What Global Tea & Commodities does

Global Tea & Commodities Limited is a privately held, UK-headquartered holding company founded in 1991 that operates a fully integrated tea, coffee, and macadamia supply chain, with annual sales disclosed in excess of US$220 million and over 4,000 employees worldwide. It is positioned as the United Kingdom's largest independent tea company and Africa's largest private label tea packaging company, handling more than 70 million kilos of tea annually and over 10% of all teas produced in Africa, plus over 40% of Malawi's macadamia output from its Sable Farming estate operations. Its geographic footprint spans the UK, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Somalia (Somaliland), India, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia, with manufacturing and packaging facilities concentrated around Mombasa, Kenya and Lilongwe, Malawi, alongside headquarters at 1 Duchess Street, London.

The company's product and service portfolio spans branded retail, private label packaging, and commodity trading. Branded products include Kericho Gold (premium Kenyan tea, including a Jucia Technology-enabled infusion range) and Baraka Chai (everyday Kenyan tea) produced at the Mombasa factory; Sable Coffee (high-grown washed Arabica from Malawi estates, selected as a Starbucks Reserve coffee); and Mama's Choice pasteurized, homogenized milk from the Mapanga dairy. On the services side, Gold Crown Foods (EPZ) Limited provides private label tea packaging in multiple formats for major UK and European supermarket chains, and the group operates an extensive tea sourcing and brokerage operation, participating in the Mombasa, Limbe, Colombo, Kolkata, Coimbatore, Jakarta, and Cochin auctions. Certifications include BRC Food, ISO 9001, NSF, and Rainforest Alliance (RFA).

The business model combines transaction-fee revenue from sourcing and packaging, hardware-style commodity sales through own-plantation production (coffee and macadamia), and brand-driven sales in East African retail and hospitality channels. Distribution runs through three rails: private label manufacturing for European retailers, own-brand retail and hospitality distribution across Kenya and East Africa, and global tea auction participation plus green bean coffee and macadamia export. The group holds the Queen's Award for Enterprise (Sustainable Development, 2005), is ranked in the Sunday Times Top Track 250 (2017), has been the largest buyer of tea at the Mombasa auction in 2017 and 2018, and Kericho Gold achieved East Africa Superbrand status in 2019. Ownership remains founder-led by Nadeem Ahmed, with Director of Operations Fahim Ahmed overseeing African value-addition operations, and no disclosed external institutional investment.

Name

Global Tea & Commodities

Legal name

Global Tea & Commodities Limited

Website

https://globaltea.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Global Tea & Commodities is a privately held, UK-based holding company that produces and exports tea, coffee, and macadamia, runs Africa's largest private label tea packaging operation for UK and European retailers, and distributes own brands (Kericho Gold, Baraka Chai, Sable Coffee, Mama's Choice) across East Africa and global wholesale channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tea, Coffee and Macadamia Production and Export

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (31192), Beverage Manufacturing (3121)

SIC

Beverages (2080), Wholesale-Groceries, General Line (5141)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Coffee & Tea (Single-Origin, Micro-lot, Premium) Processing (AFAFADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Instant Tea, Tea Extracts & Concentrates Manufacturing (AFAFADAH), Coffee, Tea & Cocoa Trading/Wholesale (AFAIAKAD), Coffee, Tea & Cocoa Beverage Wholesale (AFAIAGAD), Tea (Leaf, Bagged, Instant, Concentrates) (CRADAHAE), Tea, Coffee & Cocoa Farming (Beverage Specialty Crops) (AFAGAGAG)

Keywords

• Tea sourcing services
• Private label tea packaging
• Coffee production export
• Macadamia nut production
• Commodity tea trading

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tea Sourcing and Trading: One of the world's largest tea sourcing companies providing tea from every origin globally. Handles over 70 million kilos of tea annually through participation in all major tea auction centres including Mombasa, Limbe, Colombo, Kolkata, Coimbatore, Jakarta, and Cochin.
2. Private Label Tea Packaging: Africa's largest private label tea packaging company producing for major supermarket chains in UK and Europe. Offers flexibility of packing in any format required - Black Tea, Green Tea, Flavoured Tea and Fruit and Herbal Infusions.
3. Branded Tea Sales: Own brands including Kericho Gold and Baraka Chai sold through retail shops, supermarkets and hotels in Kenya, East Africa and for export.
4. Coffee and Macadamia Production: Coffee and macadamia nut production from estates in Malawi. Produces and exports quality high grown washed Arabica coffee. One of the largest producers of macadamia nuts in Africa, producing over 40% of Malawi's macadamia.
5. Dairy Products: Largest dairy farm in Malawi with over 270 Holstein-Friesian cows producing 'Mama's Choice' brand of pasteurized and homogenized milk.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Global Tea & Commodities is a fully integrated producer and exporter that sources tea globally and operates its own plantations, manufacturing facilities, and brands. It sells branded tea (Kericho Gold, Baraka Chai), coffee (Sable Coffee) and dairy (Mama's Choice), while supplying private label tea packaging to major UK and European supermarket chains through Gold Crown Foods (EPZ) Limited. The company also offers end-to-end tea sourcing, warehousing, blending, and packing services across all major global auction centres.

Product overview

Global Tea & Commodities is a fully integrated tea, coffee, and macadamia company offering products and services across all stages of the supply chain. The company's product portfolio includes branded teas (Kericho Gold, Baraka Chai), premium coffee (Sable Coffee), and dairy products (Mama's Choice). These branded products are complemented by private label tea packaging services through Gold Crown Foods EPZ Limited for major UK and European supermarket chains, and comprehensive tea sourcing/procurement services handling over 70 million kilos of tea annually. The company operates manufacturing facilities in Mombasa, Kenya, plantations in Malawi, and maintains offices in Kenya, Malawi, and India.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kericho Gold: Premium tea brand featuring special blends of fine teas from Kenya estates, selected by expert Tea Tasters for richness of taste, flavour and aroma. Includes Black Tea and Green Tea varieties as well as Infusions using Jucia Technology. East Africa Superbrand status achieved in 2019.
• Baraka Chai
• Sable Coffee
• Mama's Choice

Products and services

• Kericho Gold Tea Premium tea brand offering black tea, green tea, and infusions using Jucia Technology, with blends sourced from Kenya's highland estates and selected by expert Tea Tasters; sold in Kenya, East Africa and for export.
• Baraka Chai Tea Light refreshing everyday tea produced at the Mombasa factory, available in a range of packaging formats and sizes for Kenyan and East African retail and hospitality channels.
• Sable Coffee Premium high-grown washed Arabica coffee grown at Sable Farming estates in Malawi, exported to global premium markets including Starbucks Reserve.
• Mama's Choice Dairy Pasteurised and homogenised 100% fresh milk produced at the Mapanga dairy farm in Malawi (over 270 Holstein-Friesian cows) and packaged at source under the Mama's Choice brand.
• Private Label Tea Packaging Contract tea packaging service for major UK and European supermarket chains, packing black, green, flavoured, fruit and herbal teas in any format (tea bags, loose leaf, String & Tag, Tagless, foil, box and catering bags); delivered from BRC Food and ISO 9001 certified facilities.
• Tea Sourcing, Warehousing, Blending and Packing Services Comprehensive tea procurement, warehousing, blending and packing services for plantations, traders and brand owners, covering single estate teas to bulk blends, with offices and participation in Mombasa, Limbe, Colombo, Kolkata, Coimbatore, Jakarta and Cochin auctions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 70 million kilos of tea handled annually
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• StarbuckscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2017Premium Sable coffee from Global Tea's Malawi plantations was selected as a Starbucks Reserve coffee, representing a significant premium channel partnership for the company's coffee products.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Tata Consumer Products: Diversified Indian-headquartered FMCG company owning Tetley and other tea brands globally, with branded and food services distribution that overlaps Global Tea's UK and East African retail presence at greater scale.
• Olam International / Olam Agri: Global agri-commodity giant with extensive coffee, cocoa, tea and nut businesses including origin estates and processing. Larger, broader portfolio player that competes with Global Tea across multiple commodity supply chains.

Direct peers

• ECOM Trading: Global soft commodity merchant with coffee, cocoa and tea sourcing/trading operations across origins and consuming markets. Directly analogous to the 70M+ kilos tea, coffee and macadamia trading arm of Global Tea.
• James Finlay: London-headquartered, fully integrated tea company with sourcing across Africa and Asia, blending/packing operations, and B2B/own-brand supply into UK and Europe. Closest structural analog to Global Tea's plantation-to-cup model.
• S&D Coffee & Tea: US-based largest custom coffee roaster and tea supplier serving foodservice and private label customers. Comparable business model to Gold Crown's private label packaging for major UK/European retailers.
• Volcafe (ED&F Man): Global coffee and tea merchant with origin-sourcing, warehousing and distribution scale. Closely comparable to Global Tea's tea auction participation, multi-origin sourcing and B2B commodity trading model.
• Typhoo: UK-based branded tea company with private label and wholesale tea operations, competing for the same UK supermarket SKUs and branded tea consumers that Global Tea targets with Kericho Gold, Baraka Chai and Gold Crown.
• Yorkshire Tea (Bettys & Taylors of Harrogate): Independent UK tea blender/packer operating in the same premium mainstream tea segment supplied by Gold Crown's private label manufacturing; comparable end-market and customer base.
• Tetley (Tata Consumer Products): Leading UK and global tea brand owned by Tata Consumer Products, with strong retail distribution into UK supermarkets that overlap with Global Tea's private label and own-brand distribution.
• Twinings (Associated British Foods): Iconic UK tea brand blending and packing tea for UK and European retailers, plus global branded distribution. Directly comparable in the branded/private label UK tea space Global Tea serves through Kericho Gold and Gold Crown.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/100070122889048

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Global Tea & Commodities