Typhoo
Typhoo is a brand of tea in the United Kingdom. It was launched in 1903 by John Sumner Jr. of Birmingham, England.
History
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 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: dài fū).[1]
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[2]
Recent history
In 1968, Typhoo merged with Schweppes. The following year this company in turn merged with Cadbury to form Cadbury Schweppes.[3] In 1986, in an effort to focus on their core brands, Cadbury Schweppes sold Typhoo, along with Kenco coffee and Jeyes Fluid.[4] Typhoo was subject to management buy out forming a new company, Premier Brands, which acquired, in rapid succession, Melrose's, the Glengettie Tea Company, Ridgeways, and the Jersey Trading Corporation. In 1990, the company was itself acquired by Premier Foods, then trading as Hillsdown Holdings.[5]
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.
Apeejay Typhoo Tea is the Indian arm of Typhoo, manufacturing and selling products in India.
In 2012, Typhoo became the main jersey sponsor for St Helens Rugby League club who compete in the Super League.
Use of imperial measures
Typhoo is notable for its continued use of imperial measures on most of its packaging. Metric units are also shown, as required by law. The imperial unit is shown first on the front of the packaging, however the font size is the same as the metric unit, meaning that the imperial unit, officially permitted as a supplementary indicator, is no more prominent than the metric unit.
Executives
- Somnath Saha: CEO
- Andy Knight: UK - Sales Director
- Chris Hall: Head of Marketing
- Rahul Kale: Director of International Business and UK sales director (health food)
References
- ↑ "Typhoo Official site, History of Typhoo Tea, 1856-1904". Typhoo.com. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
- ↑ "Tea advertising slogans". Textart.ru. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
- ↑ "Typhoo Official site, History of Typhoo Tea, 1856-1904". Typhootea.com. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
- ↑ "Cadbury Schweppes - Key Acquisitions and Disposals". Checksure.biz. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
- ↑ Premier Foods - Timeline Archived August 31, 2011 at the Wayback Machine