Akbar Tea is a premium Sri Lankan tea brand operated by Akbar Brothers (Pvt) Ltd, a family-owned enterprise recognized as one of the largest exporters of Ceylon tea. While the brand is primarily associated with black tea, its portfolio encompasses green, flavoured, herbal, white, iced, and specialty teas. The company states that its products are exported to more than 90 countries and that it has maintained the position of the world’s leading exporter of Ceylon tea for several decades. 1

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The modern corporate entity, Akbar Brothers, dates its establishment to 1969, though the founding family’s involvement in Sri Lankan food and tea trading extends back much further.

Family origins

The roots of the business trace back to Shaikh Hebtulabhoy, who migrated from India to Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) in 1864 to establish a food import and export business. His descendants subsequently became involved in the emerging tea trade.

The shift from coffee to tea was a pivotal moment in the island’s agricultural history. During the late 19th century, the coffee industry in Ceylon collapsed due to coffee blight, prompting planters to pivot toward tea cultivation. By the late 1800s, tea had become one of Sri Lanka’s most critical export commodities.

In 1907, Tyeabally Shaikh Hebtulabhoy founded M. S. Hebtulabhoy & Company Limited, which began shipping Ceylon tea overseas. This event marks a significant chapter in the family’s claimed five-generation heritage in the tea industry.

Establishment of Akbar Brothers

Akbar Brothers (Pvt) Ltd was established in 1969, driven by the next generation of the family, notably Abbas Akbarally and Inayet Akbarally. The company structured its operations around the procurement, blending, packaging, and export of Ceylon tea.

Following its inception, the company expanded rapidly into international markets. According to Akbar, it became Sri Lanka’s largest tea exporter in 1992, a status the company claims to have retained since then.

Akbar distinguishes itself beyond being a mere tea-trading company by developing a recognizable consumer brand centered on the concept of Pure Ceylon Tea.

The brand proposition relies on several core pillars:

• Sri Lankan origin
• Family tea-making and trading heritage
• Consistent quality
• Expertise in tea selection and blending
• International distribution
• Modern manufacturing technology
• The reputation of Ceylon tea

Historically, the company notes that a member of the Akbar family personally inspected and approved tea consignments before shipment, reflecting an emphasis on direct family involvement in quality control.

Ceylon tea is the traditional designation for tea produced in Sri Lanka. The country’s diverse geography creates distinct tea-growing environments, ranging from low-elevation plains to mountainous highlands.

Consequently, Akbar’s portfolio reflects various styles of Sri Lankan tea, from stronger, fuller-bodied varieties to lighter, more aromatic high-grown teas. The company’s products highlight characteristics specific to Sri Lankan terroir.

A key symbol of authentic Sri Lankan tea is the Sri Lanka Tea Board’s Lion Logo. Akbar states that the majority of its products carry this endorsement, signifying Pure Ceylon Tea.

Akbar has developed a broad portfolio extending well beyond traditional loose black tea.

Black tea

Black tea remains the cornerstone of the brand. Akbar describes its premium black tea as having a deep colour, strong yet smooth flavour, and characteristic aroma. It is suitable for consumption with or without milk.

Green tea

The company produces several green-tea varieties, including both plain and flavoured options.

Flavoured tea

Akbar offers teas infused with additional flavours, targeting consumers seeking alternatives to conventional black tea.

Herbal infusions

The brand includes a range of herbal and botanical infusions, expanding its offerings beyond traditional Camellia sinensis tea.

White tea

White tea forms part of Akbar’s wider premium portfolio.

Specialty and gift teas

Akbar has curated collections positioned for gifting and premium consumption, featuring various packaging formats and specialty selections.

Iced tea

The company also maintains an iced-tea collection, reflecting its adaptation to contemporary tea consumption trends.

The current portfolio includes collections such as:

• Gold Collection
• Platinum Collection
• Silver Collection
• Premium Collection
• Royal Gold Collection
• Gourmet Fruit Collection
• Senses Collection
• Flavoured Black Tea
• Flavoured Green Tea
• Herbal Infusions
• Jewel Collection
• Classic Collection
• Gift Tea
• Ice Tea Collection

The exact assortment varies by market.

A major competitive asset for Akbar is its large-scale tea-processing and packaging infrastructure.

The company’s principal manufacturing facility in Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, covers more than 276,000 square feet, according to Akbar. This facility handles the blending, processing, and packaging of Ceylon tea.

Akbar reports that its manufacturing operations utilize advanced equipment sourced from countries including Germany, Italy, and Japan, employing automation and quality-control procedures designed to preserve freshness, hygiene, and consistency.

Quality control is central to Akbar’s brand identity.

The company states that it became the first Sri Lankan tea company to receive internationally recognized ISO 9001 and HACCP certifications. It also highlights adherence to standards such as ISO 22000 and Fair Trade for relevant operations and products.

The Lion Logo is particularly significant as it links the consumer-facing Akbar brand with Sri Lanka’s national tea industry and geographical origin.

Akbar has built a substantial export-oriented business rather than positioning itself exclusively as a domestic Sri Lankan brand.

The company currently states that Akbar tea reaches more than 90 countries, with markets spanning regions including the Middle East, Europe, North America, Australia, Japan, Russia, and the United Kingdom.

This extensive international footprint contributes to Akbar’s close association with Sri Lanka’s Ceylon-tea export industry.

While Akbar Tea serves as the flagship consumer brand, its parent organization has evolved into a diversified business group.

Akbar Group states that its activities extend beyond tea into sectors including:

• Renewable energy
• Healthcare
• Packaging
• Property development
• Environmental services
• Agriculture
• Food technology
• Hotels and leisure
• Trading and investments

Despite this diversification, tea remains at the centre of the group’s identity and historical development.

Sustainability has increasingly become part of Akbar’s corporate positioning.

The company highlights initiatives involving solar, wind, and hydro power, alongside efforts to reduce the environmental impact of tea manufacturing. Akbar also states that its Quick Tea subsidiary became South Asia’s first carbon-inset facility.

This positions the modern Akbar brand as combining traditional Ceylon-tea heritage with industrial technology and environmental responsibility.

Akbar can be broadly understood as a heritage-driven international Ceylon tea brand.

Its positioning rests on four major pillars:

1. Sri Lankan heritage
The brand connects itself directly to the history and reputation of Ceylon tea.

2. Family heritage
Akbar Brothers presents itself as a multigenerational, family-owned tea business with roots extending back to the 19th century.

3. Export scale
Rather than operating as a small specialist producer, Akbar functions at a very large international scale, identifying itself as the world’s largest/leading exporter of Ceylon tea.

4. Product accessibility
The brand sells everything from everyday black tea bags to premium collections, gift teas, flavoured teas, and herbal infusions, allowing it to address multiple consumer segments.

Akbar has received numerous awards related to Sri Lankan exports and branding.

The company’s records include repeated Presidential Export Awards, recognizing contributions to tea exports and Sri Lankan brand development. Akbar also states that its tea brand received the “International Brand of the Year” recognition from the Sri Lanka Marketing Institute.

Additionally, the company reports that in 2011, Akbar Brothers exported approximately 52.2 million kilograms of single-origin tea, describing this volume as a milestone in establishing its position as the world’s leading tea exporter at that time.

It is useful to distinguish between the different levels of the organization:

Akbar Tea ≠ Akbar Brothers ≠ Akbar Group

Akbar Tea → the consumer tea brand
↓
Akbar Brothers (Pvt) Ltd → the core tea company/exporter
↓
Akbar Group → the wider diversified family business group

Sources sometimes use “Akbar,” “Akbar Tea,” “Akbar Brothers,” and “Akbar Group” interchangeably, but these terms refer to distinct entities within the hierarchy.

Akbar represents the transition of Ceylon tea from a primarily commodity export into a globally marketed consumer brand.

Instead of merely exporting bulk tea, Akbar operates across sourcing, blending, processing, packaging, branding, and international distribution. This integrated business model grants the company considerable control over the journey from Sri Lankan tea estates to the finished retail product.

The company describes itself as having maintained the position of Sri Lanka’s largest tea exporter since 1992, making Akbar one of the most prominent commercial names associated with modern Ceylon tea.

Akbar Tea is a Sri Lankan premium tea brand owned by the family-run Akbar Brothers (Pvt) Ltd. Founded in its present corporate form in 1969, the business builds on a family tea-trading history dating to the 19th century and a tea-export operation established in 1907. Headquartered in Colombo, Akbar specializes in Ceylon tea and offers black, green, white, flavoured, herbal, iced, and specialty teas. The company operates a major tea manufacturing and packaging facility in Kelaniya and exports its products to more than 90 countries. Akbar’s identity is based on Sri Lankan origin, multigenerational tea expertise, quality control, and international distribution, while its parent Akbar Group has diversified into renewable energy, healthcare, packaging, property, and other sectors.

Official resources

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1. Pure Ceylon Tea | Largest Ceylon Tea Exporter
2. Tea Exporter | Akbar Brothers | Akbar Group
3. World’s Largest Ceylon Tea Exporter | Akbar Group
4. Akbar Tea online store