Clipper is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

Fairtrade A fair trade certification is a product certification within the market-based movement fair trade. The most widely used fair trade certification is FLO International's, the International Fairtrade Certification Mark, used in Europe, Africa, ...

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...

company based in Beaminster, Dorset founded in 1984. In 1994, it was one of the first companies in the UK to receive the Fairtrade Mark. Clipper was purchased in 2012 by

Royal Wessanen Ecotone (formerly Royal Wessanen) is a multinational food company with a focus on organic, founded in the Netherlands and headquartered in France since November 2020. It has operations in Europe and North America. Worldwide it had approx 2,000 ...

for around £50 million.

History

Clipper Tea was started in 1984 by Lorraine and Mike Brehme. Already being in the tea industry, they cited increased amounts of child labour in the trade as their original motive to found Clipper. Clipper Tea started in the couple's

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...

kitchen with two chests of

Assam tea Assam tea is a black tea named after the region of its production, Assam, India. It is manufactured specifically from the plant ''Camellia sinensis'' var. ''assamica'' (Masters). The Assam tea plant is indigenous to Assam—initial efforts to pla ...

, which they bought for £50 and sold to local health food shops in the Dorset area. Their product approach was "always a pure, natural product – there isn't a single artificial ingredient in any of our products". The couple divorced, and in 2007 they sold to

Fleming Family & Partners Stonehage Fleming was formed in 2014, when Fleming Family & Partners, the family office run by family members of banking pioneer Robert Fleming, merged with Stonehage, an international family office. The Group manages assets worth more than £ ...

, a fund backed by one of Britain's wealthiest families, for around £25- £30 million. In 2008,

Perry Haydn Taylor Perry Haydn Taylor (born 1966) is an English creative director, designer and entrepreneur, who lives in Somerset and works in London. He is the founder and "chief stoker" of Big Fish Design, a brand, design and marketing consultancy. Career Hayd ...

's creative branding agency was approached to rebrand the business. They created new Clipper packaging and slogan: "Natural, fair & delicious". In 2012, the business was sold to

. Creative branding agencies continue to work with the brand. Clipper is the UK's sixth biggest tea-brand and their export sales represent 20% of the group turnover with products currently sold in 45 countries. In the first six months of 2013 exports grew by 36% while the 2012 full year increase was 40% above 2011. Export growth is vitally important to the business and has allowed Clipper Teas to invest over £1 million in

capital expenditure Capital expenditure or capital expense (capex or CAPEX) is the money an organization or corporate entity spends to buy, maintain, or improve its fixed assets, such as buildings, vehicles, equipment, or land. It is considered a capital expenditure ...

upgrading its manufacturing facility in

Beaminster Beaminster ( ) is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England, situated in the Dorset Council administrative area approximately northwest of the county town Dorchester. It is sited in a bowl-shaped valley near the source of the small River ...

. Clipper produces 95 varieties of tea with up to two million tea bags made per day. In

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

the brand is called "Cupper tea", because another tea-brand had already registered the brand name "Clipper" in Germany.

Ethics

Clipper was founded as an ethical alternative to other teas, and advocates

and

organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product o ...

tea. Clipper became involved with the

Fairtrade Foundation A fair trade certification is a product certification within the market-based movement fair trade. The most widely used fair trade certification is FLO International's, the International Fairtrade Certification Mark, used in Europe, Africa, ...

in its earliest stages and policy development. All of Clipper's tea is purchased from estates where there is no

exploitation of workers Exploitation of labour (also known as labor) is a concept defined as, in its broadest sense, one agent taking unfair advantage of another agent. It denotes an unjust social relationship based on an asymmetry of power or unequal exchange of value b ...

. In 1994, Clipper was one of the first three companies in the UK to receive the

Fairtrade mark The International Fairtrade Certification Mark is an independent certification mark used in over 50 countries. It appears on products as an independent guarantee that a product has been produced according to Fairtrade political standards. The F ...

and then decided to produce a magazine, called "The Teapot Times", about the history of tea production and the positive impact buying Fairtrade goods had on communities around the world. Clipper also became official advisors to the Fairtrade Foundation for tea.

References

{{Reflist Tea companies of the United Kingdom Drink brands Tea brands in the United Kingdom Fair trade organizations Fair trade brands