SUSTAINABILITY
44
I t ’ s rare to see a successful company , operating a tried and tested business model , turn around and completely reinvent itself . The old adage “ If it ain ’ t broke , don ’ t fix it ,” comes to mind ; why subject your business to radical upheaval and the risks therein ? Because it ’ s the right thing to do . “ We wanted to find a model that empowered people ,” recalls Suranga Herath , CEO of English Tea Shop . “ We were a production house before English Tea Shop was born , a very ordinary tea business that packed all sorts of brands . It was that kind of a company because we thought business was simply about capability and maximising resources .”
In 2008 , Herath ’ s company was packing 70 different brands of tea for exportation to the US , UK and Europe . In 2010 , the company made the move from Sri Lanka to the UK . “ That was the moment of truth for us ,” says Herath . “ Coming from Sri Lanka , a nation famed for its tea and spices , we had this huge passion for people , naturally , because it ’ s a very labour-intensive industry . We realised that the traditional tea industry didn ’ t empower the people at the bottom of the pyramid . That needed to change .” The right course of action was , for Herath , obvious and imperative , regardless of its challenges .
“ The shift was very risky . It was a huge transformation from being an ordinary , conventional
JUNE 2019