Tetley seeks business joint venture partner
Tea producer Tetley is looking for a partner to help with its new business development plans and is understood to have approached advertising agencies.
The company, which opened a cafe called Gaffer’s in Manchester’s Royal Exchange shopping centre last July, is looking at both the possibility of rolling out the themed restaurant as a chain, and of developing products which are on sale in the tea shop.
The Gaffer’s concept was developed in house in conjunction with an independent designer and is themed around the Tetley Tea Folk cartoon characters.
It sells a range of Tetley teas, soft drinks and food. Also available is Tetley Tea Folk merchandise, which was previously only on sale to consumers through mail-order and on pack.
Paul Nicholson, formerly new product development manager, who has been made general manager of Tetley’s new business unit, says: “The agency we are looking for will receive a very wide business development brief that will focus around ideas generation.
“It will take a broad look at what opportunities are existing for us.”
The aim is to build upon the work of the new product development team on black tea.
Tetley uses DMB&B as its creative agency for the Tetley Tea Bags.
The company is the world’s second largest maker of teabags. It abandoned flotation plans in June last year because of management dissatisfaction over the price City advisers said the shares would fetch.
