Ceylon Tea global promotion campaign kicks off in Moscow

• World Food Exhibition at Crocus Centre has been the platform for the curtain raiser of the launch
• Positive feedback from representatives from around the world
• The global promo is set to move to Japan and China in March and May next year

The maiden launch of the Ceylon Tea Global Promotion Campaign took-off ceremonially with pomp and pageant in the capital city of the Russia Federation last week. 
Moscow was the center of attraction where 150 guests from the tea fraternity were mesmerized by the cultural troop of Chandana Wickramasinghe consisting of ten male and female dancers. 

The tea plucking dance, the peacock dance and the fire dance were some of the most prominent events which shook the hearts of the Russians with the grand finale, a tea ceremony ritual similar to the period of the ancient kings of the island. 

This was the first time ever, that Sri Lanka Tea Board launched an international publicity programme and a propaganda blitz of such magnitude after the Ceylon Tea advertising campaign at the Summer Olympics in Moscow during 1980. 

The 28th session of the World Food Exhibition at Crocus Centre in Moscow was the platform for the curtain raiser of the launch on September 24th, again with a magnificent cultural performance by Chandana & Troupe in front of the Sri Lanka Tea Pavilion. 

Dayan Jayathilake, Ambassador for Sri Lanka in Moscow, J.A. Ranjith-Secretary, Ministry of Plantation Industries, Lucille Wijewardena-Chairman Sri Lanka Tea Board and his team, tea export trade and other stakeholders from Sri Lanka with the Russian counterparts graced the occasion. 

The World Food Exhibition is one of the largest food & drink international events held annually in the Russian Federation where buyers/sellers, importers/exporters, suppliers/customers, distributors/packers negotiate and transact business orders. 

Many representatives from around the world commented positively and praised the programme for the awareness boosting exercise for Ceylon Tea among the visitors who patronized the food & drink extravaganza. 

The TASS News Agency conducted an exclusive interview with Tea Board Chairman and Hasitha de Alwis, Consultant (Global Promotion) regarding the objectives of the campaign in the Russian Federation, the expected outcome, the present status-quo in the tea market of Russia, the recent trends and demand/supply situation on the face of the Russian economic difficulties etc. 

It was indeed a fitting tribute to the people of the Russian Federation which maintained the prime position as the number one import market for tea from Sri Lanka for almost two decades until just a couple of years ago, now slipping to the third place after Iraq and Turkey. 

The afternoon commenced with a media conference attended by almostfifty (50) media personalities from the television, radio, press, magazines and on-line services (social media bloggers amd influencers). 

The Sri Lanka Tea Board realigned its traditional promotional campaign strategy from the past where it was mostly a Business-to-Business (B2B) focus to a Business-to-Consumer (B2C) targeting through the new campaign. 

The global promotional launch for Ceylon Tea is programmed to move to the two vital Far Eastern destinations of Japan and China in March and May 2020 respectively. The other target markets within the campaign include USA, Australia, Chile, Germany, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Iran and are scheduled to commence during second half of next year. 
The campaign is expected to increase the awareness for Ceylon Tea among the global consumers and convey to the end user, the correct method of recognizing genuine Ceylon Tea branded packs on the retail shelf through the ‘Lion Logo’ symbol as well as the linkage between Ceylon Tea and the Indian Ocean island of Sri Lanka. This would ultimately transform into a higher demand at the Colombo Tea Auctions resulting in better prices to the farmer.