Lipton Corporate Office

Lipton Tea was founded in 1890 by Sir Thomas Lipton of Scotland.

Lipton used his savings to open a small tea shop. Within just a few years, Lipton owned 200 shops around Scotland.

Shortly after opening his shop, Thomas Lipton began traveling the world for new items to sell. One such item was tea, a rare and expensive luxury at the time. Sales had doubled from £40 million in the late 1870s to £80 million by the mid-1880s.

In 1890 Lipton purchased tea gardens in Ceylon, now called Sri Lanka, from where he packaged and sold the first Lipton tea. 

He arranged packaging and shipping at the lowest possible cost and sold his tea in packets by the pound, half-pound, and quarter-pound, along with the advertising slogan: “Direct from the tea gardens to the teapot.”

Lipton teas were an immediate success in the United States.

Lipton was acquired by Unilever in 1972.

In 2011, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) criticized Unilever for conducting and funding experiments on rabbits, pigs, and other animals in an attempt to make human health claims about the tea’s ingredients.

According to the animal rights organization, Unilever decided to end the practice of Lipton products after receiving more than 40,000 appeals from PETA supporters and days before PETA made plans to launch its “Lipton CruelTEA” campaign.

 Unilever no longer tests their products on animals unless required to by governments as part of their regulatory requirements.

Lipton states that tea, especially green and black teas, supports a healthy immune function.

Ready to drink tea in bottles is in high demand in the US and the market is expected to experience tremendous growth over the next few years.

Lipton maintains a corporate office in New South Wales, Australia.