Thomas Lipton, a tea connoisseur who proposed the idea of football World Cup
Lipton tea is a household name in India and all over the world. You must have seen the actresses Shradha Kapoor and Anushka Sharma promoting this tea in advertisements, right? But you might not know about Thomas Lipton, the man behind this brand! The son of a small retail shop proprietor in Glasgow, UK, Lipton turned out to be the first tea millionaire. Okay, but how did this happen? Let’s find out.
Sayonara Glasgow!
Lipton left for America when he was only sixteen. He tried out his luck in various industries, but soon left his job to start his own business. He wanted to be his own boss, after all! To start with, he opened a shop called Irish Markets where he used to sell Irish bread and butter. However, Lipton had to return to Glasgow to help out his ageing parents run their retail shop. He ended up opening his own provision shop called Lipton’s Market. This venture turned out to be so successful that he was soon able to open a chain of groceries all across Scotland and Britain. In fact, within a decade, this ace businessman had at least 400 retail shops under his name.
The first tea millionaire
In late 19th century, East India Company had complete monopoly in tea imports from China and India. But Lipton’s ambition ran so far that he decided to step into this tea business. For starters, he began buying tea at auctions in London, and within a year managed to sell four million pounds of tea. But he wasn’t satisfied still. So, he ended up travelling to Ceylon where tea estates were undergoing severe economic crisis. Lipton decided to avail this opportunity and bought off many tea estates. His goal was to turn tea into an affordable beverage for people of all classes and viola, Lipton Tea had become a sensation within a few years, making the man behind it the world’s first tea millionaire.
Lipton Currency
Lipton was not only a champion entrepreneur and tea expert, he was also a marketing genius. In fact, he was well-known for his publicity stunts. One of the most talked about marketing strategies of Lipton is the introduction of Lipton Currency. Let’s tell you how it all happened. Lipton was planning the celebrations of his first grocery store in Glasgow and the idea of issuing new currency struck him. He named it Lipton Currency. But how was it used? Well, anyone who had these notes could buy grocery products, especially tea, at subsidised rates.
Lipton’s love for football
A sports lover himself, Lipton suggested the idea of the first ever football World Cup in 1909. In fact, he had organised and participated in Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy that happened in Turin, Italy, in 1909 and 1911, respectively. Later, he also sponsored other football tournaments such as the Lipton Challenge Cup and the Copa Lipton. These are considered to be the forerunners of the FIFA World Cup.