Typhoo

Typhoo (sometimes stylized as Ty•Phoo) is a brand of tea in the United Kingdom. It was launched in 1903 by John Sumner Jr. of Birmingham, England.

Typhoo
Typhoo tea factory in Moreton, Merseyside
Product typeTea
OwnerApeejay Surrendra Group
Produced byTyphoo Tea Limited
CountryUnited Kingdom
Introduced1903
Previous ownersSchweppes (1968)
Cadbury Schweppes (1969–1986)
Premier Brands (1986–1990)
Premier Foods (1990–2005)
Apeejay Surrendra Group (2005–present)
Websitetyphoo.co.uk

History
Ty•Phoo tea advertising on a bus at Trafalgar Square, 1957
Former Typhoo tea factory and canal wharf in Digbeth, Birmingham

In 1863, William Sumner published A Popular Treatise on Tea as a by-product of the first trade missions to China from London. In 1870, William and his son John Sumner founded a pharmacy/grocery business in Birmingham. William's grandson, John Sumner Jr. (born in 1856), took over the running of the business in the 1900s. Following comments from his sister on the calming effects of tea fannings, in 1903, John Jr. decided to create a new tea that he could sell in his shop.

Sumner set his own criteria for the new brand:

  • The name had to be distinctive and unlike others.
  • It had to be a name that would trip off the tongue.
  • It had to be one that would be protected by registration.

The name Typhoo comes from the Chinese word for "doctor" (traditional Chinese: 大夫, hanyu pinyin: dàifū).[1]

Typhoo began making tea bags in 1967. In 1978, production was moved from Birmingham to Moreton on the Wirral peninsula in Cheshire.[2] The Moreton site is also the location of Burton's Foods and Manor Bakeries factories.[3]

In 2005, the company was sold by Premier Foods to an Indian conglomerate, Apeejay Surrendra Group, of which it is now a subsidiary.[4][5]

Recent history

Ownership

In 1968, Typhoo merged with Schweppes. The following year this company in turn merged with Cadbury to form Cadbury Schweppes.[6] In 1986, in an effort to focus on their core brands, Cadbury Schweppes sold Typhoo, along with Kenco coffee and Jeyes Fluid.[7] Typhoo was subject to management buy out forming a new company, Premier Brands, which acquired, in rapid succession, Melrose's, the Glengettie Tea Company, Ridgways (founded by Thomas Ridgway), and the Jersey Trading Corporation. In 1990, the company was itself acquired by Premier Foods, then trading as Hillsdown Holdings.[8]

In October 2005, the Indian company Apeejay Surrendra Group purchased the brands for £80 million from Premier Foods and created The Typhoo Tea Company. The brand is still manufactured at Moreton on the Wirral.

Record high material costs and adverse currency movements saw Typhoo Tea's profits plummet to a £20m loss in the year ending 31 March 2018. The tea maker recognised the year as one of the most challenging trading periods for the business in recent history.

Early in 2020, Typhoo Tea proposed cutting about a quarter of posts at its headquarters to safeguard the future of the company. The restructuring, which is subject to the outcome of a consultation, would see 55 full-time and 21 temporary jobs closed at the firm's factory in Moreton, Wirral, a spokesman said. [9] He said the plan came against "the backdrop of an increasingly challenging trading environment".

In 2020 Typhoo Tea reported mounting losses in a “watershed” year for the business, raising doubts about the brand’s ability to continue trading. They reported pre-tax losses of £29.9m for the 12 months to March 2019, up from £20m the prior year. The accounts warned that an inability to refinance or extend its financing agreements “represents a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt over the company’s ability to continue as a going concern”. Furthermore, the accounts stated there remained a “high level of uncertainty” as to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, despite reporting an upward trend in supermarket sales under lockdown. Typhoo blamed its poor performance on the decision to continue to pursue an “aggressive” sales growth strategy focused on boosting its own-label business.

Apeejay Typhoo Tea is the Indian arm of Typhoo, manufacturing and selling products in India.

Sponsorships

In 2012, Typhoo became the main jersey sponsor for St. Helens Rugby league club which competes in the Super League.

Slogans

The Typhoo brand is well known in Britain for its long-running television commercial campaign jingles, such as :

  • Putting 'T' back into Britain
  • There's only one 'T' in Typhoo
  • You only get an 'OO' with Typhoo
  • For the tea that picks you up, pick up Typhoo
  • Making good tea since 1903
  • Typhoo Tea - two thumbs fresh[10]
  • Great British tea since 1903

References
  1. "Typhoo Official site, History of Typhoo Tea, 1856-1904". Typhoo.com. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
  2. Queenborough, Marcus (14 May 2018). "Birmingham's past factories". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  3. "MP: Closing Burton's plant at Moreton would hit Manor Bakeries and Typhoo Tea". Food Manufacture. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  4. "Typhoo Tea bought by Indian Firm". BBC News. 13 October 2005. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  5. "Typhoo – Our Brands". Apeejay Surrendra Group. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  6. "Typhoo Official site, History of Typhoo Tea, 1856-1904". Typhootea.com. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
  7. "Cadbury Schweppes - Key Acquisitions and Disposals". Checksure.biz. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
  8. Premier Foods - Timeline Archived August 31, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  9. "Typhoo Tea plans job cuts at Wirral factory 'to safeguard future'". BBC News. 2020-02-04. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
  10. "Tea advertising slogans". Textart.ru. Archived from the original on 2013-03-29. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
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