Acknowledgement:-

All tea in Pakistan is imported. Therefore, tea, a traditional hospitality item in Pakistan, consumes a large amount of foreign exchange. Pakistan mainly imports tea from Kenya and other African countries like Uganda, Burundi and Tanzania, while multinational companies in Pakistan also import tea from Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Bangladesh. The current tea imports are approximately 150,000 tons.

There are unlimited quantities of smuggled tea flooding the market. The main problem at present is that smuggled tea has now taken over the market, simply because of the high duty and taxes levied by the government on branded tea. Smuggled tea escapes all duties and levies, and therefore can be sold cheaply, as loose tea. Now efforts are being made to grow tea leaves locally.

History of Tea:-aapal Family Mixture, Tapal Dander, Tapal Tez Dum, Tapal Safari Chai, Mezban Premier Dust ,Chenak Dust and Tapal Jasmine Green Tea, Tapal Safari Kenya leaf. Most of the raw materials are imported, and of course the packaging for the product is done in Pakistan.

Flow chart

Branded VS Unbranded

Branded54%

Unbranded46%

BrandedUnbranded

Raw materials

imported Kenya and

grown locally

After the product is made, it is taken by the distributors who distribute the final product all over Pakistan. The wholesalers take the products in large bulks from the factory on a fixed profit margin and then sell it to other channels like retailers of general store, super stores, beauty shops etc. who then sell the product to final consumers. These distributors are not permanent but when the product is about to enter the market, they are informed about it and they themselves buy it in any quantity they want (usually a fixed volume set by the company). As for the retailers, it is also their wish in how much volume they would buy the product because sometimes they already have large inventory and sometimes they have small volume to serve consumer demands. The profit margin between the retailers and distributors is decided amongst themselves because usually retailers can sell the product up to 15-20% profit margin. So some of the profit has to be shared with the distributors also.

SUGGESTED UPGRADE FOR THE VALUE DELIVERY NETWORK

Tapal imports its raw materials from Kenya that could prove to be very risky as in case of economic crisis or natural calamity. Such situations can cause the orders for raw materials not to be completed on time, or may have problems in completing the orders at all. Tapal should try to build such relations that would assist in delivering the raw materials even if there is a crisis in the supplier’s country (they must not back out in such

Production of the tea(Factory)

Wholesalers

Retailers

Consumers

times) or be able to help when there is excess demand in the market and company’s stock is low.

Tapal can also think of making its own raw materials in Pakistan the long term it can help ponds reduce its costs, so on the same time reduce its price which can bring it closer to the competitors and in the long-run they can even export it to other countries which is going to be strategically very crucial in future times. Tapal, with its strategy of importing the raw materials has to bear the shipping costs and the taxes. Though this plan, if implemented needs a lot of investment but the returns would be high. Raw materials would be available on short period notices, foreign exchange would be saved which is spent on paying taxes, shipping costs and to importers. Basically, the company would be able to look after the quality of raw materials and closely monitor its costs because fluctuating exchange rates and inability to check on raw materials sometimes creates problems. Although Tapal is available in more places like in villages etc easily than other brands but it should make its distribution more stronger. It should hire its own distributors and give them incentives by not allowing them to sell the competitors tea products. Permanent distributors would always stay loyal because presently Tapal and Lipton dominate the market but arrival of any another good tea brand may compel distributors to buy more of that product if they are given good incentives like greater profit margin. Distributors chosen should also be such that run their channels on large and wide scale; selling and making the product available even in remote areas. Making the distributors part of the company is necessary and keeping positive relations is essential part.

Therefore, any break in the value delivery chain would prove to be harmful not only for company but for the consumers also. Consumers not getting the product on time would compel them to ask for the competitor’s product and the company would lose out its profits and customers. In between, other channels would encounter the same problems. So these actions are necessary in order to strengthen the value deliver chain network.

Segmentation ,Target Marketing and Market Positioning

Mass marketing segmented marketing

Market Segmentation• Distinct needs - regular tea/ green tea• Characteristics – taste, aroma, strength• Behavior – in terms of 4 P’s Segmentation of consumer market

CURRENT STATUS OF SEGMENTATION

There are two clear segments of consumers in the market, branded tea consumers and un-branded tea consumers. In Sindh, branded tea is consumed by most of the cities, whereas in the rural areas both branded and unbranded are equally popular. In Punjab, the city

dwellers as well as a majority of rural areas are absolutely brand loyal while unbranded tea is only popular in teashops and hotels. In NWFP and Balochistan, 90% of the population still prefer the unbranded form as it gives them the chance of see and smell what they buy before paying for it. In addition, the mindset is such that now no other tea brand can compete because consumers are strongly brand loyal.

Tapal’s consumers can be segmented on the basis of income strata.

Class A:Consists of consumers who have disposable monthly incomes of Rs. 20,000.

Class B: Consists of consumers who have disposable monthly incomes between Rs. 20,000 and Rs. 12,000.

Class C: Consists of consumers who have disposable monthly incomes between Rs. 12,000 and Rs. 8,000.

SEGMENTS:

Geographic

Country region All

World region or country Pakistan

Density Urban, Rural

Climate Any

Demographic

Age 18-35.35-50,50-70,70&up

Gender Both male and female

Family size Nuclear family size

Family life cycle Young, single married, no children, married with children

Income 8000 and above

Income group Middle, upper middle and high class.

Occupation White collar and service workers

Behavioral

Occasion Any

Benefit sought Flavor, easy availability, brand status.

Loyalty status Significantly high

Readiness stage Conviction and purchase

Attitude towards product Enthusiastic, positive.

TARGETING:-

Targeting a segment means the company is making a selection and targeting a certain group of consumers or buyers for its product or services. Evaluation of different segments that companies make is most critical before targeting any segment, every company have its own criteria of selecting a segment such as size, potentiality of growth, profitability, economies of scale, or low risk in the segment. TAPAL HAS target different market segments through different brands it is marketing. Tapal’s Organ gram includes Tapal Family Mixture, Tapal Dander, Tapal Tez Dum, Tapal Safari Chai, Mezban Premier Dust, Chenak Dust and Tapal Jasmine Green Tea, Tapal Safari Kenya leaf

Tapal Family MixtureThe family mixture is targeted for joint family system which still prevails in Pakistan

Tapal Tez DumThis brand is targeted for segment who like strong cup of tea. Like in one Tapal Tez Dum advertisement its statement is “ Tapal tazdem lagay tha ker ke”

Mezban Premier Dust A full-flavored dust that delivers high quality at a very economical price, Mezban Premier Dust is the blend for consumers who prefer tea with a strong flavor & taste. Originally developed for tea shops (dhabas), Mezban has become a favorite amongst household consumers as well. It is the most popular brand of tea in Sindh. The name of the brand itself is a characterization of the typical hospitality that is inherent to and a matter of pride for the people of Sindh.

Chenak Dust Highly popular in Sindh, Chenak is known for its extra strong flavor, color and taste. As a result of these features and high quality of tea it is No.1 in its category

TAPAL DANEDAR AND DANEDAR TEA BAGS:-

TAPAL basically has targeted the urban areas and has concentrated on the upper and middle classes {preferable age group ranging from (18 – 45)}. Therefore despite the fact that it uses a mass marketing approach it can easily be denoted that this product is catered to a particular segment. Even in its marketing approach for TAPAL, the product is presented in a different way for instance the teabags are targeted toward the upper high class, while soft packs and jar packs are targeted for middle and middle lower class. Today as both men and women consume equal amounts of tea the age group segment selected for Lipton is between (18 on ward), for they want to target those people who are young, trendy, cosmopolitan, hip, and cosmopolitan.

SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR BRAND TARGETTING:-

Even in their advertising Tapal Dander should target young couples (as they are starting their life recently so they haven’t have any particular preferences so they can be easily targeted and attracted to this brand) And lastly the strategic thrust of keeping focus on young house wives has been successful so they should continue focusing on it.

TARGET WITH DIFFERENT PRODUCT SHOULD BE SPECIFIC:-

As the Tapal has so many products in there organ gram and for some product line it is not certain that which market they are targeting as in the case of TAPAL SAFARI CHAI which has weak positioning and targeting. So the should be careful in targeting so that TAPALS brand image is not effected.

POSITIONING:-

CURRENT STATUS OF POSITIONING

TAPAL caters to its customers by providing Tapal Dander and Family Mixtures to more than 140,000 outlets in Pakistan, which include superstores, department stores, general stores, medical stores, paan walas, grocery stores, merchants, etc. Grocery stores and merchants together provide 80% volume of the tea sales.

To position TAPAL in the market a list of differentiation variables such as its form, features, performance, conformance, services, media and events have been applied. These are further discussed below:

Form Differentiation :-

Tapal DANEDAR is, as we know, fine quality tea that is being offered to the middle and upper class customers, therefore Tapal assumes that the form of their product plays an important part in differentiating their product in their target customer's mind. So that way with TAPAL DANEDAR they form a different product line which was a very successful

. Basically the company provides the differentiation for its tea by claiming that it tends to be thicker than other brands and contains no dust for it is the finest available blend being called as dane dar.

Features Differentiation

Since its claimed that TAPAL is thicker than any other brand other features need to be attached too such as its taste which tends to be lighter than most other teas, the smell is known to have its own distinctive aroma and its brightness tends to be relatively higher than the others.

Performance DifferentiationIn this aspect of differentiation TAPAL differentiates itself on quality of its product by proving that their product is more refined, and hygienically processed and packed.

Conformance Differentiation

TAPAL has high conformance for Tapal, for they claim to use the best possible blend available and because of their international nature are required to maintain this characteristic of their product through out.

Services Differentiation

Tapal is providing tea dispensers at various colleges and institutions through out.

Image differentiation

Tapal is one of the few brands that rely heavily on image differentiation by sponsoring various events such as concerts and celebrities in their numerous advertisements. Recently they are sponsoring a TV Show which aware the consumers of the TAPAL Brand. It also benefits from a wide variety of mass media tools such as billboards, spectaculars and shows and time checking clocks at various traffic signals.

Tapal is one of the Brands that has created value to its consumer by continuous product development and consumers have an emotional attachment with Tapal Brand.

To position Tapal Danedar in their target customer's mind they have selected all of these differentiation variables. Tapal’s Danedar main feature for positioning is that, it is tea made of the “finest blend” available. The benefits offered by Tapal Danedar to its consumers are of “high quality and good taste”. Brand image and position of Tapal Danedar is of a Discerning, Cosmopolitan, Elegant, high class and sophisticated tea and is portrayed through their entire marketing campaign by making it clear that “Tapal Danedar, Aur Kiya chahiye!”.

PRODUCT DIFFERENCIATION:-

DEVELOPING of TEA as a cold drink......Tapal has a good brand equity in the tea market .So the can differentiate them self by development of the different product like developing a beverage that has ingredients of the tea mixed with lime or something and position is refreshing drink with highlighting the benefits associated with tea.

Developing a technology that keeps tea fresh for longer period of time as because due to weather condition in Karachi tea is not able to remain fresh for longer period of time

Branding:-

TAPAL’S MARKET SHARE:The company has enjoyed a phenomenal growth particularly during the last decade to expand its base in the branded market which for long was dominated by multinational competitors. Tapal today enjoys over 17 per cent or 22 million kilogram share of the total tea market annually up from 10 million kilogram in 1990. Tapal's envious growth has come at the expense of its multinational competitors, Brooke Bond and Lipton brands, whose combined market share has shrunk from 60 million kg to 45 million kg during the same period

Putting the per capita tea consumption in Pakistan at about one kilogram,

approximately 140 million kg of tea is marketed annually in the country of which

110 m kg is met by the imports while the rest of the 30 million kg demand is fed

by the smuggled counterpart.

Of the 110 million kg regular imports, 70 million kg is branded while the loose market makes up the rest of the 40 million kg. Tapal and its multinational rival Lever Brothers combinedly enjoy the biggest share of the branded market — 60 million kg leaving the remaining 10 million kg for a number of other smaller companies.

User

Tapal has always targeted families as its potential consumers. With the view that the younger generation will be Tapal’s future customers, Tapal is actively supporting the fast developing music industry in Pakistan. It has sponsored the leading singers in Pakistan and actively participates in music concerts.

Status

Tapal has won the hearts of countless tea drinkers across the country as a result; it has a heavy user status.

CULTURE:The brand needs to represent a certain culture therefore we know that TAPAL is

PAKISTANI brand and it represents a Pakistani culture emphasizing on superior quality

and sophistication.

Personality

The consumers of the Tapal tea exhibit strong personality traits. People want the image and excitement through the drinks that they feel are good for them therefore Lipton is presented as a brand that is bright, vital, sociable, contemporary and cosmopolitan. TAPAL creates the personality for its brands by its RED background with the TAPAL

Attributes

Leaders in InnovationAlways on the move, Tapal Tea is honored to have taken the lead in a number of areas in the tea industry. Tapal has been:

The first to introduce soft packs in the country. The first tea company to introduce the metal-free tea bags. The first to develop an entirely new blend and category-Tapal Family Mixture

(the mixture of leaf and dust). The first to invent the highly successful brand Danedar Leaf Blend. The first to market Kenya teas in Pakistan. The first tea company to be awarded the ISO 9001/2000 Quality Certification.

Pioneers of Soft PackagingFrom the very beginning, Tapal realized the importance of importing innovative technologies such as the soft packing process. A fully automatic facility was established where soft packs were produced for the first time in Pakistan. At this facility tea is blended and packed in hygienic conditions, untouched by human hands whilst the soft packing technology keeps tea fresh and packaging costs economical. The success of these soft packs has been such that other tea companies have also followed Tapal’s lead and launched some of their brands in soft packaging.

Strong Distribution NetworkTapal has a distribution network spread across Pakistan, from Karachi to Khyber with over 400 distributors. Extensive training programs are provided for the devoted sales personnel. The popularity of its fine brands in unabated, making it the No 1 national tea company in Pakistan.

A Commitment to Quality

“Never compromise on quality” has been the motto at Tapal since the very beginning. This commitment to quality has resulted in a high level of customer satisfaction and unflinching brand loyalty. In December 1997, Tapal Tea became the first Pakistani Tea Company to earn the ISO-9001 certification: a symbol fo the highest international quality standards. Again in December 2000, Tapal acquired the ISO9001: 2000 certification, making it one of the first few companies in the world to achieve this milestone. In addition to the standard requirements, the ISO9001: 2000 certification system includes requirements for environment improvement, concepts of TQM (continuous improvement) with major emphasis on consumer requirements and satisfaction.

Extensive Research and DevelopmentTea blending and tasting is both an art and a science and Tapal prides itself on having mastered both the aspects. Tapal has adroitly judged the olfactory senses and keenness of the taste buds of their patrons, resulting in the creation of various well-known brands. Aftab F. Tapal is a well-trained and highly experienced tea taster of the country and is recognized as a qualified tea specialist worldwide. Tapal’s tea managers have been trained at home and abroad in this very rigorous and specialized discipline, and have frequently traveled to leading tea-producing countries searching for better teas.

Tapal is a research-oriented company. It subscribes to and conducts various researches in the area of retail audits, consumer behavior, media planning and product development. This research is used for continuous improvement in product quality, brand positioning and communication according to the changing requirements of the consumers. Consistency and quality are the two keystones of Tapal’s production policy and the Quality Control Department at Tapal ensures that flavor and freshness is never compromised. That’s why all the brands, whether Danedar, Tapal Special or Tapal Family Mixture, always taste exactly as expected: retaining aroma and freshness till the last sip.

Values

Tapal’s deep-rooted culture and core value differentiates it from its competitors. It is built on sound principles and practices, not dominated by a group of individuals. Its asset are its people, and the consistency of principle and policy give the direction. Tapal is also the 1st national tea company to export tea to the UAE, Canada and USA. This is again a pioneering step towards increasing value-added exports and is also a fast developing source of foreign exchange for the country.

Benefits

Technology is also harnessed at Tapal to benefit the consumer. It remains committed to providing the people of Pakistan with only the highest quality products and improving their lives in whatever little way possible. Attributes need to be translated into

“functional” and “emotional” benefits. TAPAL converts its attributes into benefits by claiming that TAPAL makes you feel great, while revitalizing the mind and the body. Therefore the attribute “danedar” is translated into the emotionalBrand EquityAfter Tapal’s unique Family Mixture became Karachi’s largest selling brand, the company was encouraged to innovate further. As a result, in 1987, an entirely new category brand called Danedar was created and launched. Tapal Danedar became the country’s largest selling tea brand with a loyal following, which shows that Tapal has been successful in creating a strong Brand Equity amongst its consumers. Tapal’s experienced “high voltage” marketing team has contributed over the years to the phenomenal growth of the brands and the company. In recent years, memorable advertising campaigns on the electronic and print media using TV and film celebrities, have made Tapal a household name. Tapal is considered to be among Pakistani women’s most preferred tea brand.

The highly successful mix of great teas, modern marketing, proper distribution

and promotional activities has resulted in overwhelming growth for Tapal over

the last 50 years.

Unidentified Users

Tapal as a brand name caters to those who wish to portray class but in the market it’s different. Tapal is providing tea coolers to the round the corner hotels which cater to the lower class. This action would lead to increase in short term revenues but in the long run it’s going to create critical problems for the brand. Rather than catering to round the corner hotels it should enter places where it would find upper and middle class people.

Branded Market Share in Volume

(Source: Tapal & UniLever)

Total Branded Tea Consumption 75,000 Tons

UniLever 38,250 Tons

Tapal 27,750 Tons

Tetley 2,250 Tons

Others 6,750 Tons

SERVICES:-

GAPS

1. Gap between consumer expectation and Tapal’s management perception

Tapal’s management may not always correctly perceive what the

customers want. “Never compromise on Quality” is the motto of Tapal,

for Tapal high quality might be the beautiful golden color of the fresh tea,

or the aroma of the tea but for consumer high quality is the taste of the

tea. The strong taste of the tea is what the customers prefer.

2. Gap between Tapal’s management perception and service-quality specification

Tapal’s management might correctly perceive that the customers want

good and strong taste in a tea, but not set a performance standard. Tapal’s

management might tell their research and development to improve the

taste of the tea but they might have not set some specific standards in

order to meet the required level of performance regarding the high quality

taste.

3. Gap between service quality specification and service delivery

The personnel might have be poorly trained or incapable of or unwilling

to meet the standards set by the Tapal’s management, or they might have

conflicting standards. Tapal’s management has set standards that the team

should be able to provide the best taste and it should be able to come up

with innovations faster. The team might get confused as to serve which

one first, that is either to maintain the high quality taste or keep coming

up with innovations.

4. Gap between service delivery and external communication

Statements made by Tapal’s representatives and ads affect consumer

expectations. Tapal’s advertisements show perfect tea, having high

quality taste, aroma and the perfect color. But in reality it does not

provide its consumer with the high quality product as pictured in its

promotions, therefore external communication such as the ads and sales

promotion have distorted the customer’s expectations. The customer does

not get the same amount of satisfaction as he/she expected before using

the tea.

CURRENT STATUS OF THE PRODUCT LINES:-

The structure of Product mix width and Product line Length of Unilevers is presented

below:

PRODUCT MIX WIDTH

PRODUCT

LINE

LENGTH

TAPAL DANEDAR TEA BAGS

DANEDAR

FAMILY MIXTURE

TAPAL TEZDUM

Mezban Premier Dust

Chenak Dust

TAPAL PRICING:-

Since TAPAL has always emphasized on being an international product, of the highest

quality, TAPAL is marketed as a “premium” or “top of the line” product. A premium

of 2-5% is charged on every pack.

The closest competitor of TAPAL, is Tapal Danedar having a price of Rs.52 for its 200

gms pack, whereas a 200 gms pack of TAPAL is priced at Rs.60. Similarly, in all other

sizes, TAPAL has maintained almost identical price premiums compared to Tapal. Hence

it is clear that TAPAL follows the system of PRECEIVED VALUE PRICING as they

deliver the value that they promise by their value proposition.

They are available in the following sizes and prices:

PRODUCT SIZE PRICE (IN RS)

DANEDAR 200 grams 60

FAMILY MIXTURE 200 grams 54

DANNEDAR TEA BAGS 100 grams 120

TAPAL TAZEDUM 400 85

DISTRIBUTION OF TAPAL:-

Distribution plays an integral role in any company whether it’s a FMCG or utility good.

The role of distribution in the marketing mix is to deliver a product to its target market or

final consumer. Between the manufacturer and the final consumer stands a set of

intermediaries performing a variety of functions. These intermediaries constitute a

marketing channel also known as trade channel or distribution channel. The marketing

channels are set of interdependent organizations involved in the process of making a

product or service available for use or consumption. Marketing channels overcomes the

time, place and possession gaps that separate goods and services from those who need or

want them.

Tapal Danedar is known for its wide distribution network. The Tapal distribution

channel is:

Tapal Danedar has a two-level channel that contains two intermediaries:

Wholesaler

Retailer

Tapal tea cartons are sold to the wholesalers who then sell it to the

retailers who further sell it to the final consumer. The important

functions performed by Tapal intermediaries are information,

promotion, negotiation ordering, financing, risk taking, physical

possession, payment and title. Tapal’s channel decisions involve

relatively long-term commitments to the firms. Tapal has a

conventional marketing channel that comprises of producer,

wholesalers, and retailers. Each is a separate business seeking to

maximize its profits that results in a conflict among the channel

members as no channel member has complete or substantial control

over other members.

WholesalerManufacturer

RETAIL Consumer

DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS:-

The challenge is not to eliminate conflict but to manage it better, Tapal needs to have a

vertical marketing system (VMS) comprising of producer, wholesalers, and retailers

acting as a unified system. In VMS one channel member, the channel captain, owns the

others or franchises them or has so much power that they all cooperate. The channel

captain can be the producer, the wholesaler, or the retailer. VMS can eliminate the

channel conflict that results when independent channel members pursue their own

objectives. They achieve economies through size, bargaining power and elimination of

duplicated services. There are three types of VMS: corporate, administered and

contractual..

Corporate VMS combines successive stages of production and distribution under single

ownership. If Tapal wants to have a high level of control over its channels than this

method is best suitable. For example, Tapal can have its own retail outlets.

Administered VMS coordinates successive stages of production and distribution through

the size and power of one of the members. Manufactures of a dominant brand are able to

secure strong trade cooperation and support from resellers. For example Tapal can able to

command high levels of cooperation from it resellers in connection with displays, shelf

space, promotions and price policies.

Tapal can also have a Contractual VMS consists of independent firms at different levels

of production and distribution integrating their programs on a contractual basis to obtain

more economies or sales impact than they could achieve alone.

Effective channel management calls for selecting intermediaries and training and motivating them. Channel arrangements may not be modified when marketing conditions change. The main goal of Tapal should be to build a long-term partnership that will be profitable for the channel members. Individual members must be periodically evaluated against pre-establ

THE PROMOTIONAL MIX:-

TAPAL tea brings people together, in times of joy and in times of pain. Our lives center around it, weather it is the evening tea enjoyed by family or spontaneous tea parties with friends. For some, their day can not begin without a cup of tea, and for others nothing else completes it.

ADVERTISING BY TAPAL TEA

In an increasingly competitive marketplace, greater emphasis is being placed on brand image development as the basis for consumer discrimination. Advertising has a central role to play in developing brand image, whether at the corporate, retail or product level. It informs consumers of the functional capabilities of the brand while simultaneously imbuing the brand with symbolic values and meanings relevant to the consumer

Najam, the guy who rushed his way to the top-most slots of the Paki music scene

with "In Say Nain". He may have a rather unconventional approach to whatever

that he does, but whatever he does leaves us captivated. He is no doubt a

versatile singer and one of the best vocalists of Pakistan. He has one quality that

he constantly improves himself that’s why his every new work seems better than

previous. This time he has struck the music scene with the album “Jaisay chaho

Jiyo” and it has been produced by Shehzad Hassan ofVitalSigns.

After numerous hit songs like ‘Pyar Karan Nu Dil Karada ’, ‘Baliyae’, and

‘Kajla’ (and the list goes on) in the previous album, he is back again to give his

listeners a treat. The album is a combination of light music but some funky and

techno tunes are also there. Jaisay chaho jiyo is the album’s title track you can

also watch video of this song these days on satellite channel.Tthis song is also an

ad jinglre for tapal tea

Television advertising is used as it’s a most effective medium and hence, this acts as an inducement to consumers to purchase the product Sometimes there are TV advertisements designed for different regions of Pakistan to achieve different advertising objectives in those geographic areas.

OUTDOOR ADVERTISING:

This form of advertising is used to increase out of home visibility in shops and in the

streets. The various activities under the umbrella of outdoor advertising are:

Billboards

Pole signs

Spectaculars

PRINT

Ten percent of the promotion budget is spent on print media, which includes both newspapers and magazines e.g Jang ,Dawn, The News,She,Akhbar e jehan etc.

TAPAL TEA SALES PROMOTION

A definition of sales promotion becomes more difficult as the industry expands. At its most precise, it is any scheme designed to sell more product. In the broadest sense, it is everything in the marketing mix. Examples of tapal tea sales promotion include:

To familiarize consumers with the new blend of Tapal, a certain budget is allocated for

the sales promotion of tapal.Examples of tapal tea sales promotion are:

Coupons

Discounts and allowances

Contests

Point of purchase

Rebate marketing

Gifts and incentives

Free travel such as free flights.

Sales promotions can be directed at either to the customer, sales staff, and channel

members

CONSUMER SALES PROMOTION TECHNIQUES IN TAPAL:

Price deal: A temporary reduction in the price

Cents-off deal: Offers a brand at a lower price. Price reduction may be a percentage marked on the package.

Price-pack deal: The packaging offers a consumer a certain percentage more of the product for the same price (for example, 25 percent extra).

Coupons: coupons have become a standard mechanism for sales promotions. On-shelf couponing: Coupons are present at the shelf where the product is

available. Checkout dispensers: On checkout the customer is given a coupon based on

products purchased.

TRADE SALES PROMOTION TECHNIQUES IN TAPAL:-

Trade allowances: short term incentive offered to induce a retailer to stock up on a product.

Trade contest: A contest to reward retailers that sell the most product. Point-of-purchase displays: Extra sales tools given to retailers to boost sales. Training programs: dealer employees are trained in selling the product.

PERSONAL SELLING IN TAPAL:-

Personal selling is one of the oldest forms of promotion. It involves the use of a sales force to support a push strategy (encouraging intermediaries to buy the product) or a pull strategy (where the role of the sales force may be limited to supporting retailers and providing after-sales service). Personal selling is oral communication with potential buyers of a product with the intention of making a sale. The personal selling may focus initially on developing a relationship with the potential buyer, but will always ultimately end with an attempt to "close the sale" The main disadvantage of personal selling is the cost of employing a sales force. Sales people are expensive. In addition to the basic pay package, a business needs to provide incentives to achieve sales (typically this is based on commission and/or bonus arrangements) and the equipment to make sales calls (car, travel and subsistence costs, mobile phone etc).In addition, a sales person can only call on one customer at a time. This is not a cost-effective way of reaching a large audience.Thus Tapal donot involve much in personal selling.

DIRECT MARKETING:

Tapal can have its company’s website for complaints and suggestions. By this method the

gap between the Tapal management and consumer expectation can br reduced.Ways of

operating in direct marketing can be direct mail,online marketing, email marketing

PUBLICITY BY TAPAL TEA

Health benefits of teaNothing flavors a botanical tea better than real tea. And in lieu of the recently publicized health benefits of tea, more herbal-tea product lines are likely to include some real tea

now. Tea polyphenols, like polyphenols from other sources, can be detected in blood, urine and feces. Most of their health benefits are attributed to their ability to scavenge free radicals or to act as chemo-preventatives by binding to carcinogens or oxidative enzymes. The publicity surrounding the health benefits of tea is a key reason for its renewed popularity. Celebrities tend to be fans of the dictum "any publicity is good publicity". If a celebrity says or does something embarrassing, he or she will often turn it into a strength and make it part of his or her "image." This tactic is used just as much with favorable situations as much as with unfavorable one

A NEW BLEND FOR TAPAL TEA

When it comes to making a fine brew, Tapal Tea Ltd claims to be the finest in the business. But convincing consumers of the same is an ongoing struggle. Despite their strong footing against competitors, management at Tapal still felt that an “edge” was required with regard to obtaining the right picture from the market. With over 400 distributors operating nationwide, the company was looking for a way to improve overall sales reporting – the missing element, however, was the ability to provide consistent sales data across the distribution chain.

Tapal's Danedar Chai gives Lever a run for its money -

It hasn't happened only in India. The Lever juggernaut is facing roadblocks in Pakistan as well. In India, Unilever Plc-controlled Hindustan Lever has witnessed few jitters in the market place. Be it detergents or personal products, HLL has of late faced competition like never before. And that too from some of the homegrown brands. Across the border, it is happening in packet tea. Tapal, one of the leading Pakistani brands is giving Unilever a run for its money. Though the Tapals are in business for more than 30 years now, it is only recently that one of its brands - Tapal's Danedar Chai - has raced ahead in the popularity chart. The brand now is the number one among all tea packet brands adorning the Pakistani hot beverage market. Pakistanis are avid drinkers of tea Unlike India, where the soft beverage products have become overwhelming favourites among the youth; the entire population of Pakistan loves its cup of tea. As of now, the per capital consumption there is just under a kilogram. Compared to this, in India, annual consumption is less than 250 grams per person. Said Aftab Tapal, the managing director of the family-owned company: "Yet the climb was not easy. We had to fight every inch of the shelf space with the mighty Lever Brothers. Our success, however, is in being able to popularize consumption of CTC teas in generally largemarketforbrokensanddustvarieties."

Traditionally, the consumption in Pakistan has been orthodox teas. The pioneering effort of the Tapal group has now changed the configuration significantly. The entry of CTC teas was fate accompli. Given the dwindling supplies from Sri Lanka around the mid-seventies and also the spiraling prices, the consumers there to look to a new origin. CTC was able to pander to the taste since it is strong liquoring tea, something which Pakistanis like. The Tapals, who buy most of their teas from Kenya, sell roughly 10-12 million kg of the danedar variety. The company's brands, seven of them, have also proved to a success in the area of packaging as well. The factories in Karachi and Lahore and absolutely

world class, with capacities of about 75,000 packets a day. As of now, Tapal does not use any Indian tea, because the types of teas liked by consumers in Pakistan do not come cheap here. They love the gold colour, which is what the Kenyan teas look like. Moreover, the pricing is such that it would be difficult for them to use Indian teas in these blends.

Tapal holds strong market position:

Tapal, is the first tea company to be awarded ISO 9002 quality certification

From its modest beginning as a family-owned retail outlet in Jodia Bazaar Karachi, the biggest commodities market in the country, Tapal Tea (Private) Limited today is the

largest wholly-owned Pakistani tea packaging and marketing company.

Phenomenal growth

The company has enjoyed a phenomenal growth particularly during the last decade to expand its base in the branded market which for long were dominated by multinational competitors. Tapal today enjoys over 17 per cent or 22 million kilogram share of the total tea market annually up from 10 million kilogram in 1990. Tapal's envious growth has come at the expense of its multinational competitors, Brooke Bond and Lipton brands, whose combined market share has shrunk from 60 million kg to 45 million kg during the same period, General Manager Finance and Corporate Services of Tapal Y.H

Market & Share

Putting the per capita tea consumption in Pakistan at about one kilogram, Mr. Thara said that approximately 140 million kg of tea is marketed annually in the country of which 110 m kg is met by the imports while the rest of the 30 million kg demand is fed by the smuggled counterpart.

Of the 110 million kg regular imports, 70 million kg is branded while the loose market makes up the rest of the 40 million kg. Tapal and its multinational rival Lever Brothers combinedly enjoy the biggest share of the branded market — 60 million kg leaving the remaining 10 million kg for a number of other smaller companies, he added.

Marketing Association of Pakistan:-

Marketing Excellence Awards

Mr. Aftab Tapal, Managing Director, Tapal Tea (Pvt.) Ltd. received the Marketing Excellence Award for his role in making Tapal Tea Private Limited the leading Tea company of the country in the face of stiff competition from not only multinational giants but also local companies.

The prestigious award was given on behalf of the Marketing Association of Pakistan at an impressive ceremony at a local hotel in Karachi.

According to the MAP President, the award is a gesture of MAP’s appreciation and recognition of Mr. Aftab Tapal’s dynamic role in the field of Marketing and the pride Tapal Tea carries being such a competitive Pakistani company in this era of globalization.

At the MAP ceremony, a Marketing Excellence Award was also awarded to Mr. Taher Sachek of EFU Life for the company’s contribution in the Insurance Sector.