Calcutta, July 27: Goodricke Group has chalked out an aggressive expansion plan to open tea lounges across the country after seeing a good response to its initial foray.

The company is looking for space in Calcutta, where it has its headquarters, apart from metro cities Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.

It has opened two lounges in Bhopal and one in Indore. Last year, the company opened one in Kurseong at Margaret's Hope tea garden.

"The lounges serve three purpose. It helps to educate customer, promote the company's brand and make some money on the way," Arun N. Singh, managing director and chief executive officer of the company, said.

The first lounge in Bhopal - called Goodricke Tea Pot - started making profit from the first year. The Margaret's Hope outlet also started off well before the political disturbances in the hills derailed its progress.

In Calcutta, Goodricke has three kiosks in top clubs CC&FC, Calcutta Club and Saturday Club. Now the company wants to have lounges outside, ideally spread over 1,500-3,000 square feet.

"We are looking for a good place in Calcutta. This city loves Darjeeling tea. Our idea is to open one in every metro, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore," Singh added.

Premium tea demand

The company said the lounges were an eye-opener as it discovered the Indian's penchant for top-of-the- line teas. "We saw people buying white tea at Rs 5,000-6,000 a kilo. We never thought Indians would pay such prices. But the demand is very high for such speciality teas," the Goodricke MD said.

The Tea Board of India also supports such endeavours by providing subsidy as it wants to popularise tea drinking.

Goodricke, owned by Camelia PLC of the UK, is one of the few tea growers able to build a brand in the market. Last year, it sold 8 million kg branded tea, which contributed 25 per cent to its revenue.