The world's largest tea company ekaterra has enlisted Stuart Alexander & Co as its Australian distributor.
Unilever separated its tea business into Ekaterra in mid-2020 and sold the company to CVC Capital Partners Fund VIII for 4.5 billion Euro in November 2021.
It has a portfolio of more than 30 brands, including Lipton, PG Tips, Tazo, Bushells, and B-Corp certified Pukka and T2, 11 production sites on four continents, and tea estates in three countries.
Ekaterra head of customer development Robby Lowrey said the partnership will accelerate growth in Australia.
“Ekaterra’s establishment as an independent, single-category business since its sale from Unilever provides a big opportunity to realise the potential of our incredible tea brands across a multitude of channels, and we see Stuart Alexander & Co as the right partner to help us do this,” Lowrey said.
Stuart Alexander & Co CEO Nick Nairn said the partnership was a “huge win” for the business. The company is the national distributor for brands including Chupa Chups, Mentos, Hershey’s, Monin, Evian, Lotus Biscoff and Tabasco.
The partnership is looking to grow in the already established supermarket channel, while also expanding Out Of Home distribution across restaurants, hospitals, and corporate offices.
“With over a century of building relationships, networks, and distribution channels in Australia, we believe that we have the best market customer penetration across all retail environments, meaning we are well equipped to support ekaterra in bolstering their tea business and helping them to break into new channels. In doing so, we estimate that there is the potential to grow the portfolio by 25 per cent in the next three to five years,” said Nairn.
