Southampton: Ahmad Tea aims to double US sales to $16m by 2018

Ahmad Tea, the number-one loose-leaf tea brand in the world, aims to double its US sales from $8 million at trade value in 2016 to $16m by 2018 through continued product development, recruitment and factory innovation.

Founded in 1986 as a tea boutique in Southampton, the family-owned company has already achieved stellar success over the past 30 years.  From humble roots as a tea boutique, it is now in the top-five speciality tea brands globally, exporting to more than 80 countries worldwide, spanning six continents. 

Constantly innovating, Ahmad Tea is leading the way in raising the quality of mainstream tea across the globe. The company holds around 2% of global market share and has over 1,000 employees worldwide, with top markets including the US, the UK, Russia, Iran and Iraq, and international sales accounting for over 95% of the business.  

Reaping the benefits of a 15% year-on-year growth rate in the US, current exports to this market account for 5-10% of all international exports. Ahmad Tea products are already stocked in major US retailers Whole Foods and Giant Food Stores, as well as numerous independent retail chains across the country. 

Priding itself on its operational excellence, Ahmad Tea has invested £50m in its nine factories in the last decade, meeting growing consumer demand for an increasingly diverse range of products and allowing for 25 million cups of tea worldwide to be made every day.  

Building on global retail sales of approximately $300m per annum, Ahmad Tea aims to further enhance its operations through state-of-the-art manufacturing, sales-and-distribution expansion, and product development. 

Ali Afshar, general manager and board member of Ahmad Tea, said: “It is fantastic to see our investment and growth strategy has paid off thus far.  It is our belief that everyone deserves great quality tea, and that there is still a wealth of opportunity to be had.” 

Corporate social responsibility is also high on the agenda for Ahmad Tea. Working together with Oxfam, it is leading the way in this area and has so far supported 8,000 lives by providing access to water in Niger and Mali, which suffer from limited natural resources and recurrent drought. 

In line with its ISO14000 environmental management commitments, Ahmad Tea has inserted solar panels in its main offices and factories; it has worked with manufacturers on bespoke solutions to reduce the heat output of its tea machinery; and it harvests rain water to further minimise its environmental footprint.