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Ekaterra tea board chair Pierre Laubies, left, with newly named CEO Nathalie Roos. Roos now heads the largest tea company in the world.
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Ekaterra tea CEO Nathalie Roos.
Nathalie Roos, the newly named CEO of the world’s largest tea company, ekaterra, announced her vision of a “grounded in reality” business that delivers outstanding sustainable growth.
“As the market leader, our responsibility is not only to succeed but also to help lift the entire industry to the top,” Roos posted on her LinkedIn profile. “What does it take?” she continued, “Put simply: infusing quality into everything we do, bringing value to everyone in a global value chain, from the women and men who pick the tea leaves on tea estates to the final consumers.”
Roos is currently a non-executive director at Pret-a-Manger and a member of the board of French cheese marketer Bel Group. She was previously head of L’Oreal Professional Products, leading a team of 12,000 people with a turnover of €3.4 billion. Her experience in the beverage and packaged goods segment includes executive positions at the Mars Group, where in 2004 she achieved a business turnaround that grew sales over 36% within three years.
“During my first week at ekaterra, I have been meeting with our amazing teams from all over the world. I shared with them the ambition to make ekaterra a ‘Great Place to Grow,’” writes Roos, who replaced John Davison, the executive responsible for executing a “carve out” after Unilever CEO Alan Jope announced in January 2021 his frustration with sluggish performance in the tea division. Unilever’s portfolio at the time consisted of about 40 tea brands, including Lipton, PG Tips, Pukka Herbs, TAZO, and T2 retail, with a combined annual turnover of €2 billion ($3.1 billion) in 2020.
In November 2021, Rotterdam-based CVC Capital Partners Fund VIII bested several bidders to reach a sales agreement for €4.5 billion that closed on July 1. Coffee executive Pierre Laubies was named chair of the board. Ekaterra tea now consists of 34 of Unilever’s brands, 11 production facilities, and tea estates in three countries.
Unilever remains the world's third-largest tea company, having retained its brands in India, Nepal, and Indonesia, its partnership with PepsiCo for RTD teas in the U.S., and properties in Africa, India, and Indonesia.
Roos praised tea’s “extraordinary” cultural role, describing a beverage served 8.2 billion times a day as “an unquenchable source of joy in every country, every region, and every family.”
“Tea holds an extraordinary role in societies around the world, steeped in tradition, culture, and community spirit,” said Roos. “It also has an incredible power to evolve and always be relevant to the times. Ekaterra’s future will embody these elements, too, alongside ambitious plans to become a leader in sustainable tea production, in farming and distribution methods, and as a supporter of the communities in which we operate,” she said.
Laubies is a 30-year veteran of the coffee industry at Jacobs Douwe Egberts. He previously held executive positions at Coty, Mars, and Campbell Soup Company.
In a press release distributed on July 1, Laubies wrote that “Nathalie has precisely the right blend of skills for the role, with her strong commercial background, her ability to develop great teams, and a passion for building consumer brands and delivering growth. Working alongside Nathalie, we have the opportunity to grow our world-leading tea business committed to reaching the highest sustainability goals.”