YEREVAN, September 13. /ARKA/. An Armenian company producing "Manana" herbal teas has entered the international market owing to financing from Unibank, the bank said in a press release. It said a famous French wine-maker, named the best sommelier of Europe and France, Franck Thomas, who visited Armenia a few days ago with the assistance of Unibank, took also part in the tasting of the organic tea "Manana" and was told about the unique technology used to process and package Armenian herbal teas.

The "Manana" tea is a blend of more than 15 herbs, such as mint, chamomile, basil, chamomile and others. These ingredients are gathered by rural residents in the highlands. Now the company employs more than 160 qualified workers who gather the herbs, but plans to expand production volumes, thereby increasing the number of herb gatherers to 600.

The expansion of production and creation of new jobs is also facilitated by the possibility of exports. For several months "Manana" has been exporting its teas to Russia prompting a growth in sales. In October this year, the first batch of teas will be exported to the United Arab Emirates, and soon to the US, Germany and France.

"The Manana brand has a long history with many successes recorded. To expand the high-quality production the company needed financial investments," said Unibank First Deputy Chairman Ararat Ghukasyan.

He said thanks to cooperation with Unibank, the company has completely renewed itself and is now at the stage of obtaining ISO certification, which will allow it to sell its produces both in Western Europe and the USA. He added that the company managed to reorganize the production and exports in just three months.

The company is working under the control of organic certification structures, which carry out frequent inspections. Organic certification of products meets the requirements of Europe, the USA and Canada.
To stimulate exports and to conquer new markets, the company cooperates with WellFusion company which specializes in marketing and food production technologies.

"Among other projects, within the framework of this cooperation, the company created the world's first honey tea, which is a mix of pure honey and natural Armenian herbs. It can be used for breakfast as food and as tea by adding hot water," WellFusion director Zohrab Minasyan said.

Unibank was founded in October 2001. In 2002, it introduced the Unistream system. The main shareholder of the bank is UNIHOLDING GG LIMITED. In 2015 the bank was reorganized into an open joint-stock company. -0-