~ Wins prestigious award as the sole victor at SLIM Nielsen People’s Awards 2019

Sri Lanka’s number one tea brand, Watawala Tea, was chosen by consumers as the ‘Most Popular Hot Beverage Brand of the Year’ for the third consecutive year at the recently-held SLIM Nielsen People’s Awards, reaffirming the brand’s leadership and recognition among Sri Lankan consumers. Watawala Tea is a 100% Sri Lankan brand from Watawala Tea Ceylon Ltd (WTCL) — the largest branded tea company in Sri Lanka—which is owned by Sri Lanka’s diversified conglomerate Sunshine Holdings PLC.

This year’s win sees Watawala Tea as the sole victor of the award for the first time in three years, surpassing numerous other tea, milk and malted food drinks in the highly competitive hot beverage category. The gala awards ceremony was held at the Water’s Edge Battaramulla for the 13^th consecutive year.

Expressing his delight and gratitude to every Sri Lankan, Group Managing Director of Sunshine Holdings Vish Govindasamy said, “The People’s Awards is a reflection of the choices and emotions of Sri Lankan consumers. Our win is a testament to the acceptance of the brand Watawala as a household name for a beverage that is consumed daily and which has truly captured the hearts and palates of Sri Lankans. We are grateful to our beloved customers for letting us champion a space in their lives. I would like to congratulate the entire team at Watawala Tea on this remarkable achievement.”

Chiming in on the same note, General Manager – Marketing at Watawala Tea Ceylon Limited, Farman Nizar, “We are both humbled and honoured to receive this award for the third consecutive year, and we will continue to invest in the brand in order to provide real value and excellence to the consumer. This latest victory at the People’s Awards further strengthens our unrivalled leadership and is a testament to the great affection Watawala Tea has received from our beloved consumers across a nation from where the best tea in the world is sourced.”

Leading independent market research tracking surveys, Lanka Market Research Bureau (LMRB) and Nielsen Sri Lanka, declared Watawala Tea as the No. 1 Brand in the tea category in the year 2018/19 after conducting a round of market research that covered all scales of households to surmise their most preferred brand of hot beverage. This latest recognition at People’s Awards cements Watawala Tea’s undisputed leadership as the leading tea brand of the country.

Watawala Tea Ceylon has the highest market share in the tea category with three brands: ‘Zesta’, ‘Watawala Tea’ and ‘Ran Kahata’ catering to three distinct market segments.  Having built a strong foundation locally, the company has embarked on an expansion programme to capture selected international markets by launching ‘Zesta Connoisseur’, an extension of Zesta to cater to premium international customers. The company is the exclusive tea supplier to Shangri-La chain of hotels, servicing over 100 luxury hotels spread across 22 countries.

Photo caption: The jubilant Watawala Tea team at the awards ceremony