The visionary founder of Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company’s greatness was in his invincible faith, his integrity and love for tea and his family. With devotion and urgency, he pursued his desire for integrity and quality with humility and kindness. His achievement in disrupting an exploitative colonial industry irrevocably changed the lives of producers around the world, introducing a paradigm shift in ethical business, long before ethics and sustainable business had the prominence they do now.
Merrill J. Fernando was a disruptor whose mission was simply for his passion for tea to make lives better for others. His humble, rural beginnings and the Christian family values with which he was brought up, defined his 93 years. He devoted his life to tea, working every day to spread the message of Pure Ceylon Tea.
We remember our Founder, Merrill J. Fernando for his humanity and his achievement in personally and passionately creating a global family rallied behind the cause he pursued every day of his life: Ceylon Tea with Taste, Goodness, Ethical Purpose.
PART 2: ‘I DEVOTED MY LIFE TO TEA’
The story of my Dilmah began in 1985. I was then a small tea grower with big dreams, I wanted to bring my country’s tea – the finest in the world – garden fresh and ethically produced, direct to tea lovers around the world. I had to compete with giant multinational brands; many said that mine was an impossible dream. But loyal tea drinkers around the world have made my dream a reality.
Today, over three decades later, my sons Dilhan and Malik have joined me in my mission. Today, Dilmah is one of the leading tea companies in Sri Lanka. My vision is to bring you tea of the highest quality. Tea that is fresh – rich in flavour and natural goodness – and at the same time to give workers and my country a fairer deal. I pledged to make my business a matter of human service.
My family tea has grown into an international brand that is enjoyed in over 100 countries. Dilmah owes its success to the quality of Ceylon Tea. Our business was founded therefore on an enduring connection to the land and the communities in which we operate. We have pioneered a comprehensive commitment to minimising our impact on the planet, fostering respect for the environment and ensuring its protection by encouraging a harmonious coexistence of man and nature. The environment is central to Dilmah’s business, and Dilmah Conservation was established as an affirmation of this core commitment to environmental sustainability.
As Dilmah has grown, I have not forgotten my pledge, and revenue from the sale of Dilmah funds the work of the MJF Charitable Foundation. Our Foundation – I say ‘our’ because every Dilmah tea drinker is a part of the MJF Foundation – has changed the lives of thousands. Its humanitarian service will continue to grow alongside Dilmah. Thank you for so many exceptional years in tea. Please join us in celebrating tea, Nature’s gift of goodness, and in appreciating the special pleasure in a cup of fine tea. Do try it!
Merrill J. Fernando, Founder of Dilmah
PART 3: Why Dilmah
Merrill J. Fernando dedicated his life to tea, when in the 1950s, he witnessed the industry heading towards commoditisation. He decided that in the interest of tea drinkers, and the crop that his country produced with so much care, he would fight this. It took him nearly four decades and in 1985 he launched his own brand, Dilmah. It was the first producer owned tea brand that would offer tea handpicked and packed at origin (where it’s grown), ensuring great taste and natural goodness; making it one of the finest teas of the world.
The Dilmah philosophy – business is a matter of human service – is what makes the brand the first ethically produced tea.
1985
It took him nearly four decades and in 1985 he launched his own brand – Dilmah. Dilmah tea company was the first producer owned tea brand, and offered tea ‘picked, perfected and packed’ at origin. Unlike the multi-origin blends that monopolised supermarket shelves, Dilmah brought tea that is freshly packed at source and therefore rich in flavour and natural goodness making it one of the finest teas of the world
Dilmah is unique; a brand that is founded on a passionate commitment to quality and authenticity in tea, it is also a part of a philosophy that goes beyond commerce in seeing business as a matter of human service. This is what makes Dilmah the first ethically produced tea. In 2005, Merrill and his sons Dilhan and Malik, pledged to follow the principles dictated by the 12 Principles of Dilmah in every aspect of their business and in the conduct of their workers, staff and management.
Goodness in Your Cup of Tea
Dilmah Founder Merrill J. Fernando had a unique vision – he wanted to offer consumers the finest tea on earth and to do so with ethics and integrity. That pledge is fulfilled in our commitment to garden fresh, unblended tea. We pride ourselves in manufacturing the finest Ceylon tea in the world. Our Founder’s intention to make his tea ethical, is honoured in the work of his MJF Charitable Foundation and Dilmah Conservation. In making our business a matter of human service, the natural goodness in every cup of Dilmah is extended by the positive humanitarian and environmental impact Dilmah has on comunities and ecosystems.
70 Years of Tea Inspiration
Merrill J. Fernando’s devotion to Tea is a tale of uncompromising commitment to quality and purpose that lies beyond profit. Here is how he converted Dilmah Tea into a cup of kindness.
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