MAY
MAY is a Russian tea and coffee manufacturer founded in 1991, operating a 25,000-ton annual facility with more than 300 SKUs across brands including RICHARD, CURTIS, MAYSKY, COFFESSO, and FACE to FACE, serving mass-market retail, HoReCa, and export markets worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1991
- HeadquartersMoscow, Russia
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What MAY does
MAY is a Russian tea and coffee manufacturer founded in 1991, headquartered in Moscow with production concentrated at the Maikomplex facility in Fryazino, Moscow Region. The company manufactures and packages tea in three formats (loose-leaf, teabags, and pyramids) and operates a coffee roasting and packaging line, producing approximately 25,000 tons of beverage annually and operating a portfolio of more than 300 SKUs across brands including RICHARD (premium and High Premium gifting), CURTIS (innovative tea blends and the #1 player in the pyramid teabag segment), MAYSKY and LISMA (mass-market traditional tea), COFFESSO (drip coffee with 47% of the Russian offline drip market by value per Nielsen), FACE to FACE (HoReCa-focused), SANTAR, and ZAVARKIN. The Maikomplex facility uses automated warehouse and production tracking systems capable of tracing any pack from plantation to retail shelf within minutes, and the company runs Russia's oldest professional titester and captester school as a long-standing R&D asset supporting proprietary blends and partner training.
The company sells primarily through national retail chains covering 100% of Russian regions, supplemented by an enterprise sales force targeting HoReCa accounts (hotels, restaurants, cafes, corporate offices, and sports venues such as RZD Arena stadium), online marketplaces (Ozon, Wildberries, Yandex Market, Samokat, Lavka), and a growing export channel spanning the Middle East (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Bahrain, Egypt), Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Mongolia), the Caucasus (Georgia), and CIS countries through regional distributors and representative offices in tea- and coffee-growing origins. MAY is designated as a systemically important enterprise in the Russian economy, holds ISO 45001 and ISO 9001 certifications, and uses FSC-certified cardboard packaging as part of a 2021 Sustainable Development Strategy.
Commercial revenue mechanics combine product-led growth (rapid SKU innovation such as Coffesso Asian Style drips launched April 2026 and Curtis Cold Tea RTD beverages launched March 2026), a dedicated enterprise field sales team for retail chains and HoReCa channels that conducts blind tastings to win B2B accounts, and event-driven brand-building through international exhibitions (Gulfood in Dubai for 2025 and 2026) and cultural sponsorships (Slavyansky Bazar International Music Festival for 8 consecutive years). Pricing is not publicly disclosed for consumer products and B2B pricing is negotiated directly with partners, making revenue figures unavailable from public sources.
MAY firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- MAY
- Legal name
- ООО «МАЙ»
- Website
- https://themay.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1991
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- MAY is a Russian tea and coffee manufacturer founded in 1991, operating a 25,000-ton annual facility with more than 300 SKUs across brands including RICHARD, CURTIS, MAYSKY, COFFESSO, and FACE to FACE, serving mass-market retail, HoReCa, and export markets worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
MAY industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Packaged Tea and Coffee
- NAICS
- Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (31192)
- SIC
- Beverages (2080)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Tea (Leaf, Bagged, Instant, Concentrates) (CRADAHAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Coffee (Roasted, Ground, Whole Bean) (CRADAHAG)
Keywords
Where MAY is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Moscow
- HQ country
- Russia
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
MAY business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Packaged tea and coffee (B2C retail): MAY manufactures and sells packaged tea and coffee products under brands including RICHARD, CURTIS, MAYSKY, Lisma, Zavarkin, COFFESSO, and FACE to FACE through national retail chains and food retail outlets across all Russian regions. The distribution system covers 100% of Russian regions.
- B2B HoReCa and institutional supply: MAY supplies coffee and tea to restaurants, hotels, corporate offices, and sports venues (e.g., FACE to FACE at RZD Arena). Products are sold directly to business customers as a supplier, with dedicated sales support for the HoReCa channel.
- Export and international sales: MAY exports its tea and coffee brands to dozens of countries worldwide, with a focus on neighboring markets, the Middle East (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, etc.), and ethnic markets. The company maintains representative offices in key tea- and coffee-growing countries.
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
MAY product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MAY is a Russian tea and coffee manufacturer that produces, brands, and distributes packaged tea and coffee across more than 300 SKUs under multiple owned brands (RICHARD, CURTIS, MAISKY, LISMA, SANTAR, ZAVARKIN, COFFESSO, FACE TO FACE) via its Fryazino Maikomplex facility in the Moscow Region. The company sells these products through Russian national retail and online marketplaces to consumers, and through a dedicated field-sales motion plus export distributors to HoReCa and international business customers, with annual production of roughly 25,000 tons.
Product overview
MAY is a leading Russian tea and coffee manufacturer with a diverse portfolio of brands. The company produces tea in three main formats: loose leaf, teabags, and pyramids. Tea brands include RICHARD (premium royal tea), CURTIS (innovative experimental flavors), MAISKY (classic Ceylon), LISMA (Indian), SANTAR (energizing), and ZAVARKIN. Coffee offerings include COFFESSO (market leader in drip format with 47% offline market share) and FACE to FACE (HoReCa focused). The company also expanded into RTD cold tea with Curtis Cold Tea and demonstrates innovation through AI-assisted products like Tea of the FUTURE. Annual beverage production reaches 25,000 tons distributed across all Russian regions and exported to dozens of countries worldwide.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- RICHARD: Premium royal tea brand, leader in High Premium gift segment
- CURTIS
- МАЙСКИЙ (MAISKY)
- Лисма (Lisma)
- Заваркин (Zavarkin)
- Santar
- COFFESSO
- FACE to FACE
Products and services
- RICHARD Premium Russian tea brand offering high-end gift assortments, including seasonal holiday collections, targeted at consumers and corporate gifting buyers.
- CURTIS Innovative consumer tea brand under MAY, featuring specialty functional lines such as the CURTIS Vitamin Tea line and the Curtis Cold Tea RTD format for at-home and on-the-go consumers.
- CURTIS Cold Tea Ready-to-drink cold-brewed tea extension of the CURTIS brand for consumers seeking chilled tea options.
- MAISKY Mass-market classic Ceylon tea brand for everyday Russian household consumption through retail and online channels.
- LISMA Indian specialty tea brand in MAY's portfolio, positioned for consumers seeking Indian black tea varieties.
- SANTAR Energizing tea brand offering stimulating and functional tea variants for Russian consumers.
- ZAVARKIN Strong-tea mass-market brand targeting Russian consumers who prefer high-strength black tea for daily brewing (zavarka-style).
- COFFESSO Coffee brand combining consumer retail drip coffee (where MAY holds roughly 47% of Russia's offline drip coffee market) and HoReCa coffee solutions, including the Asian Style Drip Coffee line for menu differentiation.
- FACE TO FACE Dedicated HoReCa coffee brand for hotels, restaurants, cafés, and corporate offices, distributed through MAY's direct field sales motion with barista training support.
- Tea of the FUTURE / Tea by AI Innovation-led tea product developed as part of MAY's forward-looking R&D pipeline, showcasing next-generation tea formats and concepts.
Quantifiable outcome
- Coffesso holds 47% of the offline drip coffee market in Russia by value (Nielsen data)
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use MAY
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
MAY technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
MAY partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, significant and minor.
- Rosbiotech University (Росбиотех)coreMAY maintains a productive partnership with Rosbiotech University. Many MAY employees are graduates of the university. MAY conducts joint conferences, accepts interns in the Quality Team (Department of Plant Raw Materials), and actively recruits graduates. The collaboration includes science-practice conferences on food quality and safety.
- Slavyansky Bazar International Music FestivalsignificantMAY has been a partner of the Slavyansky Bazar International Music Festival in Vitebsk, Belarus for 8 consecutive years. The company provides tea and coffee to artists, guests, and press across concert venues, the festival directorate, and mobile press center. This is the largest cultural sponsorship initiative and serves both brand building and community engagement.
- Middle Eastern and Central Asian distributors and import partnerscoreMAY exports to countries including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Bahrain, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Mongolia, and others. The company maintains active partnerships with regional distributors and meets new partners through Gulfood exhibitions. Exports are facilitated through an international network of branches.
- Shchyolkovo College (Щёлковский колледж)coreMAY partners with Shchyolkovo College as part of the federal 'Professionalism' program to train qualified industrial personnel. Students sign targeted training agreements with MAY and work at the Maikomplex production facility. The program covers the specialty 'Installation, maintenance, operation and repair of industrial equipment.' MAY has partnered with Shchyolkovo College since 2016, with graduates joining the talent pool and building careers at the company.
- Tsaritsyno College (колледж «Царицыно»)coreMAY partnered with Tsaritsyno College of Hotel and Restaurant Business to train qualified HoReCa professionals. Students receive lectures, tastings, and master classes at MAY's R&D center on coffee roasting, drink preparation, and industry trends. The goal is to increase graduates' competitiveness using MAY's decades of tea and coffee expertise.
- Large logistics and transport companies (shipping, railway, transport)coreMAY partners with large shipping, railway, and transport companies to ensure careful and fast transportation of raw materials from tea- and coffee-growing regions (which are remote from Russia) to its production facility, maintaining product quality throughout the supply chain.
- Major Russian retail chains and HoReCa operatorscoreMAY's distribution partners include popular Russian retailers and HoReCa representatives: large retail chains, hotel and tourist complexes, restaurants, and transport businesses. The distribution system covers all Russian regions.
- Ekskursovoz travel agencyminorMAY partners with Ekskursovoz agency to organize and accept applications for guided factory tours at the Maikomplex production facility.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
MAY competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Unilever (Lipton / Brooke Bond): Global CPG incumbent owning Lipton and Brooke Bond tea brands. Competes broadly with MAY in packaged tea across mass and premium tiers; relevant for benchmarking brand equity, distribution scale, and innovation cadence in tea.
- JDE Peet's (Jacobs, Tassimo): Global coffee giant with strong Russian retail presence (Jacobs, Monarch, Tassimo). Competes with MAY's COFFESSO in ground and portioned coffee, providing a benchmark for category scale, retail negotiation leverage, and innovation.
- Tata Consumer Products (Tetley): Owner of Tetley tea and a global tea/coffee CPG platform. A broad incumbent that competes with MAY in tea exports (Middle East, CIS) and provides a comparable reference for portfolio diversification across tea formats and geographies.
- Lavazza: Italian coffee incumbent with growing presence in Russia across retail, HoReCa, and OOH. Comparable on coffee category positioning, especially as filter/drip coffee gains share — a direct competitive reference for Coffesso and FACE to FACE.
- Nestlé Russia: Nestlé's Russian operations span soluble coffee (Nescafé) and adjacent beverages, directly overlapping with MAY's coffee portfolio. Useful peer for retail share dynamics, HoReCa channel strategy, and multinational competitive response in Russia.
Emerging players
- Paulig: Nordic-based coffee and food company with growing Russian and CIS presence. Comparable on coffee-focused product portfolio, sustainability positioning, and HoReCa channel development — relevant to MAY's FACE to FACE strategy.
Direct peers
- Ahmad Tea: Ahmad Tea is a Russian-founded premium tea manufacturer competing with MAY's RICHARD and CURTIS brands in both domestic and export markets (Middle East, CIS). Operates tea blending and packaging for global retail, comparable on product format, premium positioning, and export-led growth.
- Orimi Group: Russia's largest tea producer (Tess, Greenfield, Jardin brands) and a major coffee player. Directly competes with MAY across packaged tea and coffee categories in Russia, making it the closest comparable peer for market share, brand portfolio scale, and HoReCa/retail distribution dynamics.
Others
- Mlesna Tea: Sri Lankan tea producer with vertically integrated sourcing and global distribution. Operates as both supplier and branded competitor, comparable to MAY's strategy of working with raw-material origins and exporting finished blends to international markets.
Regional players
- Dallmayr: German premium coffee and tea company with HoReCa focus across Europe and selective international markets. Comparable on HoReCa brand positioning and premium coffee blend expertise, relevant as MAY expands HoReCa and exports premium tea.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
MAY social profiles
Digital presenceMAY compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
MAY financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
MAY leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
MAY funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
MAY 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 MAY
What does MAY do?
MAY is a Russian tea and coffee manufacturer that produces, brands, and distributes packaged tea and coffee across more than 300 SKUs under multiple owned brands (RICHARD, CURTIS, MAISKY, LISMA, SANTAR, ZAVARKIN, COFFESSO, FACE TO FACE) via its Fryazino Maikomplex facility in the Moscow Region. The company sells these products through Russian national retail and online marketplaces to consumers, and through a dedicated field-sales motion plus export distributors to HoReCa and international business customers, with annual production of roughly 25,000 tons.
Is MAY a public or private company?
MAY is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was MAY founded?
MAY was founded in 1991. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is MAY based?
MAY is headquartered in Moscow, Russia, in the Europe region.
How does MAY make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Packaged tea and coffee (B2C retail) is the primary driver. The others are B2B HoReCa and institutional supply and export and international sales.
Who are MAY's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Unilever (Lipton / Brooke Bond), JDE Peet's (Jacobs, Tassimo), Tata Consumer Products (Tetley), Lavazza and Nestlé Russia. Paulig is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Ahmad Tea and Orimi Group. Mlesna Tea is listed as an others. Dallmayr is listed as a regional player.
Does MAY have an API?
No public API is recorded for MAY.
What industry is MAY in?
MAY's product category is Packaged Tea and Coffee. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRADAHAE, Tea (Leaf, Bagged, Instant, Concentrates), with a secondary code of CRADAHAG, Coffee (Roasted, Ground, Whole Bean). Its NAICS code is 31192 and its SIC code is 2080.