Member Article

Newcastle’s Ringtons signs deal to distribute in America

Renowned British tea merchant Ringtons has stars (and stripes) in its eyes as the company confirms two distribution deals which will see its famous tea sold across America.

The 107 year old family-business has seen significant market growth in the past 12 months with its traditional doorstep delivery service, business-to-business and private label divisions all strengthening within this timeframe.

The North East company reported turnover of over £45 million for the year ending July 2013.

This significant business growth has led to substantial investment in IT and production facilities to meet demand from export markets and to accommodate for business growth with Ringtons’ current UK customers which include luxury department store Fortnum & Mason.

A select range of Ringtons’ renowned teas are being exported to the US via two fellow Geordies who were keen to introduce their childhood tea to the growing number of people looking for the perfect cup of English tea in America.

Ex-pat John Lucas, will be distributing Ringtons tea to consumer and wholesale markets in the east of America from his bases in North Carolina and Michigan where he runs his company North Atlantic Imports. While Ian Geddes of Finest English Tea, will be serving the west of America from his home of 35 years in California.

Ringtons was established in 1907 by Samuel Smith who sold tea by horse and cart to doorsteps across Newcastle. Today the company is headed up by the fourth generation of the Smith family and employs over 500 staff across more than 20 sites throughout the UK including its North Tyneside factory where all of its tea and coffee is blended, roasted and packed.

The company still offers a traditional doorstep delivery service to over 260,000 customers throughout the UK as well as operating a business-to-business division, an online store and a franchise offering. The company also blends and packs tea for well-known supermarkets and private retailers.

Working closely with the new distributors, Ringtons has modified its recently rebranded packaging to conform to US FDA guidelines and launched a new website to direct American audiences to their online stores.

Ringtons CEO, Simon Smith, said: “We’ve always been keen to grow our export offering and knew there was interest from the American market for a ‘proper English cup of tea’ so we are delighted to have found terrific partners in John and Ian.

“Thanks partly to their North East roots, both Ian and John fully understand the Ringtons brand, our ethos as a family business and our commitment to quality and transparency.

“They are dedicated to serving up a great cup of Ringtons tea to American tea drinkers.

“As a company we continue to invest in various areas of the business including our production facilities and IT.

“In addition we have a new gift packing service and a top-of-the-range catering training facility to meet demand for quality equipment, supplies and training.

“We think now is the right time to introduce our quality products and the Ringtons story to an American audience and we are excited to see where the opportunity will take us.”

Co-owner of North Atlantic Imports and East Coast distributor, John Lucas, said: “As a child growing up in the north east, deliveries to the door were a common sight particularly for my grandmother – deliveries of milk, eggs, fish and pop were all a regular occurrence but my favourite was always the Ringtons tea man in his iconic green and gold van.

“Despite moving to the US 25 years ago I remained a Ringtons fan and my family are still customers of the family business.

“As my own business interests grew and discussions about importing Ringtons to the east coast of America continued, I learned more about the company and I began to understand the Smith family’s deep commitment to producing the best possible products for their customers.

“I now know the people involved, have witnessed their expertise, seen their operations and have tested and tasted the products against their competitors.

“I have come to agree with my grandmother that Ringtons is the best, and I am sure tea lovers in the East coast of America will become true Ringtonians like me in no time.”