Lipton tea is owned by LIPTON Teas and Infusions, a company based in Amsterdam and controlled by the private equity firm CVC Capital Partners. CVC bought it from Unilever for €4.5 billion in a deal completed in July 2022. There are exceptions. Unilever still owns Lipton tea in India, Nepal and Indonesia, and the bottled Lipton Iced Tea sold worldwide comes from joint ventures between Unilever and PepsiCo.
Who owns Lipton, product by product
| Lipton product | Owner | Since |
|---|---|---|
| Tea bags and leaf tea (most countries) | LIPTON Teas and Infusions (CVC Capital Partners) | July 2022 |
| Tea in India, Nepal and Indonesia | Unilever | Kept by Unilever in the 2022 sale |
| Lipton Iced Tea and other ready-to-drink teas | Pepsi Lipton joint ventures (PepsiCo and Unilever) | 1991 onward |
| Lipton soup and recipe mixes in North America | Unilever | Kept by Unilever in the 2022 sale |
The split was set when Unilever sold its tea business. Unilever announced the completion of the sale of its tea division, then called ekaterra, to CVC Capital Partners Fund VIII on 1 July 2022. The €4.5 billion deal covered brands including Lipton, PG Tips, Pukka, T2 and TAZO, but excluded Unilever’s tea business in India, Nepal and Indonesia and its interests in the Pepsi Lipton ready-to-drink joint ventures. In January 2023, ekaterra announced its new name, LIPTON Teas and Infusions.
Is Lipton still owned by Unilever?
Only in part. For most shoppers in Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East and Australia, a box of Lipton tea bags now belongs to CVC’s company. Unilever kept three markets in South and Southeast Asia, where it runs large tea businesses through its local companies. Unilever also kept its stake in the bottled tea partnership with PepsiCo, which sells Lipton Iced Tea and, in North America, Brisk and Pure Leaf.
So if you buy Lipton Iced Tea in a supermarket fridge, the profits do not go to the same company that sells Lipton Yellow Label tea bags. For a summary of every big brand, see our guide to who owns the big tea brands.
Who is CVC Capital Partners?
CVC is one of Europe’s largest private equity firms. Its funds buy companies, aim to grow them and later sell or float them. Its tea company now owns more than 30 brands. These include PG Tips and Scottish Blend in the UK, Lyons in Ireland, Brooke Bond in most markets, Pukka herbal teas, TAZO in the US, T2 in Australia, and Red Rose and Salada in Canada. Our guide to who owns PG Tips covers the UK side of the business.
Since the sale, the company has withdrawn from Russia (August 2022) and changed how it sources tea. In 2024 it agreed to transfer its tea estates in Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania to Browns Investments of Sri Lanka. The deal made Browns one of its largest suppliers, under new standards for quality, social and environmental protection. Fifteen percent of the acquired company was set aside for local communities in Kenya.
The history of Lipton ownership
Thomas Lipton’s tea business
The brand is named after Sir Thomas Lipton (1848 to 1931), the son of Irish immigrants in Glasgow. He opened his first grocery shop in 1871. By 1888 he had about 300 stores and moved into tea. In 1890 he visited Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, bought tea gardens there and began selling packaged Lipton tea at low prices. He cut out the usual wholesalers to do it. The yellow pack with the red shield, Lipton Yellow Label, dates from that time.
Lipton was a gifted self-promoter. He was knighted in 1901, made a baronet in 1902, and challenged for sailing’s America’s Cup five times between 1899 and 1930 without winning, which made him famous in the United States. That fame helped make Lipton an American household name.
Unilever’s 84 years
Unilever bought into Lipton in stages. It bought the US and Canadian business in 1938 and acquired the rest of the global business in 1972. Over the following decades it made Lipton the world’s biggest tea brand and added Brooke Bond, the maker of PG Tips, in 1984. In 1991 it formed the Pepsi Lipton Tea Partnership for bottled tea in North America, followed in 2003 by Pepsi Lipton International for other markets. In 2007 it committed to buying all Lipton tea from Rainforest Alliance certified farms.
The sale to CVC
In 2020 Unilever grouped its tea brands into a separate business, ekaterra, and in November 2021 agreed to sell it. The sale ended 84 years of Unilever control over most of the Lipton tea business.
| Year | Owner of Lipton tea |
|---|---|
| 1890 | Thomas Lipton’s own company |
| 1938 | Unilever buys the US and Canadian business |
| 1972 | Unilever owns the global business |
| 2022 | CVC Capital Partners buys most of it, outside India, Nepal and Indonesia |
| 2023 | Company renamed LIPTON Teas and Infusions |
Is Lipton a British brand?
Lipton was founded in Glasgow, so it began as a British brand. Today its main owner is a company based in Amsterdam and controlled by funds of a private equity firm. Oddly, Lipton Yellow Label tea bags are not sold in UK supermarkets. There the same company sells PG Tips instead.
Lipton and its rivals
- Tetley is Lipton’s long-time global rival, owned by Tata. See who owns Tetley.
- Twinings belongs to Associated British Foods. See who owns Twinings.
- Dilmah is a family-owned rival from Sri Lanka, where Lipton first bought tea gardens. See Dilmah’s producer-owned model.
Lipton Yellow Label is a blended black tea. If you want to know how much caffeine it has compared with other teas, see our tea caffeine comparison. To make your own iced tea instead of buying bottles, try our cold brew tea guide.
Quick answers
Is Lipton owned by PepsiCo?
Not the tea bags. PepsiCo co-owns the joint ventures that make bottled Lipton Iced Tea, Brisk and Pure Leaf. Lipton tea bags belong to LIPTON Teas and Infusions.
Who owns Lipton Teas and Infusions?
Funds managed by CVC Capital Partners, which bought the business from Unilever in 2022.
Did Unilever sell Lipton?
Mostly. Unilever sold the global Lipton tea business in 2022 but kept it in India, Nepal and Indonesia, kept its share of the bottled tea partnership with PepsiCo, and kept Lipton soup mixes in North America.
Is Lipton the same company as PG Tips?
Yes. Both belong to LIPTON Teas and Infusions. Lipton is the international brand and PG Tips is its UK brand.
Is Lipton black tea or green tea?
Both. Yellow Label is a black tea blend, and Lipton also sells green and herbal teas. Our green vs black tea guide explains the difference.
Sources
- Unilever. Completion of the sale of its tea business, ekaterra, 1 July 2022.
- Food Business News. Unilever finalizes sale of ekaterra tea business.
- LIPTON Teas and Infusions. ekaterra to become LIPTON Teas and Infusions, 2023.
- LIPTON Teas and Infusions. Partnership with Browns Investments, 2024.
- Lipton: brand history, Unilever acquisitions and joint ventures.
- Sir Thomas Lipton: life and business.
Last updated: 8 October 2026. Sources are linked in the text.
