Twinings
Twinings is a 1706-founded British heritage tea brand owned by Associated British Foods PLC, manufacturing black, green, herbal, and specialty teas alongside malt drinks and gifting products for consumers in the UK, US, DACH, and West Africa.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1706
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Twinings does
Twinings is a British heritage tea brand founded in 1706 by Richard Twining in London, England, and currently operated as R. Twining and Company Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Associated British Foods PLC. The company manufactures and supplies a broad tea and beverage portfolio spanning black, green, fruit and herbal, decaffeinated, loose leaf, and international blends (Chai, Matcha), as well as functional wellness teas under the Superblends line, ready-to-drink Sparkling Tea, Ovaltine malt drinks, and complementary offerings in teaware, gifting, biscuits, and confectionery. Its flagship 216 Strand store in London supports brand experiences, masterclasses, and direct consumer engagement, and the brand holds a Royal Warrant as supplier to His Majesty King Charles III, reinforcing its positioning in the mid-range premium tea segment. Core technology includes a global SAP S/4HANA ERP backbone (implemented with Capgemini across Europe, Thailand, China, and North America) and a 2025-launched QR code-enabled accessible packaging system that integrates with the Seeing AI and Be My Eyes apps to read product information aloud for visually impaired shoppers.
Twinings operates a multi-channel go-to-market model that combines broad third-party retail distribution (Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Whole Foods in the US; major grocers in the UK and DACH region) with its own e-commerce storefront at twinings.co.uk, premium hospitality partnerships such as Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, and B2B foodservice accounts. Revenue is generated through unit-based product sales of tea bags, loose leaf, RTD beverages, teaware, and gift sets at $3–6 per 20-bag box in the US, supplemented by category-level promotional discounting. Manufacturing is distributed across Europe, Thailand, China, and North America, with a £24 million facility under construction in Lagos, Nigeria, marking Twinings' first African production site. Sustainability commitments include 100% sustainable sourcing by 2025 and plastic-free packaging.
Geographically, Twinings serves the UK, the US, the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) where it holds 15–20% of the premium tea segment, and a newly established West African presence. The end customer base is predominantly everyday home tea drinkers, supplemented by wellness-focused consumers, premium tea enthusiasts, gift buyers, and hospitality accounts. Strategic direction is set within ABF's grocery segment, with the Twining family retaining a ceremonial brand ambassador role.
Twinings firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Twinings
- Legal name
- R. Twining and Company Limited
- Website
- https://twinings.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1706
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Twinings is a 1706-founded British heritage tea brand owned by Associated British Foods PLC, manufacturing black, green, herbal, and specialty teas alongside malt drinks and gifting products for consumers in the UK, US, DACH, and West Africa.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Twinings industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Tea and Beverages
- NAICS
- Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920)
- SIC
- Beverages (2080), Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Tea (Leaf, Bagged, Instant, Concentrates) (CRADAHAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Specialty Coffee & Tea (Single-Origin, Micro-lot, Premium) Processing (AFAFADAJ), Tea Rooms & Tea Cafes (THAFADAF)
Keywords
Where Twinings is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Twinings business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Others
Revenue model
- Tea Product Sales: Twinings generates revenue through the sale of tea products including black, green, herbal, and specialty blends across retail and online channels. Products are sold in various formats including tea bags, loose leaf, and specialty packaging.
- Wellbeing Drinks: Revenue from sparkling tea and functional beverage sales under the wellbeing drinks category.
- Gifting & Teaware: Sale of tea gift sets, hampers, teaware products including teapots, mugs, and accessories.
- Ovaltine & Malt Drinks: Revenue from Ovaltine branded malt drinks and hot chocolate products.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Standard tea bag boxes (20-count) |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Various product tiers |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
Twinings product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Twinings manufactures, blends and retails a wide range of black, green, herbal, fruit, decaffeinated, loose leaf and speciality teas under the Twinings brand, alongside wellbeing beverages (Superblends, Sparkling Tea, Benefit Teas), Ovaltine malt drinks, hot chocolate, syrups, teaware and curated tea gift hampers. The brand sells through major grocery retailers, its own e-commerce site and foodservice accounts in the UK, US, DACH region and West Africa.
Product overview
Twinings is a British heritage tea brand founded in 1706 and owned by Associated British Foods PLC, offering a comprehensive portfolio of tea and beverage products. The core product portfolio includes Black Tea (English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Lady Grey, Assam, Darjeeling), Green Tea, Fruit & Herbal teas, Decaffeinated Tea, Loose Leaf Tea, International Blends (Chai, Matcha), and Cold Water Infusions. The Superblends line provides functional wellbeing teas targeting Sleep, Immune Health, Digestive Health, and other wellness needs. Twinings has expanded into Ready-to-Drink beverages with Sparkling Tea. The brand also carries complementary products including Hot Chocolate & Malt Drinks, Ovaltine Malt Drinks, Options Hot Chocolate, Syrups, Teaware, Gifting items, and Biscuits & Confectionery. Twinings positions itself in the mid-range premium segment, with pricing typically $3-6 USD per 20-bag box in the US market and strong retail availability through major grocery retailers and online channels.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Ovaltine: Malt drink products including hot chocolate and malt drinks
- Options
- Superblends
- Sparkling Tea
Products and services
- Black Tea Classic black tea varieties including English Breakfast, Assam and Darjeeling single-origin teas, available in tea bags, loose leaf pyramids and cold water infusion formats.
- Green Tea Japanese-style and Chinese-style green teas available in standard bags and loose leaf formats, positioned for health-conscious consumers.
- Fruit & Herbal Tea Caffeine-free fruit infusions and herbal blends including hibiscus, ginger, mint, camomile, fennel, cinnamon and lemon varieties.
- Superblends Functional wellbeing teas designed to support specific health needs including sleep, immune support and overall wellness through targeted herbal blends.
- Earl Grey Tea Twinings' signature bergamot-flavored black tea, available in discovery collections and bulk packs of 20-80 tea bags; one of Twinings' best-selling products.
- English Breakfast Tea Classic morning blend of black teas designed for a strong, invigorating cup to start the day.
- Sparkling Tea Ready-to-drink carbonated tea beverage available in varieties such as Revive, positioned in the wellbeing drinks category.
- Wellbeing Drinks Functional beverage portfolio including Sparkling Tea, Benefit Teas and Soulful Blends, organized by wellness needs such as Sleep, Digestive Health, Immune Health, Feel Good, Good Energy, Live Well and Women's Health.
- Ovaltine Malt Drinks Chocolate malt beverage mixes produced by Twinings Ovaltine (TwO), sold alongside Twinings tea products.
- Options Hot Chocolate Hot chocolate brand sold within Twinings' portfolio, offering chocolate beverage options alongside the core tea range.
- Hot Chocolate & Malt Drinks Hot chocolate beverages and malt-based drinks for consumers seeking warm non-tea alternatives.
- Decaffeinated Tea Caffeine-free versions of popular blends for health-conscious consumers and those with dietary restrictions.
- Loose Leaf Tea Traditional loose leaf formats and pyramid-shaped tea bags (Loose Leaf Pyramids) for premium tea enthusiasts seeking enhanced flavor and aesthetics.
- International Blends Tea varieties from around the world including Chai Tea and Matcha Tea, offering consumers access to global tea traditions.
- Gifting & Hampers Hampers, gift sets, gift boxes, bags and hamper baskets, wellbeing gift sets and seasonal offerings such as Advent Calendar and Christmas Teas.
- Teaware Teapots, mugs, teacups and saucers, tea accessories and KeepCups sold alongside tea products for complete tea preparation and serving experiences.
Quantifiable outcome
- 15-20% premium tea market share in DACH region
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Twinings
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Twinings technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature1 record
Twinings partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & SpaflagshipDisney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa has reopened its Garden View Lounge for an Alice in Wonderland-themed afternoon tea experience featuring Twinings teas. Stephen Twining, 10th-generation member of the Twinings family and Global Brand Ambassador, served as a special guest for the experience. The partnership highlights Twinings' presence in the premium hospitality segment.
- CapgeminicoreTwinings Ovaltine partnered with Capgemini to implement a unified SAP S/4HANA-based ERP solution across its global operations to replace decentralized systems across Europe, Thailand, China, and North America. The implementation included SAP IBP for demand planning, SAP Ariba for procurement, SAP Analytics Cloud for financial planning, and SAP Concur for employee expenses, delivering improvements in procurement, supply chain, factory performance, and finance operations.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Twinings competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Tetley: Tetley (owned by Tata Consumer Products) is a global bagged and loose-leaf tea brand sold across grocery and foodservice channels, directly competing with Twinings in standard black tea, herbal, and green tea categories in the UK, US, Canada, and global retail.
- Lipton: Lipton (Unilever/ekaterra portfolio) is the world's largest tea brand by volume, competing head-to-head with Twinings in bagged black tea, green tea, and herbal infusions across the same grocery and foodservice channels.
- PG Tips: PG Tips is Unilever's flagship UK black-tea brand, a direct competitor to Twinings' English Breakfast and Earl Grey on UK supermarket shelves with overlapping price tier and similar everyday-consumption positioning.
- Yorkshire Tea (Bettys & Taylors): Yorkshire Tea, owned by Bettys & Taylors, is a UK heritage black-tea brand competing with Twinings in the same mid-premium UK grocery tier, with similar everyday-drinker positioning and foodservice partnerships.
- Dilmah: Dilmah is a Sri Lankan single-origin premium tea brand competing directly with Twinings in loose-leaf, single-origin (Assam/Darjeeling equivalents), and hospitality tea programs across Europe, Australasia, and emerging markets.
- Celestial Seasonings: Celestial Seasonings (Hain Celestial) is a US herbal and wellness tea brand that overlaps directly with Twinings' Superblends and Fruit & Herbal range, competing on US grocery shelves in the wellness-positioned tea category.
- Bigelow Tea: Bigelow is a US family-owned tea manufacturer selling bagged black, green, herbal, and wellness teas through mass grocery, directly competing with Twinings' US retail distribution at comparable price points.
- Stash Tea: Stash Tea is a US specialty bagged and loose-leaf tea brand overlapping with Twinings in herbal, green, and flavored black teas across US grocery, natural, and gift channels.
- Teavana: Teavana (owned by Starbucks) is a premium loose-leaf and RTD tea brand that, like Twinings' Superblends and Sparkling Tea, competes for wellness/premium tea occasions, including in foodservice and hospitality channels.
Emerging players
- Harney & Sons: Harney & Sons is a US premium and specialty tea brand including RTD and wellness blends, overlapping with Twinings' higher-end loose-leaf, hospitality (hotels and afternoon tea), and gifting sub-segments.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Twinings social profiles
Digital presenceTwinings financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Twinings leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Twinings subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Twinings funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Twinings M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Twinings
What does Twinings do?
Twinings manufactures, blends and retails a wide range of black, green, herbal, fruit, decaffeinated, loose leaf and speciality teas under the Twinings brand, alongside wellbeing beverages (Superblends, Sparkling Tea, Benefit Teas), Ovaltine malt drinks, hot chocolate, syrups, teaware and curated tea gift hampers. The brand sells through major grocery retailers, its own e-commerce site and foodservice accounts in the UK, US, DACH region and West Africa.
Is Twinings a public or private company?
Twinings is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Twinings founded?
Twinings was founded in 1706. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Twinings based?
Twinings is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Twinings make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Tea Product Sales are the primary driver. The others are wellbeing Drinks, gifting & Teaware and ovaltine & Malt Drinks.
Who are Twinings's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Tetley, Lipton, PG Tips, Yorkshire Tea (Bettys & Taylors), Dilmah, Celestial Seasonings, Bigelow Tea, Stash Tea and Teavana. Harney & Sons is listed as an emerging player.
Does Twinings have an API?
No public API is recorded for Twinings.
What industry is Twinings in?
Twinings's product category is Tea and Beverages. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRADAHAE, Tea (Leaf, Bagged, Instant, Concentrates), with a secondary code of AFAFADAJ, Specialty Coffee & Tea (Single-Origin, Micro-lot, Premium) Processing. Its NAICS code is 311920 and its SIC code is 2080.