- Dilmah
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Dilmah (Ceylon Tea Services PLC.) 
Founded Sri Lanka (1974) Headquarters Sri Lanka Key people Merrill J. Fernando, Malik J. Fernando, Dilhan C. Fernando, Himendra Ranaweera, Roshan Tissaaratchy, Minette Perera, Lakshman Punchihewa Products Ceylon Tea, Flavoured Tea, Green Tea, Speciality Tea, herbal infusions, Masala Chai, boutique tea - the t-Series Designer Gourmet Tea www.teatimerocks.com, Watte Single Estate Tea www.watteseries.com, White Tea http://white.dilmah.com/, Real Iced Tea Website http://www.dilmahtea.com/ Dilmah is a brand of Ceylon tea. The company was founded in 1974 by Merrill J. Fernando. It is available in over 92 countries including United Kingdom, Lithuania, Hungary, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Japan and New Zealand. By 2002 it was the third largest global tea brand.[1]
Dilmah Tea was the sponsor of the Sri Lankan cricket team from 2001 to 2008.
Contents
History
The name Dilmah was chosen by combining the first names of the founders Malik J. Fernando and Dilhan C. Fernando. Dilmah Founder Merrill J. Fernando established his family tea company on a unique philosophy - believing that every business must operate in symbiosis with the community and environment in which it is located, he integrated the principle of making business a matter of human service, into his companies. Thus, most of the wealth of the Fernando family (Merrill and his two sons, Dilhan and Malik after whom the brand is named) and a minimum of 10% of the gross profits of Dilmah and its associate businesses (known as 'The MJF Group) are donated annually to Merrill's, MJF Charitable Foundation www.mjffoundation.org. The activities of the MJF Foundation are broad, with projects from post tsunami livelihood rehabilitation to education, women's empowerment, prevention of abuse amongst women and children, village reawakening, entrepreneurship development, amongst others. The MJF Foundation website offers a fairly comprehensive overview of their activities.[2]
Whilst retaining the heritage of a small Sri Lankan family company, Dilmah has successfully grown to become a Top 10 global tea brand and the No 1 brand from a tea origin.
In May 2009, the Dilmah brand celebrated 21 years since it was first introduced and 60 years of tea making by the founder of Dilmah, Merrill J Fernando.
Ethics
Dilmah claims to be the world's first truly ethical tea, in that all packaging profits are retained in Sri Lanka and fund the MJF Charitable Foundation for the benefit of tea estate workers, the community and the future of the ailing Ceylon tea industry.
References
- ^ "Sri Lankan firm takes on tea giants". BBC News. 3 July 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2088810.stm. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ Miller, Grant (22 March 2008). "Tea boss backs 'true fair trade'". Manawatu Standard. p. 8.
External links
- Interview with Merrill J Fernando, The Citizen (South Africa), 28 September 2006
- MJF Charitable Foundation
- A Sri Lankan Underdog Battles Global Tea Giants, Dilmah reference in the New York Times, January 2010
Categories:- Tea brands
- Tea stubs
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