Lipton has tea machine campaign down to a T

UNILEVER is to launch a single-serve Lipton tea machine to help reinvigorate the struggling brand and challenge Nestlé, which has spent five years pushing a similar Nespressolike device for tea.

Unilever’s machine, called T.O. by Lipton and manufactured by appliance maker Krups, will go on sale in France tomorrow, spokeswoman Amanda Hearn said.

The device will cost about à179 (R2 765), à100 more than Nestlé’s cheapest tea machine in that market.

A box of 10 tea capsules costs about à3.90.

The success of Nespresso, the sales growth of which peaked at more than 40% in 2007, has inspired food companies to experiment with other machines that tie in users to their brands.

Campbell Soup formed an alliance with Keurig Green Mountain this month to sell K-Cups to make chicken noodle soup.

Nestlé started selling Special.T machines in 2010 as the Swiss foodmaker began applying the Nespresso business model to other products, such as baby formula.

Special.T’s website is advertising rebates of as much as à30 on its machines in France, lowering its price range to between à79 and à109.

The Lipton brand had not yet lifted growth to the level Unilever was capable of, CEO Paul Polman, who previously was finance director at Nestlé, told investors in July.

Unilever’s refreshment division, which includes Lipton, reported revenue of à5.5- billion for the first half of the year.

Lipton was founded in Scotland in the 1880s and was acquired by London and Rotterdam-based Unilever in 1972. — Bloomberg