Origin Tea
Origin Tea is a family-owned Australian wholesale and direct-to-consumer supplier of single-origin organic tea, chai, latte powders, and iced tea sourced from its own Sri Lankan plantations and sold to consumers, cafes, hotels, and retailers including Woolworths.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersBerringa, Australia
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Origin Tea does
Origin Tea is a family-owned Australian wholesale supplier of organic tea and beverage products, founded in 2018 and headquartered in Murarrie, Queensland, with a small operating team of 1-10 employees. The company sources directly from its own plantations in Sri Lanka and global growers, producing single-origin loose leaf tea, pyramid tea bags, sticky chai, elixir latte powders, low-sugar iced tea syrups, sparkling iced tea, teaware, and gift bundles sold through both its Shopify-powered direct-to-consumer e-commerce site and a dedicated wholesale portal serving cafes, hotels, and retail stockists.
The business operates a dual-channel go-to-market model combining direct online retail with B2B wholesale distribution, including a landmark distribution deal with Woolworths (Australia's largest supermarket chain) and an enterprise hospitality relationship with Crowne Plaza. Revenue is generated through unit-based pay-as-you-go pricing across SKUs ranging from $6 to $25 per item, with bundle-based volume incentives and a $10 newsletter-signup discount driving D2C customer acquisition. The company reports 10,000+ customers and 837+ verified reviews on its Shopify storefront.
The firm's value proposition rests on plantation-to-cup transparency, single-origin provenance, and an "all natural and sustainable" positioning, supported by earned-media coverage in News.com.au, SBS Food, and The Courier Mail. The company is bootstrapped and founder/family-controlled, with no disclosed institutional investors, no funding rounds, no patents or trademarks on record, and no meaningful technology or AI capability beyond standard e-commerce tooling.
Origin Tea firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Origin Tea
- Legal name
- Origin Tea Pty Ltd
- Website
- https://origintea.com.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Origin Tea is a family-owned Australian wholesale and direct-to-consumer supplier of single-origin organic tea, chai, latte powders, and iced tea sourced from its own Sri Lankan plantations and sold to consumers, cafes, hotels, and retailers including Woolworths.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Origin Tea industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Specialty Tea
- NAICS
- Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920)
- SIC
- Beverages (2080), Bottled & Canned Soft Drinks & Carbonated Waters (2086)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Tea (Leaf, Bagged, Instant, Concentrates) (CRADAHAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Tea Blending & Flavoring (AFAFADAG), Instant Tea, Tea Extracts & Concentrates Manufacturing (AFAFADAH), RTD Iced Tea Production (AFAFABAD), Ready-to-Drink (RTD) Tea (CRADAHAD)
Keywords
Where Origin Tea is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Berringa
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Origin Tea business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Direct E-commerce Sales: Online retail sales through their e-commerce platform to consumers, offering various tea products including loose leaf, pyramid tea bags, sticky chai, iced tea syrups, and latte powders.
- Wholesale Distribution: Bulk sales to retail stockists, cafes, hotels, and hospitality venues through their wholesale program with dedicated login portal.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Caffeine Free Natural Chai Latte - 200g |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Low Sugar Iced Tea Syrups - 750ml |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | English Breakfast Pyramid Tea Bags - 50g |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Matcha Chai Latte - 200g |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Bundle & Save |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
Origin Tea product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Origin Tea is an Australian, family-owned tea company that sources single-origin Ceylon tea directly from its own plantations in Sri Lanka. It produces and sells loose leaf teas, pyramid tea bags, sticky chai, elixir latte powders, flavoured syrups and ready-to-drink sparkling iced teas to retail consumers and wholesale customers.
Product overview
Origin Tea is a family-owned Australian tea company offering a portfolio of single-origin tea products. The core offering consists of Loose Leaf Tea and Pyramid Tea Bags sourced from Sri Lanka and international plantations, complemented by specialty beverages including Sticky Chai Tea and Elixir Latte Powders for making chai lattes and matcha lattes. The product line extends to ready-to-drink Iced Tea Syrups and Sparkling Iced Tea beverages. Supporting accessories include Teaware and Gifts, with Bundle & Save options for value-conscious customers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Loose Leaf Tea Single-origin loose leaf Ceylon teas sold by Origin Tea for at-home brewing, targeted at individual tea drinkers and hospitality buyers.
- Pyramid Tea Bags Whole-leaf tea packaged in pyramid-format tea bags for convenient single-serve brewing, aimed at retail consumers and foodservice customers.
- Sticky Chai Sweet, spiced chai concentrate/blend from Origin Tea designed to be mixed with milk, sold to home users and cafes.
- Elixir Latte Powder Instant latte powder blends (including chai-based variants) marketed under the Elixir brand for at-home preparation.
- Flavoured Syrups Premium flavoured syrups sold by Origin Tea for use in coffee, cocktails and iced tea preparation.
- Iced Tea Syrups Concentrated iced tea syrups that consumers mix with water or sparkling water to make iced tea at home or in cafes.
- Sparkling Iced Tea Ready-to-drink sparkling iced teas sold as a finished packaged beverage SKU.
- Teaware Brewing accessories and teaware sold alongside Origin Tea products to support loose leaf preparation.
- Gifts Curated gift sets and bundles of Origin Tea products positioned for the gifting market.
Companies that use Origin Tea
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Origin Tea technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Origin Tea partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- WoolworthscoreMajor Australian supermarket chain partnership. Origin Tea landed a distribution deal with Woolworths to stock their products, representing a significant retail distribution milestone.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Origin Tea competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- English Tea Shop: Organic and ethically sourced tea brand with global retail distribution including Australia. Comparable on organic/sustainable positioning and supermarket channel strategy.
- Adore Tea: Australian online-first specialty tea retailer offering single-origin and flavored loose leaf teas via DTC e-commerce. Comparable DTC go-to-market motion and premium positioning.
- The Tea Centre: Australian specialty tea wholesaler supplying cafes, hotels, and retailers with loose leaf and packaged teas. Operates a wholesale-led model similar to Origin Tea's hospitality channel focus.
- T2 Tea: Australia's most recognized specialty tea brand offering loose leaf, tea bags, and iced/RTD formats with both DTC and wholesale presence. Closest direct competitor to Origin Tea in the premium Australian tea segment.
- Dilmah: Sri Lankan single-origin tea company with strong Australian retail presence and own-plantation sourcing model. Directly comparable to Origin Tea on Ceylon origin story and supermarket distribution.
Emerging players
- Republic of Tea: US-based premium tea brand with DTC, wholesale, and foodservice channels selling specialty and functional blends. Comparable premium positioning and multi-channel distribution model.
- Tiesta Tea: US DTC-first specialty tea brand selling loose leaf, tea bags, and iced tea with a strong e-commerce focus. Comparable online-first GTM and SKU breadth into flavored and functional formats.
Regional players
- Tea Tonic: Australian functional/wellness tea brand offering loose leaf blends targeted at health benefits. Comparable Australian origin, DTC model, and positioning toward premium wellness consumers.
Broad incumbents
- Twinings: Global tea brand owned by Associated British Foods with deep Australian supermarket distribution. Sets the competitive benchmark Origin Tea must beat on shelf presence and price-pack architecture.
- Lipton (Unilever): Mass-market tea incumbent with extensive Australian grocery distribution including iced/RTD formats. Represents the price-volume competitor that Origin Tea must differentiate against at retail.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Origin Tea social profiles
Digital presenceOrigin Tea financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Origin Tea leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Origin Tea funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Origin Tea 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 Origin Tea
What does Origin Tea do?
Origin Tea is an Australian, family-owned tea company that sources single-origin Ceylon tea directly from its own plantations in Sri Lanka. It produces and sells loose leaf teas, pyramid tea bags, sticky chai, elixir latte powders, flavoured syrups and ready-to-drink sparkling iced teas to retail consumers and wholesale customers.
Is Origin Tea a public or private company?
Origin Tea is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Origin Tea founded?
Origin Tea was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Origin Tea based?
Origin Tea is headquartered in Berringa, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Origin Tea make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Direct E-commerce Sales are the primary driver. The others are wholesale Distribution.
Who are Origin Tea's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are English Tea Shop, Adore Tea, The Tea Centre, T2 Tea and Dilmah. Emerging players are Republic of Tea and Tiesta Tea. Tea Tonic is listed as a regional player. Broad incumbents are Twinings and Lipton (Unilever).
Does Origin Tea have an API?
No public API is recorded for Origin Tea.
What industry is Origin Tea in?
Origin Tea's product category is Specialty Tea. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRADAHAE, Tea (Leaf, Bagged, Instant, Concentrates), with a secondary code of AFAFADAG, Tea Blending & Flavoring. Its NAICS code is 311920 and its SIC code is 2080.