PUNJANA PICKS UP FIRST US BUSINESS

Northern Ireland based independent tea blender Punjana has broken into the US market, having agreed a three variety listing with Tree of Life, a nationwide distributor and marketer of natural and organic foods with a turnover in excess of $430m. It's a potentially substantial breakthrough for Punjana, which already counts the UK's leading retailers among its customers. Based in Belfast, Punjana has been blending quality teas from carefully selected gardens in Assam and Kenya since 1896 and remains a successful and respected family owned and managed business. Punjana is the market leader by volume in Northern Ireland. A recently launched fairtrade blend has also been listed by top retail chains in the UK, including Tesco and Republic of Ireland. Around 30 per cent of Punjana's business now comes from customers throughout Great Britain. Ross Thompson, third generation co-owner of Punjana Ltd, says: ???The listing with Tree of Life gives us a foothold in this important marketplace and enables us to open contact with a number of major US Retailers. It followed a drive by the sales team to open up new markets for the Punjana range of products. ???We are immensely encouraged by the interest in our quality blends and the company's heritage. Our teas were blended in the shadow of the great cranes at Harland and Wolff shipyard and enjoyed, for example, by workers on the Titanic, Olympic and Britannic vessels. We've found customers to be fascinated by the company's story and impressed by the provenance of all our teas,??? he adds. The company, which is also accredited by the British Retail Consortium as a Grade A quality focused business, has invested heavily in the latest automated production technology and in the development of contemporary soft foil packaging, which it launched last year. It pioneered the development of soft packs containing 80 tea bags as part of an attractive re-branding programme. ???We've always sought to set Punjana apart in our markets by focusing on taste. We achieve this by ensuring that our products are made from the best leaves which we source from suppliers we've been dealing with for generations. We've an experienced team involved in blending the leaves and our production techniques ensure that all our products contain only the finest tea leaves. Interestingly, we have had an extremely encouraging response from US retailers to the Punjana Fairtrade and Decaffeinated varieties alongside excellent reviews for the Punjana Irish Breakfast tea due to be launched in the US in July 2008.???Punjana's success demonstrates the values embedded in the recently launched ???Northern Ireland Good Food Is In Our Nature??? campaign.