Four generations, 130 years and millions of cups: Northern Ireland tea blender celebrates in style
The Belfast family business behind Punjana marks its 130th anniversary with a dedicated Sainsbury’s promotion and six new Thompson’s Tea listings across Sainsbury’s NI stores
Thompson’s, the leading Northern Ireland tea blender, recently teamed up with retail giant Sainsbury’s to celebrate its 130th birthday in style.
Working closely with Sainsbury’s and Nectar360, the Belfast-based te maker, best known for its market leading Punjana brand, delivered a dedicated promotional activity featuring its range of family teas and special 130th anniversary branding to capture the attention of shoppers.
The company was also delighted to announce a special birthday ‘present’ from supermarket in the shape of new business that sees Sainsbury’s NI expand its Thompson’s Tea offering to include: Thompson’s Decaf 160s; Thompson’s Irish Breakfast 160s; Thompson’s Titanic 80s; Thompson’s Decaf 40s; Thompson’s Green 80s; and Thompson’s Green & Lemon 80s.
The company, based in east Belfast, remains one of Northern Ireland’s most successful family business and a respected tea blender and maker. Every supermarket, convenience store and grocer retailer in Northern Ireland now stocks Punjana teas.
Thompson’s Family Teas dates back to 1896 when it began as a tea warehouse near Belfast docks. Founder Robert S Thompson trained in the art of tea tasting and soon became known for his devotion to quality.
Since then, four generations of Thompsons’ have been blending and packing award-winning range in Belfast for 130 years. The company is also among the UK’s most successful in awards for quality and taste such as the UK Great Taste.
Over 1 million cups of Thompson’s Punjana teas are enjoyed every single day, in Northern Ireland alone, making it the market leader
To this day, every blend produced is first tasted and then approved by a member of the Thompson family, which still runs the business that now sells teas in the Republic of Ireland and especially Great Britain. It is major success in Scotland and has even created a successful Scottish blend for major retailers there.