Luxmi Grp buys majority stake in UK-based Brew Tea co
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Kolkata: Luxmi Group, owner of the iconic Makaibari Tea Estate, has acquired a majority stake in UK-based Brew Tea Co. Brew Tea deals exclusively with orthodox tea and has both an online and offline presence in the UK.
Luxmi Group acquired an 80% stake in the company, while the remaining 20% remains with the existing promoters. After Tetley and Typhoo, this acquisition marks another British tea company being acquired by an Indian corporate, though it may not be of the same magnitude.
Brew Tea Co was founded in Manchester by Phil and Aideen Kirby and has grown into a specialty tea brand, having a revenue between 5 million-10 million pounds (around Rs 100 crore).
According to Brew Tea, its subscription service, delivering 500g of loose leaf or proper tea bags on a regular basis, now reaches nearly 10,000 homes across the UK — "brewed in over 40,000 kitchens".
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Since the discovery of Indian tea in Assam in 1823, more than two centuries have passed. For most of its history, India produced orthodox whole-leaf teas. Since the 1950s, CTC (crush-tear-curl) processing revolutionised tea by enabling mass production, faster brewing and lower costs.
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Today, over 80% of India's tea production is CTC, catering to the global demand for bagged, commoditised tea.
"We've always believed that if you start with great leaves and the right partners, you don't need to interfere too much," said Aideen.
"Sourcing directly from estates that share our values — with care for people, land and craftsmanship — is what makes our tea taste as good as it does. This partnership allows us to strengthen those relationships at the source.
What matters most to us is the experience in people's kitchens every single day," said Phil.
Luxmi Group, one of the world's leading tea producers, has estates in Assam, Darjeeling and Rwanda. "As India celebrates its bicentennial of tea grown first in Assam, we are honoured to help bring the traditional craft that made Indian tea world-famous back into global focus," said Rudra Chatterjee, MD of Luxmi Group.
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