Five questions for: Suranga Herath, English Tea Shop

published 26 May 2017

Founded in 2010, the English Tea Shop is a leading global speciality tea company. Our range has recently become 100% organic to drive a better product, not just for the environment but for an increasingly health-conscious customer base too. In addition to this, we sell 350 million teabags each year worldwide in premium organic and natural food markets.

What's been your greatest achievement so far?

We have built up an impressive retail and wholesale customer base in 50 markets worldwide and our group reached £22m of turnover in 2016. We're set to continue this success and we are planning to double our turnover by 2021.

What has been your biggest challenge?

For us, our biggest challenge was building a platform to link up with small organic farms in Sri Lanka and bring their products to our markets worldwide. However, through building close and long-lasting relationships with the farmers who grow our tea, we have ensured a premium product. This ultimately delivers better value to everyone.

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What are your plans for hitting your targets this year?

We want to build on the inroads we've made in the branded food-service market. Understanding what our consumers want is key to achieving our targets in this area. We've had instant success due to our attractive and unique packaging, superior teas and tisanes, and unparalleled range, including such distinctive flavours as "chocolate rooibos and vanilla".

What's the one piece of advice you'd give fellow entrepreneurs?

English Tea Shop is a business rooted in sustainability and we believe businesses should be savvy about how long-term growth can be achieved across the supply chain. Businesses nowadays have more of a responsibility to go beyond profit-making models and use their influence to better the wider community.