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'{{For|people named Lipton|Lipton (surname)}} {{Infobox Brand |name=Lipton |logo= |image=[[File:Lipton.jpg|frameless]] |type= Tea |currentowner=[[Unilever]] |origin= [[Glasgow]], [[United Kingdom]] |introduced=1890 |related= |markets= Worldwide |previousowners= |trademarkregistrations= |website=http://www.lipton.com}} '''Lipton''' is a [[brand]] of [[tea]] and was also a supermarket chain in Scotland before it was sold off to [[Argyll Foods]], to allow the company to focus solely on tea. The company is named after its founder "[[Thomas Lipton]]". ==History== : ''For the personal history of Thomas Lipton, see [[Thomas Lipton]].'' ===Supermarket=== [[File:Allied.GIF|thumb|right|The old Liptons, [[Galbraith supermarkets|Galbraith]], [[Templeton supermarkets|Templeton]] and [[Presto supermarkets|Presto]] logos]] During 1871 Lipton used his small savings to open his own shop, in [[Glasgow]], [[Scotland]] and by the 1880s the business grew to more than 200 shops.<ref name="fundinguniverse1">{{cite web|url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Thomas-J-Lipton-Company-Company-History.html |title=History of Thomas J. Lipton Company&nbsp;– FundingUniverse |publisher=Fundinguniverse.com |date= |accessdate=2012-10-22}}</ref> In 1929, the Lipton grocery retail business was one of the companies that merged with [[Home and Colonial Stores]] to form a food group with over 3,000 stores. The group traded as Home and Colonial Stores until 1961 when it took the name of Allied Stores.<ref>Allied Stores was originally formed in 1929 to act as the group's purchasing arm.</ref> Lipton's became a supermarket chain focused on small towns, before Allied's 1982 acquisition by [[Argyll Foods]]: The supermarket business was re-branded as [[Presto (UK supermarket)|Presto]] during the 1980s. ===Tea=== [[Thomas Lipton]] began travelling the world for new items to stock in this store, one such items was tea, since sales had grown from £40 million pounds from late 1870s to £80 Million pounds by the mid-1880s. Lipton believe the price was far too high so started growing his own tea and selling them in packets by the pound, half pound, and quarter pound, with the advertising slogan: "Direct from the tea gardens to the teapot." Lipton teas were an immediate success in the United States. Thomas Lipton was knighted by Queen Victoria, who made him Sir Thomas Lipton in 1898 at the age of forty-eight.<ref name="fundinguniverse1"/> The Lipton tea business was acquired by consumer goods company [[Unilever]] in a number of separate transactions, starting with the purchase of the United States and Canadian Lipton business in 1938 and completed in 1972 when Unilever bought the remainder of the global Lipton business from [[Home and Colonial Stores|Allied Stores]]. In 1991, Unilever created a first [[joint venture]] with PepsiCo, the Pepsi Lipton Partnership, for the marketing of [[ready to drink]] (bottled and canned) teas in North America. This was followed in 2003 by a second joint venture, Pepsi-Lipton International (PLI), covering many non-United States markets. PLI was expanded in September 2007 to include a number of large European markets. PepsiCo and Unilever each control 50% of the shares of these joint ventures.<ref>[https://www.just-drinks.com/article.aspx?id=91542 PepsiCo and Unilever extend partnership]</ref> Due to the [[2008 Chinese milk scandal]], food giant [[Unilever]] started recalling its Lipton milk tea powder in Hong Kong and Macau on 30 September 2008. The tea powder, which used Chinese milk powder as its raw ingredient, was recalled after the company's internal checks found traces of melamine in the powder.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080930/ap_on_re_as/as_hong_kong_tainted_milk|title=Lipton-brand milk tea powder recalled in Asia |agency=Associated Press|publisher=Yahoo! News|accessdate=2008-09-30}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2008-09-30-liptontea-hongkong_N.htm?csp=34|title=Lipton milk tea powder recalled in Hong Kong |agency=Associated Press|publisher=USA Today|accessdate=2008-09-30 | date=2008-09-30}}</ref> ==Present day== [[File:Lipton Earl Grey tin.jpg|thumb|right|A tin of loose Earl Grey tea]] Products target the mass market and are generally positioned in the middle of the price spectrum for tea. {{Citation needed|date=October 2010}}. Like most branded teas, Lipton teas are a [[blend]] selected from many different plantations around the world, from well-known producing countries like India, [[Tea production in Sri Lanka|Sri Lanka]], Kenya, and China. Lipton Yellow Label is blended from as many as 20 different teas.<ref>Blending Reference http://www.time-for-tea.com/producing.asp</ref> Apart from black leaf teas (with the long-standing Lipton Yellow Label brand), the company also markets a large range of other varieties, both in leaf tea as well as ready-to-drink format.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40C10FA3E550C708DDDA00894DE404482 | work=The New York Times | title=Brewing for the True Believer; Tea's Got a Brand New Bag | first=Florence | last=Fabricant | date=2006-09-13 | accessdate=2010-05-07}}</ref> These include green teas, black flavoured teas, [[tisane]]s, Lipton Linea (a "slimming tea") in Europe and Lipton Milk Tea in various Asian markets. Apart from Lipton Ice Tea, none of their products are available for retail in the UK, as only caterers are supplied. In a number of markets, including Japan, Russia and Australia, the company is advertising the benefits of [[theanine]], which supposedly have [[psychoactive]] properties.<ref>{{cite web|title=LIPTON Tea & Your Health|url=http://www.liptont.com/tea_health/performance/index.aspx|accessdate=26 December 2010}}</ref> Lipton still owns plantations in East Africa ( [[Kenya]] (Kericho) and [[Tanzania]] (Mufindi) ) In May 2007, Unilever became the first company to commit to sourcing all its tea in a sustainable manner.<ref>Article in San Diego Times" http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20070525-0857-tea-unilever-sustainable.html</ref> Working with the [[Rainforest Alliance]], an international environmental [[NGO]], Lipton and its parent company, Unilever, announced all Lipton Yellow Label [[tea bag|tea bags]] sold in Western Europe would be certified by 2010 and all Lipton tea bags sold globally by 2015.<ref>Unilever Announcement http://www.unilever.com/ourcompany/newsandmedia/pressreleases/2007/sustainable-tea-sourcing.asp</ref> Lipton's own tea estates were among the first to be certified.<ref>Time to brew up a Sustainable Cuppa- The Independent http://news.independent.co.uk/business/analysis_and_features/article3223697.ece</ref><ref>Reuters http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=consumerProducts&storyID=2007-05-25T170334Z_01_N25420184_RTRIDST_0_SP_PAGE_016-N25420184-OISCP.XML</ref> Product bearing the Rainforest Alliance seal appeared on Western European markets in 2008 and started appearing in North America in 2009.<ref>Banking on Greener Tea&nbsp;– National Post http://www.nationalpost.com/life/story.html?id=1427753</ref><ref>Reuters: Rainforest certified Lipton tea reaches US http://uk.reuters.com/article/behindTheScenes/idUKTRE5457WX20090506</ref> On 6 May 2009, Lipton received a Corporate Green Globe Award for its work with the Rainforest Alliance.<ref>Leaders in sustainability honored at Rainforest Alliance Gala http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/news.cfm?id=gala09_honorees</ref> ==Brands== [[File:LiptonRAKericho.jpg|thumb|Right|Lipton Rainforest Alliance certified product|200px]] Lipton's main pillar brands are Lipton Yellow Label and Lipton Iced Tea. Other product lines exist as well, like the Lipton pyramid range in Europe and North America, and Lipton Milk Tea in East Asia. In 2008, the brand launched Lipton Linea in Western Europe. ===Lipton Yellow Label=== Lipton Yellow Label has been sold since 1890, when Sir [[Thomas Lipton]] created the first version of the Yellow pack with a red Lipton shield, which to this day typifies the Lipton Yellow Label brand. It is sold in 150 countries worldwide.<ref>Lipton's History http://www.lipton.com/en_en/#Lipton%20history-0,68</ref> Lipton Yellow Label is a [[Tea blending and additives|blend]] of several types of tea. Lipton Yellow Label blend is available both in tea bags, the preferred format in Western Europe, North America and Australia, as well as loose packaged tea, the preferred format in much of the Middle East and throughout Asia.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}} ===Lipton Iced Tea=== [[File:LiptonIceTealogo.jpg|thumb|right|The Lipton Ice Tea logo as used in many markets]] '''Lipton Iced Tea''', in many markets known as '''Lipton Ice Tea''', is an [[iced tea]] brand sold by Lipton. ===Lipton Pyramid Tea=== Lipton also produces tea using the pyramid bag format as seen in other tea brands. Lipton Clear was also launched in four variants&nbsp;– Green Tea Jasmine, Green Tea Mint, Green Tea Citrus and Green Tea Pure. ==Lipton worldwide== Available in over 110 countries, Lipton is particularly popular in [[Europe]], [[North America]], [[Africa]] and the [[Middle East]], parts of [[Asia]] and [[Australasia]] ([[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]]). Despite its British origins, Lipton black tea (such as Yellow Label) is not marketed in the UK and is not found in mainstream British stores. However, Lipton Ice Tea and fruit teas are available in the UK. ==Marketing and advertising== In an attempt to change the negative perception of Lipton Ice Tea&nbsp;– as 60% claimed they do not like the taste before even trying it&nbsp;– Lipton underwent a [[London]]-based summer experiential marketing campaign under the slogan "Don't knock it 'til you’ve tried it!". Roaming demonstrators handed out 498,968 samples over the 58-day run. After the campaign, 87% of consumers claimed to enjoy Lipton Ice Tea, while 73% said they were more likely to purchase in the future.<ref name="Lipton Experiential Campaign">{{cite web|url=http://www.idexperiential.co.uk/Clients/Lipton-Ice-Tea#content |title= Lipton Experiential Marketing Results|publisher=iD Experiential}}</ref> ==Product quality controversy== In November 2011, the [[General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine]] of [[China]] found high levels of [[toxin]]s in one variety of Lipton tea. Unilever responded by clearing the shelves of all affected products.<ref name=Greenpeace> {{cite web|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-unilever-china-qualitybre83n0at-20120424,0,731198.story|title=Greenpeace says finds tainted Lipton tea bags in China|first=Ben|last=Blanchard|publisher=Chicago Tribune|date=April 24, 2012|accessdate=April 30, 2012}}</ref> In April 2012, the non-governmental organization [[Greenpeace]] raised questions to Lipton products once again, after two varieties of Lipton tea the group purchased in Beijing supermarkets failed safety tests, with the results allegedly failing to meet regulations as those enforced in the [[European Union]]. Additionally, the group stated, "Some of the detected pesticides are also banned for use in tea production by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture." Unilever China denied the findings, stating all Lipton products within the country were safe.<ref name=Greenpeace /> ==See also== * [[Lipton Institute of Tea]] * [[International Reaction to the 2008 Dairy Scandal]] * [[Cup-a-soup]] * [[Tea]] ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== {{commons category|Lipton (tea)}} * [http://www.lipton.com Lipton Tea Global (select your region)] * [http://www.liptoninstituteoftea.org/ Lipton Institute of Tea] * [http://liptonicetea.com.au/ Lipton Iced Tea Australia] {{Unilever}} {{PepsiCo}} {{Defunct UK grocers}} [[Category:1871 establishments in Scotland]] [[Category:Companies established in 1871]] [[Category:Companies disestablished in 1929]] [[Category:1929 disestablishments in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:1982 disestablishments]] [[Category:Companies based in Glasgow]] [[Category:History of Glasgow]] [[Category:Defunct companies of Scotland]] [[Category:Retail companies of Scotland]] [[Category:Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Food manufacturers of Scotland]] [[Category:Supermarkets of the United Kingdom]] [[Category:1890 introductions]] [[Category:Scottish brands]] [[Category:Tea brands]] [[Category:Tea companies]] [[Category:Unilever brands]] [[ar:ليبتون (شاي)]] [[da:Lipton]] [[de:Lipton]] [[es:Lipton]] [[fa:لیپتون]] [[fr:Lipton]] [[ko:립톤]] [[id:Lipton]] [[it:Lipton]] [[nl:Lipton]] [[ja:リプトン]] [[no:Lipton]] [[pl:Lipton]] [[ru:Lipton]] [[fi:Lipton]] [[sv:Lipton]] [[tr:Lipton]] [[zh:立顿]]'