 Dilmah logo | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| CSE: CTEA.N0000 | |
| ISIN | LK0039N00004 |
| Industry | Beverage |
| Founded | 1985; 41 years ago (1985) |
| Founder | Merrill J. Fernando |
| Headquarters | , Sri Lanka |
Area served | Globally |
Key people |
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| Products |
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| Revenue |  LKR11,435 million (2022) |
| LKR5,474 million (2022) | |
| LKR5,570 million (2022) | |
| Total assets | LKR22,923 million (2022) |
| Total equity | LKR18,718 million (2022) |
| Owners |
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Number of employees | 634 (2022) |
| Parent | Ceylon Tea Services |
| Subsidiaries | MJF BeveragesDilmah Ceylon Cinnamon Company |
| Website | www |
| Footnotes / references [1] | |
Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company PLC,trading asDilmah, is a Sri Lankan beverage company that is headquartered inPeliyagoda,Western Province, Sri Lanka. While MJF Teas is the parent company of Dilmah, MJF Holdings is the ultimate parent. The company is best known for its brand ofCeylon tea, sold internationally. The company was founded in 1985 byMerrill J Fernando. As of 2023[update] Dilmah is the 10th largest tea brand in the world.
The company's founder,Merrill J. Fernando, was born in 1930 inNegombo inBritish Ceylon.[2] He moved toColombo, where he became one of the Ceylonesetea tasters, after doing his training atMincing Lane inLondon. While there, he was astonished to see that different teas were mixed and blended but still marketed as pure Ceylon tea. The tea which had been hand-picked and produced according to the Ceylonese traditional process was being used only as a raw material. It was bought cheaply, with branding and packaging taking place in Europe and the UK. This system meant that the tea producers received only tiny amounts of the total profit, with middlemen (wholesalers andresellers, mainly a few large corporations) receiving the greatest share of the profit.[3]
In 1962, he founded Ceylon Tea Services Company and later that year Merrill J. Fernando Company, which exported loose tea across the world, including North America and Australasia. In 1982 Fernando established Ceylon Tea Services Ltd, which became one of the first companies listed as apublic company on theColombo Stock Exchange.[2]
In 1985, Fernando launched the brand name "Dilmah",[2] which was chosen by combining the first names of Fernando's sons, Dilhan and Malik. His aim was to serve the poor and underprivileged through his new company.[4] He took a while to first convince the Australian supermarket retailerColes to stock his new brand of tea,[4] but eventually won over the Coles buyer,[3][5] In 1988 the company was established,[6] and aMelbourne Coles store started stocking Dilmah on its shelves. It eventually spread to 35 other Coles stores inVictoria and thenWoolworths started selling the product as well. Dilmah later exported the tea to New Zealand, where it was the top-selling brand in 2013,[3] and also toEurope andNorth America. In 2013, Australia made up 10 percent of Dilmah's global annual retail sales.[5]
The headquarters of Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company PLC[7] is situated inPeliyagoda, along with associate companies Kahawatte Plantations, MJF Exports, Forbes & Walker Tea Brokers, and others.[8]
MJF Holdings is the parent company of these enterprises, which are listed on theColombo Stock Exchange. Dilmah is the only fullyvertically integrated tea company, which owns tea plantations, factories, printing and packaging facilities, and other investments in all segments of the tea industry.[4]
In September 2009 Ceylon Tea Services, Dilmah's parent company, earnedUS$5.2 million on US$19.7 million in revenue, which was up from profits of US$1.3 million, on US$18.6 million in revenue the year before.[9] As of 2023[update] Dilmah is the 10th largest tea brand in the world.[10]
In 2007, Dilmah Conservation was founded,[11] with one of its main aims being to protect Sri Lankan forests.[2]
The company and brand were also well known through its television commercials featuring Fernando himself and his trademark catchphrase "Do Try It". Singer and television personalityKamahl, also featured in the company's Australian television commercials in 1988.[12]