Calcutta, May 14: Assam Co Ltd (ACL) will restart its packet tea division after a gap of five years by investing Rs 22 crore in the next four months. It will revive Assam Gold as well as introduce a new brand.

The packet tea division, which operated from 1993 to 2001, closed down due to logistics and labour problems.

“We are putting a team in place to start with a soft launch in the next four to five months with a focused market approach,” said Abhay Chawdhry, chief financial officer of ACL.

The company is looking for a corporate channel partner with a pan-India network.

“Learning from experience, ACL is willing to give a cash discount incentive to distributors in return for fast-track payment, so that the capital is not blocked,” Chawdhry said.

“Our brand audit has shown that consumers still remember the Assam Gold, which we had discontinued. Therefore, we want to revive it,” said Chawdhry.

An Assam Gold packet will be priced at between Rs 60 and Rs 65 per 250 gm.

Another mass brand, likely to be named First Class, would be introduced with a tag of Rs 50 for 250 gm.

Assam Gold, the premium brand, would be a mix of CTC and orthodox while the mass brand would comprise only CTC.

The packaging facility of ACL is based near its tea garden in upper Assam.