Global roll-out of Zesta Connoisseur Collection to Shangri-La Hotels nears completion

Training programme in Thailand conducted by Thiyagi Perera and Mevan de Silva

Watawala Tea Ceylon, a subsidiary of Sunshine Holdings PLC – continued the rapid roll-out of its flagship premium Ceylon Tea brand Zesta with its exclusive Zesta Connoisseur Collection, which is anticipated to reach all of Shangri-La’s 110 hotels and resorts around the world by the end of this year.       

Commenting on the invaluable international exposure gained as a result of the recent partnership between Shangri-La and Watawala Tea Ceylon Ltd, Sunshine Holdings PLC Group Managing Director Vish Govindasamy said: “Our partnership with Shangri-La Hotels to globally distribute the ‘Zesta Connoisseur’ range is a true milestone for our brand. In that regard we are very pleased with the remarkable speed at which our premium range has been expanded across this prestigious 
global franchise.” 

Commencing from June 2016, the Zesta Connoisseur Collection range of teas was initially introduced into Shangri-La hotels in Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia. Over the course of the next two months, Zesta’s premium range was rapidly expanded to cover Shangri-La’s luxurious hotels and resorts in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Mauritius, the United Kingdom, France, Maldives, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Australia, and Fiji.

The Zesta Connoisseur Collection is a premium range of teas from Zesta which include Black Tea, Green Tea, Oolong tea and Herbal Infusions. The Collection also includes the highly sought-after single estate black teas sourced from Watawala Plantation’s award winning estates - Waltrim, Kenilworth and Shannon. The Zesta Connoisseur range also includes several unique offerings such as the popular Peach, Strawberry, Mango, Almond flavoured teas in addition to the green teas and herbal infusions.

“In many ways, our partnership with Shangri-La is the ideal platform from which to introduce the Zesta Connoisseur range to the world. By building up such natural associations between premium products like our Zesta Connoisseur range and world renowned brands like Shangri-La, I believe we can raise the profile of Ceylon Tea and thereby significantly develop demand for our teas among affluent niche consumer demographics around the world,” Govindasamy explained.
Parallel to the roll out of exclusive tea range, Watawala Tea also launched a comprehensive training programme aimed at educating hotel staff on the ‘Art of Tea’- from in-depth lessons on the manufacturing process through to precise brewing techniques essential to creating the perfect cup of tea. 

A total of 40 training programmes for over 3,000 staff have been completed in over 20 countries within which Shangri-La operates.
A unit of diversified local conglomerate, Sunshine Holdings PLC, Watawala Tea Ceylon is Sri Lanka’s largest branded tea company and is a joint venture between Sunshine Holdings, TATA Global Beverages and Wilmar-Singapore. The company manages three distinct brands of Ceylon Tea namely: Zesta Tea, Watawala Tea and Ran Kahata.