The Bell Tea & Coffee Company is moving into an exciting new phase of business. From June 1, the company will be renamed BrewGroup. It remains 100% New Zealand owned.
BrewGroup has experienced significant growth over the past 10 years, evolving from a New Zealand grocery tea business to an operation where coffee sales now exceed tea. BrewGroup has significant hospitality, foodservice and corporate business and has successfully expanded into export, selling products into Australia, the United States and Asia.
BrewGroup CEO, Mark Hamilton, says, “The name ‘BrewGroup’ embraces all our wonderful coffee and tea brands – celebrating the coffee and tea beverage business. The new brand will unite our employees, better represent us to our customers, and align with our future growth opportunities”.
The rebrand is just one part of an evolution that has been in progress for some time. In 2006 Bell Tea changed its name to The Bell Tea & Coffee Company soon after acquiring New Zealand’s largest locally-owned coffee roaster, Burton Hollis. That was its first step into the coffee market and the shift in the business has been significant since.
In 2014 Woolworths in Australia started ranging Jed’s products, which led to the establishment of a Foodservice business based in Sydney in December 2015. Most recently, Hummingbird Coffee, a boutique coffee roasting company based in Christchurch, was also acquired.
“The name ‘Bell’ is synonymous with tea. It’s a classic New Zealand brand very much alive and well, but that’s only one part of our business now, ‘BrewGroup’ better reflects our broader focus across tea and coffee, different channels, in New Zealand and internationally,” says Hamilton.
Tea will remain an important pillar in the business. BrewGroup proudly has more than a century of experience in tea buying and blending expertise. It recently launched a new range of fruit-infused hot and cold teas, under the Bell brand and confirms there will be no brand changes to their leading products Bell, Jed’s, Gravity and Hummingbird or agency brands Twinings, la Cimbali and Jura.
