KAMALIKA PIERIS

Merrill decided early on that someday he would develop ‘my own brand of tea and deliver to the customer genuine pure Ceylon tea at a reasonable price and also transfer those profits to the betterment of the people here.’  It took him four decades to achieve this.

When he first spoke about it, those he discussed it with were discouraging, skeptical and scornful.  Merrill found that the local   tea industry was designed to assist British and multinational interests and not the local entrepreneur.  There has never been a nationally articulated marking plan for Ceylon Tea to place its image before the world using its unique selling points, observed Merrill. 

Merrill believed strongly in Ceylon tea. Pure Ceylon tea is this country’s greatest asset. It is our primary homegrown product and indentifies Ceylon globally. There is no other tea in the world which is recognized internationally by the country of origin like Ceylon tea. Not is any other country globally identified by the tea it produces, he said.  

In Pure Ceylon Tea the country has a product which can stand alone and compete successfully against any tea grown in any other country.   It is the artisanal aspect of our manufacture that separates Pure Ceylon Tea from the herd, he said.

 We were producing a wonderful tea, envied for its character, flavor, quality and taste by all other producers, none of whom could match any of these features. Its value had been ignored by successive governments and local traders but was fully exploited by the multinationals who under stood it actual worth. 

 For over a century we have allowed Ceylon tea, a valuable and attractive product with enormous potential to be exported by multinational companies to other country as a raw material. The importing country debased its natural quality by blending with inferior teas, which reduced it cost and then sold it as Ceylon tea concluded Merrill.  

Merrill’s journey to promote pure Ceylon tea was not an easy one.  He     faced criticism including   damaging allegations on his style of operations.   Overseas, he had to fight alone, on their own turf, the limitlessly funded and empowered multinationals.  

But Merrill was a very experienced tea marketer with much experience selling abroad. His first visit was to Japan, his employer had sent him. He was so successful there that Lipton who had the monopoly in Japan had asked him never to visit Japan again.  

He had excellent trade relations with Russia. He had made a good impression on the first Russian ambassador to Ceylon, who asked him to take over the sale of Ceylon tea to Russia.  Merrill also traded in the Middle East. He had visited   Libya, Syria, Egypt, and Iraq.  The decades of trading activity all over the world helped Merrill to develop many useful contacts and trading partners. This was helpful when Merrill decided to launch Dilmah.

 Dilmah is possibly the one internationally marketed tea brand which buys it product only from the country where it is grown. It is owned, packed and marketed in that country, by one family, with revenue flowing back to the country of origin, said Merrill proudly. 

Merrill Fernando launched Dilmah in Australia, very successfully in 1985. I was presenting garden fresh, unblended pure Ceylon tea of   singular origin. It was packed where it was grown. This was the unique selling point in Australia.

Dilmah then made a successful debut in New Zealand. Dilmah became a popular brand in Russia   around 1988. This helped its subsequent successes in other countries.    Eventually,    Dilmah tea was selling in over 100 countries.

The advertisements for Dilmah focused  heavily  on Merrill .The advertisements consisted of a photograph  of Merrill   and a statement from him, about Dilmah,  urging  buyers   ‘Do try it’. The concept of the founder promoting his brand on TV, radio, and magazines, also talking to prospective buyers through posters, was an unusual marketing strategy and attracted consumers. These advertisements were a hit and Merrill was often called Mr. Dilmah.

Merrill   stated that Dilmah was the first major tea brand marketing project undertaken by the Sri Lanka Tea Board. It was also the maiden initiative to promote a totally Sri Lanka owned brand in an overseas market.

The Sri Lanka Tea Board was agreeable to Merrill‘s request that it should launch Dilmah in Australia. But there was opposition. The request went before the SLTB Secretariat, consisting of government nominees, 21 times before it was approved. It was then grudgingly approved by the Funding committee. Even after that, the project faced delays and active opposition by key member of the secretariat, said Merrill.

Another problem for Merrill was shipping. This was controlled by the foreign Conference Lines. The Conference Lines was essentially a cartel, created to ensure that the commodities were transported in British vessels. There was a Conference line to every destination and only they could carry   cargo even if there where quicker sailing ships.  Conference lines were represented in Sri Lanka by local agents.

It was a tightly controlled operation.  Large multinationals booked shipping space and held it till the last minute thus denying the local exporter the opportunity of booking space to ship his produce. After dropping off the tea, the ships returned with fertilizer, machinery and other good destined for the plantations. 

 I had to fight tooth and nail for an allocation of just 30-40 tonnes, recalled Merrill.   Merrill had also managed to get permission for Messageries Maritimes to carry 250 tonnes of his cargo, but this was taken by Brooke Bond.

Ceylon had her own ships, operating under Ceylon Shipping lines, but these ships were not permitted to carry any tea to the UK. The entire volume of tea exported annually to UK had to be     carried on ships owned by the UK- Ceylon Shipping Conference.

Thanks to Merrill, Ceylon Shipping was granted membership of Ceylon-UK conference lines.  However the two Chairmen of Aitken Spence and Carsons did not like this as it affected the interests of the Conference lines they were representing.

Merrill spoke highly of PB Karandawela then Permanent Secretary to Minister of Tourism and Shipping. Karandawela had introduced innovative strategies to counter the strong arm tactics of the Conference lines.  (Continued)