What PG tips does

PG Tips is a UK packaged black-tea brand founded in 1930 by Arthur Brooke, originally under the name "PG" (Pre-Gestive), and currently owned by Lipton Teas and Infusions. It is officially the UK's most popular tea brand per YouGov Q1 2025 and operates a three-SKU range — PG Tips Original (the flagship high-altitude equatorial blend), PG Tips Gold (a premium Rwandan/Kenyan/Assam blend) and PG Tips Decaf (caffeine-free, same flavour profile) — all marketed around a proprietary "perfect flavour release in 60 seconds" tea bag format.

The brand's underlying technology centres on tea blending and bag manufacturing at its Manchester factory, run on 100% renewable energy, producing biodegradable tea bags. PG Tips was the first UK tea brand to achieve Rainforest Alliance certification and holds a licensed use of the iconic Monkey mascot from Comic Relief, which anchors its advertising, including the 2026 "At Home with Monkey" reality-TV-inspired campaign featuring comedian Emily Atack as Mrs. M.

PG Tips makes money primarily through mass-market packaged tea sales (Original, Gold, Decaf) through UK grocery and supermarket retail channels, with brand marketing supported by a multi-channel mix (TV, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube), specialist consumer and corporate PR agencies (We Are The Romans; Clarion Communications), and a co-branded experiential partnership with Evan Evans Tours' London Afternoon Tea Sightseeing Bus Tour. Pricing is at mass-market CPG SKU level and not publicly disclosed; the brand's own digital storefront functions as a brand information and consumer-care channel rather than a direct e-commerce checkout.

Name

PG tips

Legal name

LIPTON Teas and Infusions

Website

https://pgtips.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1930

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

PG Tips is the UK's #1 packaged black-tea brand (YouGov Q1 2025), founded in 1930 and owned by Lipton Teas and Infusions. It sells Original, Gold and Decaf bagged teas through UK grocery retail, anchored by its Manchester factory and the iconic Monkey mascot.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Packaged Tea Sales (Retail): Primary revenue stream from consumer packaged goods sales of PG Tips Original, Gold, and Decaf tea boxes through UK retail channels. Unit-based pricing at the SKU level, sold as one-time purchases for household pantry stocking.
2. Brand Licensing (Monkey Mascot): Licensed use of the Monkey character from Comic Relief Ltd for advertising campaigns and brand activations, including the "At Home with Monkey" reality TV-inspired ad featuring Emily Atack.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

PG tips is a UK consumer packaged-goods tea brand that manufactures and retails bagged black tea under three variants — Original, Gold (premium Rwandan/Kenyan/Assam blend), and Decaf — through mainstream UK grocery retail channels. The brand is anchored by the iconic Monkey mascot licensed from Comic Relief and supported by sustainability credentials including Rainforest Alliance certification, biodegradable tea bags, and a Manchester factory powered by 100% renewable energy.

Product overview

PG tips is a single consumer packaged-goods tea brand rather than a software platform; the offering is a portfolio of three bagged black-tea variants sold under one master brand (PG Tips Original, PG Tips Gold and PG Tips Decaf), all sharing the brand's proprietary 60-second "perfect flavour release" tea bag format and anchored by the iconic Monkey mascot used across advertising and social channels. PG tips sits within the broader LIPTON Teas and Infusions brand portfolio alongside sister brands Lipton, Pukka, T2, TAZO and Lyons, and is extended through co-branded consumer experiences such as the PG Tips-branded Afternoon Tea Bus Tour with Evan Evans Tours in London.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• UK's most popular tea brand by You Gov Q1 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Twinings: Twinings is a long-established UK tea brand (Associated British Foods) selling bagged black, green, and specialty teas through grocery and out-of-home channels. It directly overlaps PG Tips on everyday black tea occasions and broader tea range.
• Yorkshire Tea (Bettys & Taylors): Yorkshire Tea is a major UK regional-heritage bagged black tea brand sold nationwide through grocery retail. It competes with PG Tips on quality positioning, regional pride, and everyday black-tea occasions.
• Typhoo: Typhoo is a UK heritage bagged tea brand competing in the same mass-market grocery channel as PG Tips. It overlaps directly on Original, Decaf, and premium-tier bagged tea SKUs.
• Tetley: Tetley is one of the UK's leading mass-market black tea brands, owned by Tata Consumer Products. It competes head-to-head with PG Tips on UK grocery shelves across teabag SKUs and shared retail customers, making it the closest like-for-like competitor.
• Ahmad Tea: Ahmad Tea is a UK-headquartered family-owned tea company selling bagged black tea and loose-leaf blends through UK grocery. It competes with PG Tips in the everyday black-tea segment with a similar geographic customer base.

Broad incumbents

• Pukka Herbs: Pukka is a sister brand within the LIPTON Teas and Infusions portfolio specializing in organic herbal and wellness teas. It is comparable to PG Tips as part of the same parent portfolio and competes for the same UK tea occasions through adjacent wellness positioning.
• Lipton: Lipton is a sister brand within the LIPTON Teas and Infusions portfolio alongside PG Tips. As one of the world's largest tea brands, it competes with PG Tips on UK grocery shelves while also bringing global scale and distribution synergies.

Emerging players

• Teapigs: Teapigs is a UK premium whole-leaf tea brand selling through grocery and direct channels. It competes with PG Tips' Gold tier on premiumization occasions and represents a higher-end pricing alternative for the same British tea-drinking customer.
• Clipper Tea (Wessanen UK): Clipper is a UK ethical and Fairtrade-certified tea brand selling bagged black and green teas. It overlaps with PG Tips on sustainability credentials (biodegradable bags, ethical sourcing) and competes for the same UK grocery shelf.

Regional players

• T2 Tea: T2 is an Australian-founded specialty tea brand and sister brand within the LIPTON Teas and Infusions portfolio. While primarily serving Australia and Asia, it overlaps with PG Tips as a portfolio peer in the broader LIPTON Teas and Infusions tea range.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@PGtipsofficial
• Facebookfacebook.com/about
• Instagraminstagram.com/pgtips
• TikToktiktok.com/@official_pgtips
• Xx.com/PGtips

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 PG tips