A brand pertaining to the illy Group, the Dammann Frères teas are expensive, exclusive and are very successful worldwide, including Japan and Korea
The French are, beyond a shadow of a doubt, masters in the art of luxury. Everything they create in terms of food, haute couture, jewelry, etc., is surrounded by pure glamour. And, in terms of teas, it could not be any different. The story of Dammann Frères is pure delight!
Dammann is indeed part of the history of France itself. It was the first French company to market tea in 1692. At that time, none other than Louis XIV, better known as the Sun King, was the one who granted Monsieur Françoise Dammann exclusive license to sell teas in the country. Quel privilège!
Monsier Françoise Dammann not only had the monopoly on the tea trade, but he was possibly one of the greatest travelers of all time. Imagine if you could discover in the far lands of the world, such as Sri Lanka, India, China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan and Africa, the most pure and exclusive teas. And then take them to France, impeccably packaged, to create the most refined blends by adding dried fruits, flowers, spices and natural extracts.
With his death, the company continued in the family, totally dedicated to the world of teas throughout the centuries. After World War II, as everything else in the world, the history of Dammann Frères followed another direction, when Jean Jumeau-Lafond became the director.
Jean Jumeau was responsible for some exceptional creations such as the famous Russian blend, “Goût Russe Douchka”, to this day one of the most revered products of the company. Or the Apple tea, which had a phenomenal acceptance in Japan, by the way, the land of tea.
Because of the work of Jean Jumeau-Lafond, Dammann Frères, in the last century, more precisely in the 1950s, became the first company to produce a wide variety of exclusive blends of origin and flavored teas.
But do not even think it was possible to go to the market or the nearest store to buy your Dammann Tea. To consume their preciousness, people had to go to the best hotels, restaurants and cafes around the world. Or sail into a ship belonging to the French fleet.
This only changed when the Company opened its first store in Paris, 2008, amidst the fancy Place des Vosges, between mansions and sunny terraces. From there, the brand opened stores in several addresses. There are currently six in Paris. Another seven stores in France’s countryside, one store in South Korea, two in Japan, one in Italy and one in Portugal.
At the same time, illycafè was responsible for most of the actions. Giuliana explains: “Illy is a family business, which bought different companies in the coffee (illycafè), chocolate (Domori), tea (Dammann Frères) and wine industries (Mastrojanni), as well as pasta industry (Agrimontana). For one simple reason: back in the 1930’s, when the family started their business group, they chose to work only with colonial products of the highest added value.
And, since everything that is good can get even better, during every change of season, Dammann launches new blends. On its website, www.dammann.fr, all unique origin teas as well as tea blends are available in various packages. And, currently, the 2018 Spring teas collection is now available.
Currently, Dammann Frères markets about 800 tonnes of tea per year.
In Brazil
Here in Brazil, illy’s boutique, in the Jardins District, São Paulo, sells Dammann Frères teas, as well as the brand’s commercial website, www.illy.com.br. (read the full article on illycafé in the hyperlink)
Giuliana Solari, the general director of illy for Latin America, told us that when she arrived in Brazil about six years ago, Brazilians were completely unaware of the world of tea. “The Regular Brazilian only drank tea when it was feeling sick, as a recommendation of its grandmother or the doctor”, she says. “When I attended a meeting with clients, it was obvious that I did not have to present illy’s coffees. But when talking of the Dammann’s teas the whole story was different, few of my clients had heard of it. “Slowly, thanks to the five-star hotels and establishments whose international customers are very familiar with the brand, we were able to introduce and market of the Dammann Frères teas”, she recalls.
But the culture of teas, especially in Brazil, still has a long way to go.
“Damman Frères developed bags made of nylon, known in the market as crystal bags. There are also teas whose sachets are made of silk, but these are not available in Brazil yet. Both preserve much more the flavor and, because they are translucid, the whole composition of the blends is perceived”, explains the executive. In addition, of course, the unique origin teas, which are sold in bulk.
Dammann Frères teas are present in the best hotels of the country such as Tangará, Hyatt, Tivoli, Emiliano and Copacabana Palace, among others. They even make our brand products available in their teas services.
“About 80% of our market share is what we call HO-RE-CA, hotels, restaurants and cafes. But we are planning to improve our presence with the end consumer. In the last six years, sales of Dammann teas grew by 30% in Brazil. Our goal is to get Dammann’s teas to the Brazilians’ homes. For achieving such thing, we are selecting some different points of sales, such as Santa Luzia and São Vitor market, as well as our store in Jardins and our website: shop.illy.com.br”, concludes Giuliana.
