seeding Framework to provide efficient content distribution (Singh)
development of a Crisis Communication Plan
Tactics
application of multiple platforms for the promotion
implementation of a flexible media plan
involvement of diverse social media
involvement of the public to make Trump drink tea
Timetable
the campaign started on July 14, 2016. It was planned to be executed before Republican National Convention on July 19. Although it was a challenging choice because the campaign information could get lost in the huge volume of information about Trump, the time choice was effective.
Budget
No information available.
Evaluation
The campaign managed to deliver 350 million impressions from more than 80 countries (most of which came from India and the US, the target countries) (Singh).
The success of the amplification strategy (proved by tweets analysis and monitoring).
22,000 tweets on the campaign (Naidu)
It can be concluded that the campaign achieved its goals.
The influence of individual growers on the price of tea
The individual growers do not have much influence on the price of tea. The major influence on the price of tea comes from the forces of demand on the market. In the case where the supply is much far more than the demand for the tea, the price is brought down. On the other hand, in the case where demand is above the quantity supplied, the price will go up as well. In some cases, the individual growers make attempts to influence the price, but then they do not succeed.
The dictation of the tea prices is carried out by auction and this implies that the cost of production is not considered in determining the price of tea on the market. It is not the producers to determine the price but rather, it is the buyers who determine the price at which the tea has to be sold (Anonymous, Never so good for British tea drinkers, 2007).
Role of transnational corporations in the tea market
Taking the case of India as a tea-producing country and also as a major tea consumer, in this country two major transnational corporations deal in the tea market. These corporations are Unilever and Tata Tea. The corporations are dominant in the tea market and had a market share of 60 percent in 2005 of the branded tea sales. The corporations have played a major role in being significant employers in the tea sector. They have been employing thousands of people to work in the plantation for the corporations have been engaging in tea growing.
However, there has been a shift in regard to the operations these corporations have been in engaging in. Beginning from the year 2007, these corporations have opted to shift the operations from tea production to concentrate on purchasing the tea. The companies have realized that by engaging in buying and selling branded and processed tea products; they would bring up the level of their profits as compared to concentration on the tea production on the plantations. Between the years 2006 and 2005 Unilever was able to divest itself of the accountability of over ten thousand permanent employees.
Effects in changes in tea prices on the economies of the producing countries
According to Anonymous (TED case studies: India Tea and environment, 1997), India being the largest producer of tea is encountering stiff competition in the tea market. This problem is also faced with the other producer and powerful competitors of India in the industry. The tea prices have been going down the world over for the reason of having excess supply on the market. In addition, the major tea buyers such as Iraq, Russia and Iran have turned out not to be active following political reasons. The variations in the consumption trends have as well led to the falling in the prices. Despite the concerns Sri Lanka has regarding the tea market, it has acquired momentum over India in this market (Ali, Choudhry, and Lister,1997).
According to Anonymous (Never so good for British tea drinkers, 2007), taking the case in Uganda as a tea producing country, in this Country tea is the third biggest export earner. There has been the demonstration that failure of tea prices to move in line with inflation is a calamity for the economy of the nation and the growers as well as tea workers.
The increase in the prices in the shops of the manufactured tea does not necessarily translate into increased prices for the growers and the wages of the workers. Tea prices on the market are determined by way of auction and this implies that production cost is not very much taken into account in determining the prices of tea on the market.
This implies that there is need for the government concerned with tea production to intervene in offering better prices to the tea farmers as well as better wages for those people who work on the tea plantations. In the case where there are higher prices on the market, efforts should be made to ensure this translates into higher wages to workers and higher prices to the farmers. In the case where the prices go down, the farmer and the worker should be protected against low prices and wages respectively (Anonymous, Forecast for tea prices, 2009).
Demand factors that led to the rise in tea prices since 1995 and tea price volatility
According to Anonymous (Price of tea, 2009), tea prices were predicted to go over four dollars. This price increase was two times the price that was realized in the year 2005. This is due to the demand factors. There has been a stable strong demand even if there is an economic downturn. This implies that, even if there is a falling level of income among the consumers, these people have to still consume tea as it is an essential commodity.
Another reason for the rise in prices is the demand from China that is increasing, which is building up a taste for consuming more and more tea. More so, demand does not price elastic. Consumers are not prevented from consuming tea due to a price increase. Few substitutes for tea do exist and it only takes a very small portion of one’s income (Anonymous: forecasts of tea prices, 2009).
Tea is different from other agricultural products such as cocoa and coffee in that it did not use to be vulnerable to price volatility. The tea prices remained stable in relative terms in comparison to the rest of the commodities in the course of the 1980s (Singh, S., et al., 1977). However, in the cause of the 1990s, there were fluctuations. Taking the case in India, as the level of uncertainty regarding agricultural operations, with higher reliance of tea production on the environment, the effectiveness, as well as efficiency of its manufacturing, is determined by the weather conditions (Anonymous, TED case studies: India Tea and environment, 1997). The price of the made tea is volatile and it is very difficult to forecast this price. This volatility in the price of tea results from such factors as international supply and demand (Roy, 2007). Price volatility can also result from other factors such as the fluctuations in the exchange rate and changeable demand. An example of changeable demand can be given by the collapse of the former Soviet Union’s economy and this nation was a major buyer of the tea from India (Anonymous: Tea market – a background study, 2002).
Reference
Ali R., Choudhry Y., and Lister D. W., 1997. Sri Lanka’s tea industry: succeeding in the global market, Parts 63-368. Washington: World Bank Publications.
Anonymous, 2009. Forecast for tea prices. Web.
Anonymous, 2007. Never so good for British tea drinkers. Web.
