Clipper Teas, the natural and ethical tea brand owned by Wessanen UK, is on track to its best year in the foodservice sector after securing a major agreement with Virgin Trains.
Supplied through Foodbuy and delivered by Brakes, around one million Clipper teas will be served on board each year. English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Green and Peppermint teas will all be available and have been selected from the brand’s ethical and organic range.
Virgins Trains service covers long-distance passenger journeys spanning the length of the UK. It connects six of the UK’s largest cities London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and Edinburgh, which have a combined metropolitan population of over 18-million people.
In addition to Virgin trains, Clipper is also served on Virgin airlines and in all the UK Virgin Active gyms.
Clipper Teas has been working in close partnership with Foodbuy, the world’s largest food and drink procurement company, for the last year.
At Foodbuy’s inaugural conference, Clipper was named Best New Supplier in recognition for its commitment to reduce waste, increase efficiency and unwavering focus on ensuring all sites that serve Clipper are merchandised and supplied correctly.
Through Foodbuy, the brand has also secured a large catering contract with the Compass Group, which sees Clipper’s natural, fair and delicious teas available to 7,000 large UK business and industry sites across the UK.
Adele Ward, Clipper Teas brand controller at Wessanen UK, commented, “We’re proud to be a different kind of tea company. What makes us different is our commitment not just to great taste, but also to developing pure, natural products with a clear conscience.
'These qualities are standing out during the tender process and helping us to create new partnerships in the foodservice sector.
'Thanks to a very dynamic team and having a factory that operates 24/7, we have the flexibility and drive to meet the needs of major travel operators and fast-moving foodservice operators.
“We are thrilled to be supplying Virgin Trains, which gives us a greater opportunity to further strengthen our relationship with Foodbuy.'
Ward concluded, 'We’re seeing continued growth in the foodservice side of our business. The brand achieved double-digit growth this year-to-date compared to one year ago in this channel.”
Clipper Teas was the UK’s first Fairtrade tea brand and is now the world’s largest Fairtrade tea brand.
Founded in Dorset in 1984, Clipper manufactures an extensive variety of organic and Fairtrade teas and coffees – from everyday blends to green tea and infusions.
All of Clipper’s products are made with pure ingredients from the highest-quality sources, with nothing artificial added; the brand never uses bleach to whiten the tea bags and is working to develop a fully-biodegradable tea bag from solely plant-based materials.
