Typhoo Tea Research

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TYPHOO TEA 1856 England, a time when tea was growing and introduced to the west sides. John Sumner, the creator of typhoo tea , was already settled in the established grocery/pharmacist store that his parents and grand-parents had brought up. It was not until his sister, Mary Augusta’s suggested that tea could be sold in his store, when she healed from a suffering because of a special sort of tea. Against his friends wishes, who thought that the idea would flop, John Sumner bought 30 tea chests, and thought of creating a brand packet out of it, instead of selling it directly over the counter. Sumner has certain criteria’s for the brand’s name- that it should be unique, patented (protected by registration), and trip off the tongue. The outcome was the name Typhoo, which partly means doctor in Chinese. The idea’s success surprised them all, and Typhoo Tipps became the first brand to be sold pre-packed. Fun Fact- the double ‘p’ in the Tipps was originally a printing error but it remained misspelt on the tea packets. What supported the great start of the business? The name, publicity of the brand through word of mouth, gaining loyalty from customers by providing good quality tea and information pamphlet inside the tea packets. 1905 saw the closing of John’s grocery shop due to bank debts, but Typhoo tea saved his livelihood. Due to further profits, John went to Ceylon to create tea collaboration there. But World War 1 created the first ever obstacle for the company. The government announced that it was going to ration tea and refused the supply of leaf-edged tea. Typhoo being a leaf-edged tea, requested his loyal customers to write a petition asking the government to renew the supply, which the tea controllers had to eventually agree to. But this was not just the last obstacle for the firm. In 1930, agents of Ceylon were not adhering to the quality of the tea. The

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