Monday, February 27, 2012

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Jamba(R) Acquires Talbott Teas(TM)


This news makes me wonder what would have happened had I hung on to my tea brand, or improved upon...

Jamba(R) Acquires Talbott Teas(TM) - Expands Consumer Products Platform

Jamba to Begin Sale of Specialty Teas through the Acquisition of Boutique Tea House, Talbott Teas; Master Certified Tea Blender and Talbott Teas Founder, Shane Talbott, to Join Jamba Juice(R) in Role of Vice President Innovation

EMERYVILLE, Calif., Feb 17, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Jamba Juice CompanyJMBA +1.12% announced today the acquisition of Talbott Teas(TM), a Chicago-based boutique, premium tea company, recently profiled on ABC-TV's "Shark Tank". Talbott Teas founder, certified master tea blender, Shane Talbott, has a unique talent for blending specialty ingredients to produce exceptional, award-winning teas that appeal to tea aficionados and conventional consumers alike, and which Oprah Winfrey selected as one of her "Favorite Things" in 2010.
"Talbott Teas is part of our strategy for growth through the acquisition of lifestyle specialty brands that fit well with the Jamba brand and our positioning as a leading health and wellness company," said James D. White, Chairman, President, and CEO, Jamba Juice Company. "Jamba shares Shane's commitment to using the finest quality ingredients to create premium tea blends that are flavorful and healthful, but designed with a flair that only a visionary trendsetter could achieve. I welcome his creativity on our team."
Steeped in style and wrapped in museum quality, designer packaging, Talbott Teas is reinventing the premium tea category with their luxurious, but accessible collection of caffeinated and decaffeinated loose leaf, all-natural teas blended with real fruit, flowers, herbs and spices to create delightfully decadent flavor profiles. Talbott Teas tea blends are available in 23 customizable flavors, including the award winning "Chocolate Lover" teas. All tea blends are made from high quality ingredients, certified free-trade and 100% natural with no artificial flavors, preservatives, or colors.
Talbott Teas appeared on the "Shark Tank", which airs Fridays from 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET on the ABC Television Network, gives nascent entrepreneurs the chance to dramatically alter the course of their business by making a possible deal with the Sharks --self-made millionaires in search of innovative investment deals to bankroll. While on the show, the founders of Talbott Teas received an offer from venture capitalist Kevin O'Leary, who subsequent to the show worked with fellow Sharks Daymond John and Barbara Corcoran to seal a bigger deal with the iconic leading national smoothie and specialty healthy lifestyle brand, Jamba Juice.
"Jamba is a progressive, specialty beverage brand with a passion for creating innovative, trendy offerings that support healthier lifestyles," said Shane Talbott, founder Talbott Teas. "Jamba has broad reach and appeal among consumers who are seeking premium products at affordable pricing that are better-for-you and great tasting. The Sharks connected us with Jamba Juice and we could not have found a better company with whom to align and grow our brand."
Talbott Teas' products are available online at QVC, fine retailers, and the Talbott Teas website as well as specialty retailers, gourmet grocers, salon spas, select luxury hotels and restaurants throughout the Chicagoland area. Talbott Teas will also be available for sale at Jamba Juice locations. The purchase of Talbott Teas is part of Jamba's strategy to accelerate growth through the acquisition of specialty, lifestyle brands that support Jamba's expansion into new and relevant product categories.
About Jamba Juice Company
Founded in 1990, Jamba Juice Company JMBA +1.12% is a leading restaurant retailer of better-for-you beverage and food offerings, which include great tasting fruit smoothies, fresh juices and teas, hot oatmeal made with organic steel cut oats, fruit and veggie smoothies, Whirl'ns(TM) Frozen Yogurt, breakfast wraps, sandwiches and wraps, California Flatbreads(TM), and a variety of baked goods and snacks. As of January 3, 2012, there were 750 locations in the United States consisting of 307 Company-owned and operated stores and 443 franchise-operated stores. In addition, as of January 3, 2012 there were 19 international locations. For more information on Jamba Juice, please visit: www.jambajuice.com , become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jambajuice or follow us on Twitter @JambaJuice.
About Talbott Teas
Talbott Teas was founded in 2003 by Shane Talbott, former owner of the highly regarded Troupe salon and spa in Chicago and stylist to the stars. Utilizing only Fair Trade Certified tea growers, Talbott Teas creatively combines the finest all natural and organic whole-leaf teas which are artfully blended with fruit, flowers, herbs, and spices, to create sophisticated, elegant tea blends, free of artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives. Talbott Teas is a lifestyle brand that gives consumers a healthy and tasteful experience through its collection of luxury, designer, whole-leaf teas and accessories that are steeped in style. Profiled on the Oprah Winfrey show and selected as one of Oprah's "Favorite Things" in 2010, Talbott Teas are available in 23 blends. For more information on where to purchase Talbott Teas visit our website at www.Talbottteas.com .
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release (including information incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference herein) contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are those involving future events and future results that are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projects as well as the current beliefs and assumptions of our management. Words such as "outlook", "believes", "expects", "appears", "may", "will", "should", "anticipates", or the negative thereof or comparable terminology, are intended to identify such forward looking statements. Any statement that is not a historical fact, including estimates, projections, future trends and the outcome of events that have not yet occurred, is a forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements are only predictions and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore actual results may differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed under the section entitled "Risk Factors" in our reports filed with the SEC. Many of such factors relate to events and circumstances that are beyond our control. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not assume any obligation to update the information contained in this press release.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50173719&lang=en
SOURCE: Jamba Juice Company
        
        For Jamba Juice Company or Talbott Teas: 
        Janice Duis, 510-596-0286 
        Company Communications
        

Monday, February 13, 2012

Why can't tea lounges be as attractive business proposition as cafes?

Why can't tea lounges be as attractive business proposition as cafes?

TV Mahalingam, ET Bureau Feb 12, 2012, 02.56PM IST

If you were to ask a colleague out for a meeting or on a date, chances are you would suggest a meeting "over a cup of coffee". However, if the same person were to come home, you would offer "chai-paani", unless you are from Chennai where filter coffee is king. That variance in behaviour can sum up how India approaches tea and coffee. Tea is what Indians guzzle; coffee is more of an occasional luxury.

Given this, it's hardly surprising that tea is sold more in India. Indians consume over 9 lakh tonnes of tea per year, compared to 80,000 tonnes of coffee, says Amuleek Singh Bijral, founder of Bangalore-headquarteredChai Point, a two-year-old retail chain which serves tea across a dozen outlets.

However, with global coffee chains firming up plans for India, the question to ask is: does tea have an image problem, given its lack of preference by the younger crowd? "Coffee, today, is for special occasions. Tea is just plain old chai," says Harish Bijoor, CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults, a branding consultancy. "Tea has taken its position as India's most consumed beverage for granted and has become a fuddy-duddy drink," he adds.
The Problem With Chai

There are several reasons for this image. "At one level, tea is something you drink daily at home. At the same time, it's also a seen as a connoisseur drink," says the marketing head of a multinational foods company. Moreover, unlike coffee, there are very few tea lounges or bars that are devoted to a culture of tea.

"As of today, there are over 1,870 cafes in the country. In comparison, there are just 41 tea lounges or cha bars in India," says Bijoor, pointing out that the likes of Barista, Cafe Coffee Day have done a great job of popularising coffee consumption in India. Now, Starbucks is coming.

"There is a need to open tea bars and lounges in the country to attract the young crowd," says AN Singh, managing director and CEO of Goodricke Group, a tea company.

It's a space that has seen some action in the past few years - with mixed results. In 2008, Tata Tea opened the first outlet of Chai Unchai, a tea chain, in Bangalore with similar intentions. That venture ran aground after a few years.
Flavoured Chai

During the same year, India's third largest packaged teamaker, Wagh Bakri opened its tea lounge in suburban Mumbai. "The response we have received is fantastic," says Yogesh Shinde, general manager, marketing, Wagh Bakri. Late last year, the company opened another tea lounge in Delhi. "Among our customers, 90% are under 25 and most of them are repeat customers," he adds.

Goodricke too has invested in tea bars. "We have opened tea bars in Bhopal and Jaipur recently. More than 90% of our customers are below the age of 30," says Singh.

And then there are the entrepreneurs like Birjal. "We are not a mall phenomenon or a lounge concept. Our outlets are near transportation hubs, technology parks and government offices," says Harvard-educated Bijral, who plans to expand chain outside Bangalore. "We will have 50 Chai Point outlets by end-2012," he says.


Coffee vs Chai

So, why is that nearly a decade and a half after Cafe Coffee Day started its first outlet, there is not a single tea lounge of scale in the country? For one, the technology to make instant coffee exists, thanks to the prominent coffee culture in the West. Tea brewing, on the other hand, is an art.

Chai Point says it eschews the usage of artificial ingredients, tea-bag-dipping and pre-mix-machines-based tea servings, instead focusing more on training personnel to make the best brewed beverage possible.

Bijoor says complacency of tea companies in India is responsible for the current scenario. "When they had all the volumes coming to them [from household consumption], they did not have to try anything new," he says.

Meanwhile, Tea Board officials say a campaign it had launched two years ago to popularise ice tea ran aground after two years due to paucity of funds. The board has now firmed up plans to organise an "India Tea Road Show" in key domestic markets.

And what's at stake? "The value of the tea market in this country is estimated at Rs 19,000 crore now, and is expected to go up to Rs 33,000 crore by 2015. The opportunities are there for an entrepreneur," says Birjal. In this case, the cup is definitely half full.

(Sutanuka Ghosal and Biswarup Gooptu contributed to this story)

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