Dilmah celebrates 40 years this year with renewed commitment to legendary tea maker Merrill J. Fernando’s founding promise of Quality, Integrity and Kindness
Sri Lanka’s flagship international Tea brand, Dilmah, celebrates 40 years this year, with renewed commitment to Teamaker Merrill J. Fernando’s founding promise of “Quality, Integrity and Kindness”. Second and third generation guardians of that legacy joined in Colombo with 350 guests from the Dilmah Global Family to celebrate the milestone achievement. Founded in 1985 by the legendary late tea maker Merrill J. Fernando, Dilmah was the first genuinely ethical, producer-owned tea brand in the world.
The significance of Dilmah is the sincerity of its Founder’s wish to embed kindness to people and nature into the heart of the brand. That philosophy was implemented in the 1970s, when economists defined the social responsibility of business as the production of profit and stakeholder value.
“My father found his purpose in tea — its taste and tradition, and in the lives it could impact. This anniversary is not only a celebration of what our father built, but a fresh commitment to the mission to which he devoted his life. We do that by making a stand for quality, integrity, people and planet,” explained Dilhan C. Fernando, younger son of the late Founder, at the unveiling of a new emblem.
The Dilmah Global Family marked the anniversary with a revitalised emblem featuring Founder Merrill J. Fernando, and a figure representing the workers and artisans for whom he fought during a life devoted to tea and kindness. The shield reflects his faith and courage in confronting an exploitative colonial economic system, and a Kandyan crown honours his love for Sri Lanka. Each element links to the values he championed: respect for Nature’s biodiversity, the influence of Nature in crafting taste and goodness in tea, and the kindness to people and nature that are at the core of that philosophy.
