English Tea Shop, a leading organic tea brand is the flagship brand of Amazon Trading Pvt Ltd, who manufactures and markets this value-added organic tea to over 55 countries.
Amazon was founded by its present Chairman, Mr. Gamini Jayaweera in 2000. Under his leadership the company grew steadily to become a leading valueadded tea export business.
English Tea Shop, with marketing and distribution headquarters in the UK with all manufacturing done in Sri Lanka, is headed by its current CEO, Suranga Herath, who plays a dynamic leadership role. Besides the standard black, green, and white tea, a wide range of certified organic herbal & fruit infusions are also sold.
The company works closely with organic small farmers and small-scale producers. It promotes small farming and sustainable practices, paying its farmers more than the fair-trade price to secure their commitment to organic and sustainable methods and also providing significant investments and relevant training to their suppliers.
We have strong relationships all the way from our small farmers right up to the factory from where it ends in a tea cup. Which means we are an organization who has a single channel from farm gate to distribution.
November
Q: Amazon Trading is a leading tea export company which has now established itself as an organic tea exporting company. How and why did you shift focus to organic tea exports?
We wanted to be a leading independent brand in the world with a unique sustainability model. That is why we established “English Tea Shop” in 2010. Before that we were packing a large number of different private labels. Now we have our own brand. We made ourselves organic so that we could work in a different way with tea growers and producers. We were looking into ways of committing ourselves directly to Sri Lankan farming than going through an auction system which we thought would disconnect our beautiful agriculture from the markets.
Q: How successful have you been with your organic brand, English Tea Shop?
Well, last year we won the UK’s National Business Excellence Award for Sustainability (2017). And this October, our CEO Mr. Suranga Herath was among the top 50 most ambitious business leaders in UK, according to LDC (supported by The Telegraph). Our CEO was recognized for building one of the top 10 people powered companies.
Q: How did you pick the brand name ENGLISH TEA SHOP. Is there any special reason for this name?
We are a Sri Lankan Tea Brand. Sri Lanka is both our roots and constant source of inspiration. However, we wanted to really celebrate this beautiful industry that was founded and successfully commercialized by the British during the colonial times. We also believe that English tea traditions are renowned world over. We named our brand English Tea Shop to honour and respect the traditions of old.
Q: You recently held an Organic forum here?
Yes, we hosted our first ever Organic Forum in September 2018, cementing Sri Lanka’s position as an Organic Powerhouse and one of the leading organic farming nations in the world.
The Prajāva (community) mindset is, in essence, the act of becoming central and integral to the community and therefore influencing those around you for the better. English Tea Shop has harnessed this mindset through the Organic Forum in a bid to educate our fellow community in the hope of becoming an entirely sustainable Sri Lanka.
Our purpose led vision of “celebrating communities from farm to cup” will hopefully encourage other businesses and local communities also to engage in dialogue on how the Sri Lankan organic industry can move to even greater lengths.
The forum was attended by over 150 delegates across businesses, local farms as well as research and educational institutes.
Q: What are the unique selling points of your brand?
We have strong relationships all the way from our small farmers right up to the factory from where it ends in a tea cup. Which means we are an organization who has a single channel from farm gate to distribution. Currently we are working with more than 50 countries. Since we are working closely with our farmers and producing all of our tea products in our own factory, we are very competitive. That is one of our key strengths. Our expertise in organic as a whole, the ability to source a huge breadth of great quality organic ingredients and pack them in beautiful packaging that elevates tea drinking to a premium level; has made us a very strong player in the market.
Q: What are your current export markets and what plans do you have to expand them?
Currently we export to 55 countries, around the world. We initially wanted to rapidly expand our export base but changed our marketing strategy and decided instead to strengthen distribution in the existing base. So, we will not seek to expand our existing markets, but strengthen our presence in high potential existing markets. However, if business from the right markets comes our way without actively seeking for it of course we will definitely supply to these new markets.
Q: Staff motivation and transparency are rated high in your organization. What strategies do you adopt to achieve this?
Yes, we have a permanent staff of 400 in the factories. We are in 3 locations. Our entire concept is based on the notion of Creating Shared Value. We are not doing CSR. We do many projects for suppliers to enhance their production and harvest. We have an Open Book Management system here so everyone knows our performance and financial results and feel empowered and motivated to do their best. Most companies would not give access to employees to the company’s monthly accounts; only the finance division will have this access. However, in our organization it is completely different because employees can have access to the company’s entire P&L every week. And every year we do a game called a “budgeting game” where employees have to come up with their own budgets. All teams work together to achieve our goals. A substantial portion of profits are shared with our employees. Ours is a 100% transparent business.
Q: How do you compete with other players in your industry?
We are competing with other organic tea brands and healthy gifting options. Our 400 strong staff and our commitment to work with small farmers have given us more space to be competitive with pricing; our wide product range is 100% organic and has an authentic story. We have approached all our critical areas well. We compete with leading organic tea and beverage brands in the world. We are strong enough to face competition and hold and grow our markets.
Q: Any plans to enter the local market with your brand English Tea Shop?
No, there are enough and more players in the local market. We have the capability of bringing foreign exchange and we want to strictly focus on our mission to bring more of that! That is what is very important for the country right now.
Q: What kind of support do you require from the state to develop your business?
Now the entire world is very highly concerned about the quality of food and drinks and the benefits of going organic. When we take various aspects into consideration, being organic becomes almost compulsory. Sri Lanka is a country where we can easily go organic and therefore we would expect the government to incentivize and promote organic. It is happening gradually, but more assistance is needed to make Sri Lanka an organic country. In the tea industry age old practices have to be replaced with new systems so that not only the top people in the industry but all the stakeholders will have better choices for their lives!
Q: “Leadership is about the thrill of competition and the quest for success.” Can your company relate to this statement?
Yes, a good leadership can lead a business to a next level. Leadership is a very important thing for a company, organization or even for a country. English Tea Shop is a great success today because of our leadership. Our CEO Mr.Suranga Herath is a very visionary, energetic and a passionate leader. His leadership has created a company where we work happily in a fulfilling environment together as a family. So, essentially it is the leadership that matters. bmd