Sarah Branagan, Beverages Marketing Manager, Unilever Foodsolutions (2), comments: "We have been actively driving the sustainable production of tea on our tea estate in Kericho, Kenya for over 15 years. As a result of this, Unilever was the first-ever major tea producer to have its own plantations in Kericho 100 per cent Rainforest Alliance (3)Certified^TM, which was a huge step forward for the industry.

We launched the first Rainforest Alliance Certified^TM tea, Lipton Kericho Estate Tea, last year and have recently announced that 50 per cent of PG tips tea already comes from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms^TM and that PG tips is working towards being fully certified by 2010. We are hoping to revolutionise the tea industry by making sustainable tea available to the masses, giving everyone the chance to do their bit towards maintaining a sustainable future."

The ethical goods market is growing and more and more consumers are concerned about the ethics and provenance of their food. In fact 40 per cent of people state that they pay attention to where their purchases are made or grown(4). With these statistics in mind it is important for operators to communicate that they are using Rainforest Alliance certified tea not only to satisfy consumer demand but to also educate consumers so that they understand and support PG tips' goal. With a £12 million marketing spend to promote the collaboration between PG tips and the Rainforest Alliance and specially designed POS kits available for foodservice operators, Unilever Foodsolutions has made it even easier to highlight the importance of ethically traded tea to consumers.

Six out of ten consumers are more likely to buy tea from a vending machine if their favourite brand is available and five out of ten consumers are willing to pay more for it(5), so there's even more reasons to make sure your vending machine is stocked with PG tips tea, the number one vending choice.

www.pgtips.co.uk/foodsolutions

Sources:

1) TNS National Drinks Survey - MAT Sep 2007.

2) Unilever Foodsolutions is the foodservice business and trading name of Unilever UK Limited.

3) The Rainforest Alliance will make sure the tea used in PG tips tea has been grown using sustainable farming methods, and that the workers who picked it earn a decent living and have good working conditions. The collaboration will help improve incomes, crops and livelihoods of nearly one million people in Africa and eventually two million people globally.

4) Source: Mintel Organics - UK - November 2007.

5) TNS UK Omnibus Tea Drinkers Survey July 07.

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