Dobbies lists Suki Tea for UK food halls

Suki Tea, the Northern Ireland gourmet tea company, has been listed by Dobbies for its expanding network of farm food halls in garden centres throughout the United Kingdom.

The move onto the shelves of the garden centres follows the popularity of Suki Tea in Dobbies' cafes in the UK. Suki, based in Belfast and a recent winner of UK Great Taste Awards for two of its extensive range of fruit teas, has been supplying 18 teas to Dobbies for its in-store cafes in Britain and Northern Ireland for the past three years.

Suki Tea is supplying the six best selling teas in the cafes for the retail operation. The teas Fairtrade Breakfast Tea, Fairtrade Organic Earl Grey Blue Flower, Fairtrade Organic Green Tea Sencha, Apple Loves Mint, Peppermint and Chamomile. The retail teas range from 50g up to 100g.

The company, which employs 11 people in Belfast, has also extended its global position with new distribution deals in global markets as diverse as Kenya and Spain. The Suki tea range is now on sale in more than 10 international markets including Japan.

Suki Tea managing director Oscar Woolley, commenting on the new contract with Dobbies Garden Centres, says: "This is a marvellous boost for the company because it will extend our reach throughout the United Kingdom and enable customers who have been enjoying our teas in the cafes at Dobbies to buy packs for use at home.

"We appreciate greatly the support for our product range from Dobbies and the opportunity to provide special gift packs that will enable customers to experience tea, both loose leaf and in teabags, as it should be enjoyed. We look forward to working with Dobbies as the company extends its network of garden centres throughout the United Kingdom."

Suki Tea was established in 2005 by Mr Woolley and Anne Rooney, his business partner. The company, which sold its first teas from a stall in the historic St George's Food Market in Belfast, now has an extensive base of customers in Great Britain and Ireland.