Unilever acquires tea company Pukka Herbs

British-Dutch Unilever bought British tea company Pukka Herbs, expanding its own tea portfolio even further. It already owns brands like Lipton and PG Tips.

Growing industry

Pukka Herbs gives the company a more exclusive brand, because Pukka Herbs mostly manufactures herbal and fruit tea. It is no surprise Unilever decided to invest in this industry, because compared to traditional tea, these types of tea have strong turnover growth. Currently, the market is already worth 1.6 billion euro. Pukka Herbs itself has a 30 million euro turnover and grows 30 % annually according to Unilever. It has a 20 % market share in the United Kingdom when it comes to fruit and herbal tea.

Sebastian Pole and consultant Tim Westwell founded the company in 2001 and it focuses heavily on sustainability. According to the founders, that is also the main reason, aside from a larger scale, the reason why it chose Unilever. “It is a leader in social and environmental change and it wholeheartedly embraces Pukka’s beliefs. So, there’s a meeting of values”, Pole said. “Pukka will remain 100% organic and a champion for fair trading through pioneering schemes like Fair for Life, and continue to donate 1% of its sales to global environmental charities. With Unilever, we have new levels of reach and opportunity.”