MCLEOD RUSSELL INDIA Limited

What MCLEOD RUSSELL INDIA Limited does

McLeod Russel India Limited is a publicly listed tea plantation company, headquartered in Kolkata and controlled by the Khaitan family through the Williamson Magor Group. Founded in 1869, the company traces its origins to Williamson Magor & Company and was reorganized through multiple mergers and the 2004 demerger from Eveready Industries India Limited into a focused pure-play bulk tea producer. It is the world's largest tea plantation company and the largest Indian tea exporter, producing approximately 100 million kilograms of tea annually from 53+ tea estates across Assam and West Bengal in India, three factories in Vietnam, six estates in Uganda, and the Gisovu estate in Rwanda. The company directly employs over 90,000 people across its estates and operations.

Its core products are bulk black tea (CTC and Orthodox processing), green tea (Green CTC and Orthodox Green), and bespoke bulk blended teas manufactured at the HACCP-accredited Nilpur Blending Unit, which has a 40-ton-per-day capacity across two blending lines. Underlying technology comprises VFBD drying, Gumlah, Floor, and Continuous Fermentation Machine fermentation systems, vacuum packing technology introduced in the mid-1980s to extend shelf life beyond the typical 18 months, ISPM 15-compliant export packaging, and an integrated estate-to-port supply chain. Tea is sold worldwide under the registered Elephant trademark, and the estates carry Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, Ethical Tea Partnership, HACCP, and ISO certifications.

McLeod Russel operates a B2B, sales-led go-to-market model, selling tea on a bulk and wholesale basis to major international tea blenders in Western Europe, the Middle East, and North America, with bespoke blending tailored to specific customer formulations. Distribution is anchored by containerized shipments in 20ft and 40ft containers from the company's Indian estates, plus dedicated sales liaison offices in the UK (Borelli Tea Holdings in Newbury) and the Middle East (McLeod Russel Middle East DMCC in Dubai). Revenue is generated through transactional bulk and bespoke-blended tea sales, with no publicly disclosed pricing model; financial performance data was not available in the input.

Name

MCLEOD RUSSELL INDIA Limited

Legal name

McLeod Russel India Limited

Website

https://mcleodrusselindia.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1869

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

McLeod Russel India Limited is the world's largest tea plantation company, producing approximately 100 million kilograms of black and green tea annually across 53+ estates in India, Vietnam, Uganda, and Rwanda, and selling bulk and bespoke blended teas to major international tea blenders globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bulk Tea Production and Export

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920), Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (31192)

SIC

Beverages (2080)

akta.pro primary industry

Tea Blending & Flavoring (AFAFADAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

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

Keywords

• Bulk tea production
• Tea plantation operations
• Black tea manufacturing
• Bespoke tea blending
• Tea export wholesale

Headquarters

HQ city

Kolkata

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Bulk Black Tea Sales: McLeod Russel produces and sells tea in bulk and wholesale to major international tea blenders worldwide. Tea is supplied in multi-walled Kraft paper sacks or vacuum packaged, meeting international standards for safe food transportation. Individual invoices are containerised in 20ft and 40ft containers.
2. Bespoke Blending Services: The Nilpur Blending Unit provides bespoke blending services to customers, offering both unique and custom bulk blended teas with various packaging options for Western European, Asian, and North American customers.
3. Elephant Trademark Tea Products: Tea marketed worldwide under the registered Elephant trademark, sold to buyers in Europe, the Middle East, and North America.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

McLeod Russel India Limited is the world's largest tea plantation company, producing approximately 100 million kilograms of high-quality black tea (CTC and Orthodox) and green tea annually from 53+ tea estates across Assam, West Bengal, Vietnam, Uganda, and Rwanda. The company supplies bulk and wholesale tea to major international tea blenders worldwide, marketed under the registered Elephant trademark, and offers bespoke blending services through its modern Nilpur Blending Unit.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Black Tea (CTC and Orthodox) Primary product - bulk black tea manufactured using CTC (Crush, Tear, Curl) and Orthodox processing methods, producing approximately 100 million kilograms annually across tea estates in Assam, West Bengal, Vietnam, Uganda, and Rwanda. Marketed worldwide under the registered Elephant trademark and sold on a bulk wholesale basis to major international tea blenders.
• Green Tea (Green CTC and Orthodox Green) Specialty tea product including Green CTC and Orthodox Green tea, produced from dedicated green tea gardens, primarily from Vietnam operations, meeting customer quality standards for international tea blenders.
• Nilpur Blending Unit - Bespoke Blending Service Bespoke bulk blending service offered to tea blenders requiring customized blends for Western European, Asian, and North American markets. The facility operates two bulk blending lines capable of blending both Orthodox and CTC tea varieties, with various packaging options and 40 tons per day capacity. HACCP accredited since May 2008.
• Elephant Trademark Tea Brand The company's globally registered Elephant trademark under which tea products are marketed worldwide to buyers in Europe, the Middle East, and North America, representing a recognized brand identity for McLeod Russel's bulk tea offerings.

Quantifiable outcome

• Produces approximately 100 million kilos of high quality tea per year
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Yorkshire TeaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerYorkshire Tea is working with the Bodo Handloom Scheme (BHS) to promote BHS products in the UK. Yorkshire Tea donates all sale proceeds to the BHS, which provides income for approximately 140 Bodo tribal women weavers at Borengajuli Tea Estate in Assam.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• James Finlay (Swire group): UK-based global tea producer with significant Kenyan and Chinese estate operations; a direct peer as one of the few large-scale multi-country tea plantation companies and a former owner of Rwenzori Tea Investments, which McLeod Russel acquired in 2010.
• Dilmah (MJF Holdings): Sri Lankan single-origin tea producer and global brand owner; comparable as a vertically integrated estate-to-cup operator with own blending and global distribution, addressing the same premium Western retail and foodservice channels.
• Finlays: Global tea producer and supplier with Kenyan, Sri Lankan and Chinese estate operations plus blending facilities. Comparable as a vertically integrated bulk and bespoke tea supplier serving the same Western European and North American blender customers.
• Tata Consumer Products: Major Indian tea plantation company and owner of the Tata Tea brand; competes directly with McLeod Russel in Indian bulk and branded tea, with similar B2B blender relationships and overlapping estate footprints in Assam and South India.
• George Williamson (Kenya/Africa operations): African tea plantation operator with Kenyan and Tanzanian estates; comparable as a regional bulk tea producer competing with McLeod Russel in East Africa and the international export market.
• Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA): Producer-owned Kenyan tea marketing body managing 70+ factories producing over 1 billion kg annually for export. Comparable as a large-scale East African bulk tea exporter competing for the same European and Middle Eastern blender customers.
• Williamson Tea (Kenya): Kenyan tea plantation company operating multiple estates in the Rift Valley; comparable as a mid-sized African bulk tea exporter serving the same international blender customers as McLeod Russel's Uganda and Rwanda operations.

Regional players

• Linton Growers (Sri Lanka): Sri Lankan tea plantation operator producing bulk and specialty Ceylon teas for export. Comparable in product category (bulk tea production for international blenders) but primarily a regional player focused on the Sri Lankan/Ceylon tea segment rather than the Indian-Assam-African footprint of McLeod Russel.

Broad incumbents

• Hindustan Unilever (Tea Division): Owner of the Brooke Bond and Lipton brands; the largest packaged tea company in India and a major global buyer of bulk black tea. Comparable as a counterpart in the same supply chain — both an upstream bulk tea customer of and a competitor to McLeod Russel's plantation operations.
• Twinings (ABF / Associated British Foods): Iconic UK tea brand and major global tea buyer/blender; a large incumbent customer of bulk producers including McLeod Russel and a competitor in the downstream branded and blended tea market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mcleod-russell-india-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Subsidiaries7 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 MCLEOD RUSSELL INDIA Limited