One of the largest tea processors in India, with plantations across 2,200 acres in Assam and West Bengal, MLD Group’s plantations are managed by a team of tea agriculture professionals, soil scientists and irrigation and drainage experts.
MLD has invested in the prevailing technology of the day. For processing the produce, it has progressively graduated to fully-automated equipment in a controlled environment, monitored by a team of skilled professionals.
MLD produces superior black CTC teas that are respected in the tea auction houses in India. These teas are packaged and branded as Bateli and Merryview, fetching a sizeable premium over competing varieties.
MLD invested in automated withering equipment for leaf withering in a controlled environment - a first among tea processors in the region.
MLD implemented an ambitious irrigation plan, under the supervision of leading drainage consultants, that promises to de-risk tea bushes from the vagaries of weather – a first of its kind in India’s tea sector
The MLD Group adopted a new business model in the organised segment of India’s tea sector. This model comprised the commissioning of the Group’s state-of-the-art Toong,Tejo Teesta View facilities, which processes green leaves sourced from more than thousands of small farmers, with relatively smaller plantations, in the vicinity of its facilities. MLD’s processing plants are amongst India’s most sophisticated tea processing factories. It is also one of the largest processing plants in the sector.
The layout of the factories is designed by experts with a rich experience in commissioning high-capacity facilities in Kenya and India.
The Group invested in the longest belt in the industry to ferment tea leaves. The belt speed is linked to programmable temperature and humidity control equipment to transform diverse inputs into the perfect and consistent aroma and colour.
The Group created a team of managers resulting in professionalism and accountability.
The Group invested in creating a controlled environment comprising troughs with temperature and moisture control devices for the specialised withering of green leaves.
The Group invested in tea processing automation to the extent of more than 90% of its productive equipment, liberating the process flow from human intervention, a pioneering initiative for the sector in India.
Bateli
Merry View
Toong
Teesta View
Tejo
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is a legal authority that offers a food license to all food business operators (FBO) in India. ... FSSAI Registration ensures the security of food products and it is essentially a food safety certificate circulated by the food authority in India.
It is mandatory to acquire FSSAI registration for traders or all food business operators who are involved in the food business.
Trustea is a locally developed and owned Indian sustainability code and verification system for the tea sector. Trustea supports smallholders, tea estates and bought leaf factories in improving their competitiveness by positively influencing the scale of production, farm organization, processing, new technologies, supply chain development, and regulatory compliance.
Trustea also works to improve the livelihoods of smallholders and tea estate workers, consumer safety and productivity. This India specific sustainability tea code has been developed from within the Indian industry, by the industry and for the industry, incorporating globally prevalent sustainability practices.