Time for tea investment

摘要

Over the past five years Taylors of Harrogate has grown from being the fourth largest bagged black-tea producer in the UK to the third. We currently have 16% of the market, behind Unilever's PG Tips brand and Tata's Tetley brand. Yorkshire Tea is our flagship tea brand and is produced at this 14,000m2 site in Harrogate. It's no secret that the black tea market is declining [UK sales have fallen by 6% since 2010]. There are a lot of products out there to distract consumers, but our market share has been growing. There's been a lot of investment here to support that growth and to support the growth in other parts of our £150M turnover company, which makes speciality teas, coffee and products for Betty's [the online shop and tea room]. The company was founded in 1886 by Charles Taylor in Leeds and was always a tea blender, until we started coffee production a little later on. Back then it was normal to blend tea to specific water types - hard and soft. I think we're the only company in the black tea market to still do that.