Trouble in a Tea Pot

Submitted by: Group 7

PGP/18/353 Hemant Dahiya PGP/18/281 Vinod Kumar
PGP/18/349 Vibha Hardiya
PGP/18/320 S Madhav
1
PGP/18/299 Jatin Choudhary PGP/18/350 Nikita Prabhakar
PGP/18/188 Bhuvnesh Prakash

Case Facts : India Tea Company

Involved in the blending and selling of packaged leaf and dust tea for
several decades
Many brands offered , catering to different segments of the market
Intense competition from other package tea companies and loose tea
sellers (sold by mainly retailers)
Most of the black tea bought in auctions held at Guwahati, Siligury,
Calcutta, Coimbatore and Cochin
Blend for each brand comprised of 6 to 15 varieties of different teas in
various proportions prepared by experts
Quality of a brand of tea determined by variety of factors : flavour,
strength, liquor colour, taste, aroma etc.

PROBLEMS FACED BY THE COMPANY

Drop in Market Share of Jewel , a 10 year old former brand leader in the
premium priced leaf tea segment
Two new brands introduced by competitors in the premium priced leaf
tea segment category , perceived to be of better quality
Increase in sales of the overall category of loose tea leaves
Reports from field sales managers regarding deterioration in product
quality of Jewel , especially with respect to strength and color
Apprehensions regarding perceptions of deteriorations rather than actual
deterioration as Jewel had passed the Expert Testers Assessment
3

SAMPLE

Own Product
customers
used more
than 5 yearrs

Customers
who switched
to other
brands

Competitor
Brand
customers

Sample is chosen from premium

price segment
Sample is divided into 3 sub
categories to disguise test first and
monadic test later
Location: Home test

Disguised Test
Same product sample is given to the group which they are using currently
Three sub categories are used in disguised and monadic test
Own Product Customer

Switched customers

Competitor brand
customers

Jewel tea is given for

disguised test

Brand currently used is

given for the disguised test

Brand currently used is

given for the disguised test

Choose the group from each subcategory who are able to Identify the
similar attributes of the product
Own product customers are interviewed on quality and color to identify if there is any
change over the time

Monadic Test

The qualified group from

each subcategory the
disguised test of
switched customers and
competitor customers
will be considered for
monadic test

Switched customers and

competitor customers
are now given a sample
of Indian tea
Company(Jewel tea) after
some gap to identify the
attributes on which they
discriminate or prefer or
accept the product.

Simultaneous Paired Comparison

Test
Brand A, Brand B, Loose leaf tea are

Product 1

Product 2

used for paired comparison test

with jewel.
Blind test and As Marketed test is
carried our on the factors identified
in monadic test

Brand A

Jewel

Brand B

Jewel

Loose leaf

Jewel

Conclusion
The Monadic test would help to determine whether there is a real

decrease in colour or quality of tea over the years

If it is detected that there is a decrease in quality or colour of the tea,
then these attributes can be reworked by setting higher standards
If the respondents do not detect any decrease in colour or quality,
then the reason for decrease in market share could be any other
attribute which comes up in monadic test or any non-product related
feature
The monadic test will also give us the discriminating attributes which
will be tested in the Simultaneous Paired test
Simultaneous paired test will help determine the attributes which
impact the buying decision most so that we can better those
particular attributes in Jewel tea
If Jewel tea fares well compared to its competitors when assessed
holistically, then the reason for drop in market share could be nonproduct related factors