Tetley facts for kids
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Food |
| Founded | 1837 |
| Founder | Joseph and Edward Tetley |
| Headquarters |
Greenford, London
,
England
|
|
Area served
|
Worldwide |
| Products | Tea |
| Parent | Tata Consumer Products |
Tetley is a famous English company that makes drinks, especially tea. It was started in 1837 in Yorkshire, England. Today, Tetley is the biggest tea company in the United Kingdom and Canada. It is also the second largest in the United States.
Since 2000, Tetley has been owned by Tata Consumer Products. This makes Tetley the second largest tea maker in the world, right after Unilever.
Contents
The Story of Tetley Tea
The Tetley story began in 1822 with two brothers, Joseph and Edward Tetley. They first sold salt from a pack horse in Huddersfield, England. They soon started selling tea, and it was a big success!
In 1837, they officially started their tea business called "Joseph Tetley & Co." Later, in 1856, they moved their business to London. There, they formed "Joseph Tetley & Company, Wholesale Tea Dealers."
Tea Bags and New Ideas
Tetley was a pioneer in the tea world. In 1953, it became the first company to sell tea in tea-bags in the United Kingdom. This made making tea much easier for everyone!
In 1989, after lots of testing, Tetley came up with another new idea: the round tea bag. Many people in Britain preferred this shape.
Joining the Tata Family
Over the years, Tetley joined with other companies. In 1973, it became part of J. Lyons and Co. Later, in 1995, a group of investors bought the company.
Then, in February 2000, a big change happened. Tata Group, a large company from India, bought Tetley for £271 million. This was one of the biggest purchases by an Indian company at that time.
The Tata Group owns many businesses. Buying Tetley helped Tata become a major player in the global tea market. It also helped them reach more customers in Europe and North America.
Working Conditions and Fair Practices
Tetley and its parent company, Tata Consumer Products, are committed to fair working conditions. They work with experts to check on the living and working conditions for tea workers. They want to make sure that everyone involved in making their tea is treated well.
UNICEF, a children's charity, is also working with tea companies like Tetley. They are helping to improve conditions for children in tea-growing areas in India.
How Tetley Works
Tetley makes and sells its tea in over forty countries around the world. They sell more than sixty different kinds of tea bags.
In the past, Tetley bought tea leaves from many different places. They would blend about 40 different types of tea from over 10,000 tea farms. This helped them create unique and high-quality tea. By 1990, Tetley was making 20 billion tea bags a year! This made it the second largest tea brand globally, after Lipton.
After Tata Consumer Products bought Tetley, things changed. Now, most of Tetley's tea leaves come from Tata's own tea farms. These farms are mainly in India and Sri Lanka. This helps Tetley control the quality of its tea from start to finish.
See also
- Brooke Bond
- Lipton
- PG Tips
- Tata Tea
- Tetley Tea Folk
- Typhoo tea
- Twinings
- Yorkshire Tea
- Clipper Teas
