What Indian Tea Association does

The Indian Tea Association (ITA) is a nonprofit trade association founded in 1881 and registered as a Society under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act, headquartered at Royal Exchange, 6 Netaji Subhas Road, Kolkata. It is the oldest and premier body representing tea producers in India, with 226 member companies covering 474 estates and over 425 member gardens that collectively produce more than 400 million kgs of tea and account for over 60% of India's total tea production. ITA also functions as the Secretariat of the Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations (CCPA), the apex body of tea producer associations in India. Member gardens provide direct employment to over 400,000 workers (some sources cite 700,000+ workers supported by members across the broader tea industry).

ITA's revenue model is based on recurring membership dues from its 226 member companies; specific financial terms are not publicly disclosed. Its go-to-market is community-led advocacy: ITA serves as the collective voice of Indian tea producers, liaising with the Tea Board, Central and State Governments, and regulatory agencies; organizing exporters' delegations to overseas markets (USA, Iran, Russia, Egypt, UAE, Pakistan, Japan); hosting inbound delegations from tea-importing countries; collecting and disseminating industry statistics; running domestic and international tea promotion campaigns; administering CSR and welfare programs through its Sustainability Cell (launched December 2016); and coordinating industry R&D and welfare initiatives. ITA does not sell products, has no proprietary technology, and operates with 11-50 employees supported by a regional branch network spanning five Assam locations (Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Tezpur, Silchar, Guwahati) and West Bengal locations (Dooars/Binnaguri, Terai/Bengdubi, Darjeeling).

Its customers are tea producer companies — both listed and privately held entities (e.g., Goodricke Group, MK Shah Exports, Rossell Tea, Luxmi Tea Co) — whose interests ITA represents in policy, trade, and sustainability matters. The association plays a strategic role in shaping minimum sustainable price advocacy, climate adaptation (notably through its October 2025 partnership with Solidaridad Asia on regenerative tea farming), labour welfare, and export promotion across West Asia, North America, Europe, and South Asia.

Name

Indian Tea Association

Legal name

Indian Tea Association

Website

https://indiatea.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1881

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Indian Tea Association, founded in 1881 and headquartered in Kolkata, is India's oldest trade body for tea producers, representing 226 member companies and 425+ gardens that account for over 60% of national tea production, and serving as Secretariat of the Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tea Industry Association

NAICS

Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Tea (Leaf, Bagged, Instant, Concentrates) (CRADAHAE)

Keywords

• Tea industry association
• Tea producer advocacy
• Tea export promotion
• Plantation industry representation
• Tea sector statistics

Headquarters

HQ city

Kolkata

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: ITA generates revenue through membership fees from its 226 member companies covering 474 estates

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Indian Tea Association is a nonprofit industry association founded in 1881 that represents tea producers in India, providing collective advocacy, policy engagement with the Tea Board and government, tea export promotion, industry statistics, and sustainability coordination. It serves 226 member companies covering 474 estates representing over 60% of India's tea production, with branch offices across Assam and West Bengal.

Product overview

The Indian Tea Association (ITA) is not a product company but a trade association representing tea producers in India. Founded in 1881, it serves as the principal advisory and supervisory body for the tea industry, with over 425 member gardens representing over 60% of India's tea production. ITA provides services including industry representation to government bodies, statistical data collection and dissemination, domestic and overseas tea promotion activities, sustainability initiatives through its Sustainability Cell, and organizational activities such as the India Tea Trade Dinner. It does not offer software products or technology platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ITA Membership Services Membership-based service for tea producer companies and estate owners, providing collective industry representation, policy advocacy, and access to ITA's network of branches across tea-growing regions.
• Tea Promotion Campaigns Domestic and overseas tea promotion campaigns including India Tea Festival, Tea Carnival B2C Road Show 'Chai Ho Jaye', Business to Youth (B2Y) programs, tea and health campaigns, and generic print media campaigns targeting tea consumption.
• Tea Industry Statistics Service Collection, analysis, interpretation, and circulation of statistics and information relating to the Indian and global tea industry, including production, imports, exports, consumption, and auction prices.
• Export Delegation Services Organization of exporters' delegations to overseas countries (USA, Iran, Russia, Egypt, UAE, Pakistan, Japan) and assistance for inbound delegations from tea importing countries to promote Indian tea exports.
• ITA Sustainability Cell Sustainability coordination service for member tea producers, monitoring and reporting on ABITA-UNICEF project activities and broader sustainability initiatives in the tea industry.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 60% market share of India's tea production
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Solidaridad AsiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 October 2025ITA announced a partnership with Solidaridad Asia to promote regenerative tea farming in response to climate change challenges. This partnership aims to help tea producers adopt sustainable farming practices to mitigate climate impacts.
• Tea Board of IndiacoreOthersITA maintains close liaison with the Tea Board of India for policy coordination, industry development, and tea promotion activities both domestically and internationally.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Tea Board of India: Statutory body under India's Ministry of Commerce that regulates tea production, exports, and promotion; the closest functional counterpart to ITA and a partner across policy, promotion, and statistical work.
• Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations (CCPA): Apex body of Indian tea producer associations, for which ITA serves as Secretariat; the umbrella over regional tea producer bodies and the highest-level intra-industry coordinating forum.
• Tea Association of the USA: US national tea trade association representing tea producers, blenders, and importers; directly analogous to ITA in providing collective advocacy, promotion, and trade statistics for the US tea industry.
• UK Tea & Infusions Association: UK trade body representing the tea industry across producers, blenders, and brand owners; performs a comparable advocacy, promotion, and information-dissemination role in one of India's largest export markets.
• Ceylon Tea Traders' Association: Sri Lankan tea trade association representing producers, brokers, and exporters; structurally similar to ITA in coordinating the Sri Lankan tea value chain and engaging on policy and export promotion.
• China Tea Marketing Association: National-level tea industry association in China covering production, trade, and promotion; the closest functional analogue to ITA at scale in the world's other major tea-producing country.
• Indian Coffee Association: Trade body representing India's coffee plantation sector; structurally analogous to ITA as a domestic commodity producer association operating out of southern India with similar advocacy and statistical functions.

Emerging players

• Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA): Kenyan producer-owned tea organization managing smallholder tea factories; comparable to ITA in organizing producers and marketing collectively, though operating a more commercial producer-services model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/indian-tea-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Indian Tea Association