Tata Consumer Products Ltd will transfer its tea cafe business, “Tata Cha”, to group firm IHCL, which operates the Taj group of hotels. Tata Cha would be the Qmin brand of IHCL.
“Tata Consumer Products repeatedly assesses its businesses in line with its strategy and business objectives. As a result of this process, the company has decided to transition its Tata Cha business–a tea cafe format Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) chain to Qmin-Shops operated by a subsidiary of Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), “TCPL, earlier known as Tata Global Beverages Ltd.
This will enable TCPL to better focus on its core FMCG business, it added. Tata Cha currently has 12 stores across Bangalore serving beverages like tea, coffee, and coolers, along with snacks and merchandise. The business is a good strategic fit for IHCL and can be synergized with their Qmin brand.
TCPL MD & CEO Sunil D’Souza said the move is in line with its strategy of streamlining and simplifying operations. “Though it is a relatively small venture in its current form, exiting Tata Cha will enable us to sharpen focus on our core FMCG business”.
IHCL operates hotels under the brands Taj, SeleQtions, Vivanta, and Ginger. TCPL is already operating Tata Starbucks, a 50:50 joint venture with Starbucks Corporation, and operates around 224 stores in 18 cities.