A Sri Lankan Underdog Battles Global Tea Giants
NY TIMES
by Vikas Bajaj
“All the brands without exception sell as white tea either 99 percent black tea or green tea with one piece of white tea,” Mr. Fernando, 79, said ruefully. “This is what we are up against. This is what the consumer is up against. But this is part of normal trade, and I have begun to accept it.”
Twinings said it used a Chinese white tea variety known as Bai Mudan in its tea bags and the more exclusive silver needle variety, which is similar to Dilmah’s white tea, in its loose leaf tea.
Mr. Fernando has relished his role as the underdog battling the giants of the global tea business. In the last two decades, he has built Dilmah into one of the world’s largest independent tea companies and one of the best-known Sri Lankan brands by selling tea that is critically acclaimed and more expensive than the competition.
His company’s story symbolizes the path that other Sri Lankan businesses and industries have had to follow to compete with the likes of China and India, which have lower costs of production and the advantage of size. To attract business, Sri Lankan companies have become specialists and producers of affordable yet exclusive products. In apparel, for instance, producers here have established themselves as a go-to source for lingerie and sportswear so they do not have to compete on cheaper clothes directly with low-cost mass producers like Bangladesh and China.
