The UK-headquartered family business started its journey in England when a young tea-trader pursued his vision of creating exceptional tea that could be enjoyed by everyone. In 1986, Mr Rahim Afshar and his brothers established Ahmad Tea, while drawing upon the knowledge and experience of three generations of the family in all areas of the tea trade, from plantations to blending and packaging. Today, Ahmad Tea is synonymous with the very finest teas, bringing its products to tea lovers in more than 80 countries.
The company’s extensive portfolio of over 200 products includes individually wrapped tea bags as well as loose tea, ranging from black and green teas to a rich variety of herbal teas of many combinations and functional teas to suit any taste and preference.
Mahdi Mansourfar, Director of Manufacturing at Ahmad Tea, who has been with the company for 28 years, says: “Our headquarters continue to be in England, near Southampton in Hampshire, and also house a distribution centre for the British market and our Central Tea Tasting Room, but our production facilities are spread across several countries around the world.”
The perfect cup of tea
He himself has been instrumental in helping to expand the company’s global footprint, overseeing the construction of Ahmad Tea’s production plants in several countries, including its flagship site in the United Arab Emirates, opened in 2012 as Ahmad Tea’s showcase of best-in-class production principles and environmentally sustainable business practices. From here, bulk blended teas are supplied to other Ahmad Tea factories around the world, with annual production exceeding 14 million kg of tea.
“Our sales are increasing every year and that is for a simple reason – our tea simply offers the best quality for affordable prices. Ahmad Tea is recognised in all our regions as high-quality products and quite rightly so. Every blend is sampled seven times during its journey from the plantation to the consumer’s cup – a process overseen by our Chairman, Mr Rahim Afshar, and his team of world-leading tea masters. Nothing leaves our tasting room until they are perfectly happy with flavour, aroma, strength, and consistency.
He points out that the strictest tests and checks are Ahmad Tea’s clear differentiator. The result is a quality that is consistent in every country in which the tea is sold. “Tea is a natural product affected by natural conditions, so to provide a stable taste profile is not always easy. Yet we guarantee the same standard for everyone, rich or poor – English Breakfast is English Breakfast everywhere.”
How is this achieved? According to the company, where possible, the pluckers hand-pluck only the top two leaves and bud of the tea plant to ensure the leaf stays intact. During blending, Ahmad Tea’s artistry relies on selecting the best teas at the right time of year, blending for consistent taste and aroma, and ensuring the rigorous standards are never compromised.
Doing it right
Ahmad Tea’s quality has been widely recognised many times. Since 2015, the company has collected 22 Great Taste Awards and in 2018 was given the distinguished honour of being named a Great Taste Producer. This year, another milestone was achieved – Ahmad Tea was the first tea company to receive the King’s Award for Enterprise for its Sustainable Development programme.
“This was certainly a proud achievement and very important recognition, verifying that we do not just think of developing the business but also look at doing it the right way,” says Mansourfar, mentioning another prized achievement, the prestigious EcoVadis Gold rating, ranking Ahmad Tea among the top 3% of sustainable manufacturing companies worldwide.
The company supports many charitable causes locally, and globally gives back to the places it sources its tea. Mansourfar affirms that supporting the communities of growers has always been a priority. Ahmad Tea’s products are ethically sourced, ensuring transparency and traceability through the company’s transparency programme.
As members of the Ethical Tea Partnership and collaborators with the Thirst International Roundtable for Sustainable Tea, the company works to mitigate risks affecting women, children, and vulnerable populations in the tea industry.
“The pluckers and their families are extremely important to us – without them there would be no tea and no company. We have initiated many projects to improve the livelihoods of communities where we operate, from securing together with Oxfam drinking water for 62,000 people in Niger, to building a cancer hospital in Sri Lanka and supporting women in the tea gardens of Assam and Kenya with nutrition and health programmes. Our success should benefit local communities first of all.”
Increasing market share
Ahmad Tea products use 100% whole leaf tea with natural flavouring and Mansourfar points out that refraining from artificial ingredients was the company’s policy long before the ‘healthy eating’ trend emerged. The company is now moving to the next level, making the packaging more ‘natural’, limiting, and replacing the use of plastics.
“Tea packaging needs high-barrier materials to keep the tea fresh with its desired taste and aroma and we have made some significant improvement in this respect. Making our packaging more environmentally friendly is something we think about every day. For example, last year we fully removed overlap cellophane from our production. The carton of course is paper, a fully recyclable material.”
He points out that sustainability is also reflected in the investment the company is making in technology. “Every year, we buy new machines from the best manufacturers around the world to both increase capacity but also to replace old machines that cannot process plastic-free packaging. We strive to improve in every respect, from reducing the overall carbon footprint to minimising the use of water and managing waste.”
In concluding, Mansourfar acknowledges that as the demand for Ahmad Tea grows, the company is looking at increasing its market share in all regions, with a target to grow annually by at least 7%. In the future, Ahmad Tea will continue with Innovations and expansion in product blends, remaining committed to supporting the communities, while ensuring the highest quality standards.
