Tea marketers should target the youth to increase the local consumption of the beverage, Kenya Tea Packers (Ketepa) have said. Managing Director Timothy Chege says poor marketing has led to low consumption, giving competing beverages a major advantage.
During the relaunch of Ketepa's Safari Pure brand in Nairobi last week, Chege said tea consumption among the youth was low. "The impression given by our marketing agencies is that tea is for the old and not the young," Chege said. He said other soft drinks manufacturers have targeted the youth, subjecting tea to stiff competition.
In 2006 the Tea Board of Kenya embarked on an aggressive campaign to promote local tea consumption so as to reduce over-dependence on export markets. Local consumption stands at a just five per cent while the rest is exported to Pakistan, Egypt, United Kingdom, Afghanistan, and Sudan.
TBK says that in January, local consumption increased by 36 per cent to 1.5 million kilogrammes from 1.1 million kilogrammes last year. "Increased consumption was attributed to sustained generic promotion campaign undertaken by the board and brand promotion by tea packers, which are aimed at building sizable domestic market for tea," said TBK managing director, Sicily Kariuki.
To ease your site search, article categories are at bottom of page.
