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Multiple Options, One Solution

Unilever needs to transform tea growing in India to meet its sustainability goals for 2015. It can do this most effectively by collaborating with other major tea companies (Tetley, Twinings, Yorkshire) that have made similar commitments. They should work together to develop alternatives to harmful pesticides, establish training programs for small farmers, and promote the benefits of sustainable certification to farmers and consumers in India. This joint approach will share costs and risks, help all companies meet their goals faster, and position them well against competitors who do not collaborate. While some competitors may hesitate to join, the advantages of a unified approach outweigh the risks of not participating.

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Hasan Armoghan
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44 views

Multiple Options, One Solution

Unilever needs to transform tea growing in India to meet its sustainability goals for 2015. It can do this most effectively by collaborating with other major tea companies (Tetley, Twinings, Yorkshire) that have made similar commitments. They should work together to develop alternatives to harmful pesticides, establish training programs for small farmers, and promote the benefits of sustainable certification to farmers and consumers in India. This joint approach will share costs and risks, help all companies meet their goals faster, and position them well against competitors who do not collaborate. While some competitors may hesitate to join, the advantages of a unified approach outweigh the risks of not participating.

Uploaded by

Hasan Armoghan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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To: Michiel LeijnseFrom: Dylan BochslerDate: February 13, 2013Re: Grower

Transformation in IndiaIn order for Unilever to reach its commitment to sustainably sourcing
100% of it teaproducts by 2015, it must make a strong effort to change the tea growing
industry in Indiaby collaborating with other companies who promised the same thing.By
doing this, the
quarter of Unilevers
total tea requirement from India would besustainably sourced, and it would establish a
stronger footprint in the rapidly growingIndian market.
Multiple Options, One Solution
While there are many options to transform tea growing in India, the best way for Unileverto
change this industry is to collaborate with all the companies using Rainforest Alliancewho
also promised 100% sustainability (Tetley, Twining and Yorkshire).Unilever should work
with these companies to first, continue developing an alternative tothe current pesticide
paraquat used so widely in India. Next, the companies must establisha training program for
smaller farmers. I recommend doing this by working jointly totransform eight of the top ten
tea growers in India into sustainable tea growers and hopingfor trickle down effect. Finally,
the companies must work together to discover and thenpromote the benefits of Rainforest
Alliance certified tea to both farmers and end-consumers in India.
Major Advantages
While Unilevers competitors may be hesitant to
join the cause, the list of advantages belowshould ease any concerns:

The capital-intensive work of developing an alternative to paraquat is shared

More unified training programs will be established, pushing smallholders towardsustainable


farming at a faster rate

Each company moves one


big
step closer to its 100% sustainably sourced goal

All will have a first mover advantage against companies who decided to use UTZ, but only if
a strong message for the Rainforest Alliance can be promotedEach company will agree to do
this, because the risk of being left out is too great. If onecompany does decide to stay out, the
others will freeze them out by not working with anyof its suppliers to gain certification. Also,
the companies who do join will have a majoradvantage in brand awareness when their tea is
certified before any company who decidesnot to join.A major problem convincing companies
to join the cause is the fact that two-thirds of all teadrank in India is unbranded. However, all
must look at the bigger picture of sustaining theirestablished customer value proposition.

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