This is sort of an oddball post. I was going through some papers and came across a Fortune article I had saved about a company called Dilmah that is trying to transform the global tea industry. There are a lot of parallels to the fine wine business, particularly when it comes to differentiation, the role of terroir, brand positioning, and product quality. Here are a few quotes from this very interesting piece:
- "Sri Lankan tea producer Dilmah is taking a leaf from the wine industry by marketing its beverage as high-end and chic."
- Unlike the blends in an average tea bag, which can contain leaves from several countries, Dilmah teas, it says, are from a single origin. "You have to regard tea in the same way as you would an immaculate vintage," says the brothers' 77-year-old father, group patriarch Merrill Fernando. "People need to know what they are drinking."
- "I've stayed true to the leaf because I believe in its quality, and not in its mass-market commoditization."
Jeremy
