TEA · KENYA
COFFEE · MALAWI
MACADAMIA · MALAWI
ESTABLISHED IN LONDON, 1991
Sourced, value-added & packed at origin.
We source and pack tea in East Africa, and grow coffee and macadamia on our own Malawi estates — adding value where the crop is produced.
THE GROUP
Global Tea & Commodities grows, sources and manufactures across three continents — an integrated supply chain that runs from our own estates in Malawi, through the auction floors of East Africa, to value-added production in Kenya.
4,000+
People employed across the Group
80m kg
Tea handled annually
$220m
Group annual sales
1991
Founded in London
OUR HISTORY
Founded in London in 1991
Nadeem Ahmed founded Global Tea in London in 1991, building a tea sourcing operation with two employees into a group with operations spanning Europe, Asia and Africa.
The Group diversified beyond sourcing into value-added packing in Kenya, and later brought coffee and macadamia farming into the business through its own estates in Malawi. In 2005 the Group received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise. It remains family-led, now in its second generation.
Today, Global Tea is the most trusted private-label packer of tea in the United Kingdom, with a significant share of the UK tea market.
1991
Nadeem Ahmed founds Global Tea in London as a tea sourcing operation.
1996
Establishes its first value-added tea-packing facilities in Kenya.
2003
Acquires the Lonrho tea plantations and opens a second Kenyan packing factory.
2005
Receives the Queen’s Award for Enterprise.
2019
Ships its first order to Unilever, deepening ties with global FMCG brands.
2025
Breaks ground on a new, sustainable tea-packing factory in Mombasa, which is the largest in the world.
2027
Bringing the new energy-efficient Mombasa factory into operation.
OUR BUSINESS
Three businesses
Each segment stands on its own — and each strengthens the others in cost, quality and continuity of supply.
Farming
Rainforest Alliance-certified coffee and macadamia, grown on our own estates in Malawi. The largest grower of coffee in Malawi, producing high quality Arabica, exported globally.
Sourcing
The single largest buyer at the Mombasa tea auction, sourcing across multiple origins.
Manufacturing
95% of Kenya’s value-added tea production, packed in Mombasa for local and export markets.
ESTATES · MALAWI
Coffee and macadamia
Through Sable Farming Company, Global Tea grows Rainforest Alliance-certified coffee and macadamia across its own estates in Malawi — one of the largest such operations on the continent.
2,000+
Hectares under cultivation
2,500+
People employed
RA
Rainforest Alliance certified
GLOBAL SOURCING
Auction and direct buying
Global Tea purchases more than 80 million kilos of tea a year — at auction and direct from plantations — with particular strength across East Africa and India.
As the single largest buyer at the Mombasa auction, that scale gives every part of the Group an advantage in cost and quality.
15%
of Africa’s total tea production purchased every year
SOURCING ORIGINS
01
Kenya
East Africa
02
Rwanda
East Africa
03
Tanzania
East Africa
04
Uganda
East Africa
05
Burundi
East Africa
06
Malawi
Southern Africa
07
India
South Asia
VALUE-ADDED MANUFACTURING
Packing factories in Mombasa
Our packing factories in Mombasa produce branded and private-label tea for local and export markets, accounting for 95% of Kenya’s value-added tea production. A new energy-efficient facility comes into operation in 2027.
The UK’s most trusted private-label tea packer — packing own-label ranges for leading supermarkets and holding a significant share of the UK tea market.
95%
Of Kenya’s value-added tea
2
Factories in Mombasa
2027
New energy-efficientfactory
PACKING FOR
Branded & own-label partners
OUR BRANDS
Branded and private-label tea
Kericho Gold Classic Black Tea
Rainforest Alliance Certified
Kericho Gold
PREMIUM
Kenya’s leading premium tea brand, spanning classic, health and flavoured ranges.
Baraka Chai
EVERYDAY
An everyday tea trusted in Kenyan households across the mass market.
Sable
COFFEE & MACADAMIA
Rainforest Alliance certified coffee and macadamia from our Malawi estates, supplied to leading international roasters.
Private Label
RETAIL PARTNERS
Packed to specification for leading UK supermarkets and international retailers.
Management team
Nadeem Ahmed
CHAIRMAN
Founded the Global Tea group in 1991. 35 years of experience across tea markets in the UK, Africa, India, Middle-East and Pakistan. Led the Group to the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2005.
Michael McBrien
GROUP FINANCE DIRECTOR
Group CFO since 1996. 30 years of experience in the finance departments of various corporates. Chartered Accountant.
Fayz Ahmed
COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR
Joined Global Tea & Commodities in January 2020, representing the second generation of family leadership. Previously worked at KPMG and Morgan Stanley. Fayz holds an MSci in Theoretical Physics from Imperial College London.
Contact us
HEAD OFFICE
1 Duchess Street
London W1W 6AN
United Kingdom
TELEPHONE
+44 (0)20 7500 7610
OUR OFFICES
London
Group head office
Nairobi
Branded head office
Mombasa
Manufacturing & auction
Blantyre
Estates, Malawi