Nichrome Brews Success for Tea Companies

India is the largest producer, exporter and consumer of tea in the world. It accounts for 31% of the global production of tea, and has retained its leadership over the tea industry for over 150 years.

Tea plantations were started in the middle of the 19th century under British management. Originally indigenous to the Eastern and Northern parts of India, the tea industry has expanded and grown tremendously over the years, and today, the three prominent tea-growing regions in India are Darjeeling, North Bengal & Assam (in the north-east) and Nilgiris (in south India).

The branded tea segment is one of the most highly penetrated branded products in India. With  increasing disposable  income and awareness  of  product  differentiation (aroma, origin, taste, etc),  the  loose/standard  tea  is making  way for more premium variants and flavours. At the same time,  the increasing  consumer health  quotient  is boosting  sales  for  green  tea  and  its  variants – mint, lime/lemon,  classic  etc. This has not only resulted in growing consumption of premium segments but also given an overall push to the unit consumption price point per kg.

Packet tea market boasts more than 300 brands in the country, dominated by HUL and Tata Tea which have a deep presence in both urban and rural markets, across pack and variants and hence together account for 30-40% of the total market in the packaged tea segment. The other regional/national players are Waghbakri, Duncan's, Eveready, Goodricke,  GPI, Girnar, Sapat,  Dhunseri, Mohini, Society,  Marvel, etc.

Apart from the new products, the packaged tea brands are also experimenting with pack sizes –from large bulk packs to 5-10 rupee sachets, swiftly targeted at various consumer segments. This is coupled with new innovations being made in packaging, from thin standard packs, stick packs, tea bags, standup pouches, pet jars, and tetrapaks to wooden and ceramic exotic gift packing for some of the premium variants offered by players such as of Dilmah, Infinitea, etc.

At the forefront of packaging solutions for the tea industry is Nichrome. The first ever four-line seal, standup pouch for tea packaging was adopted by Tata Tea in 2005 when they invested in Nichrome’s tea pouch packaging equipment. This new technology proved to be a cost-effective solution as it eliminated the old manual process and automated the pouch formation, filling and sealing process.

The stand up pouch introduced by Nichrome became a huge success, with many tea companies following suit. Today, among tea packaging machines, Nichrome’s Sprint 250 PLUS INTELLIGENT ELECTRONIC WEIGH FILLER is a trend setter. It offers 2 pouch formats - CSPP and Gusset pouch, and packs up to 2 Kgs at a speed of 120 packs per minute. It helps preserve the freshness and flavor of the tea while delivering a smart package that is not only easy to store and transport but stands out on the retail shelf.

Nichrome’s SPRINT 250 PLUS SERIES has automation equipped machines with CE marked PLC and touch screen HMI. Its servo motor driven sealing system can effectively seal with pressure levels maintained. They have built-in safety door guards with machine-off interlocks and end-of-film roll with machine-parking mode interlock. It is programmed to pull the exact length of film required for automatic packaging of tea.

The Sprint 250 PLUS is also ideal for grains packaging, sugar packaging, and for grains, pulses, rice, whole spices and seeds.

Apart from the four-line seal pack, Nichrome offers a variety of pouch styles for the tea industry. From regular pillow pouches to handle-cut pouches, standy pouches, pouches-in- box, and even stick-like pouches which can be used like tea bags – Nichrome has packaging solutions for all types of tea – CTC, dust, long leaf and others.