Merrill J. Fernando discusses what’s next for globally respected brand Dilmah | Over a Cuppa with The World’s Most Experienced Teamaker – Part 4

This transcript was created automatically from the audio and checked for names. Minor errors may remain.

Over the years, Dilmah CEO Dilhan C. Fernando has interviewed personalities from various professional backgrounds. However, he had the rare honor of interviewing a very special guest, his father. Here are some of the topics they discussed exclusively on Tea Radio. Understanding that there is a purpose beyond business to the Dilmah story, where do you see Dilmah in 25 years as the next generation assumes control and prepares for the third stage of the evolution of this great brand? Dilmah, I never even dreamt or could dream that it would be where it is today. The world's only producer-owned brand in the world. With each producer of tea, coffee or cocoa, primary agricultural products, crops of many countries.

In our case, Dilmah is the world's only vertically integrated company. My trust, confidence and faith in tea is so great. I have made huge investments in the industry, not in the trade alone, but in the industry. The industry covers three segments, plantations of which we are a very large investor, brokerage in which we own the largest broker Forbes and Walker Limited, and value-added exports, not bulk tea exports. Well-weathered tea exports is Ceylon, Sri Lanka's own branded tea going around the world. So we have all three segments to display my trust and confidence in the tea industry. In 25 years' time, I can tell you, Dilmah will be the only global respected brand for its quality and its philosophy of caring for the neighbour and sharing with the poor.

I believe other brands, other businesses will try to emulate us, but they will never have the commitment because businessmen are very, very reluctant to part with their money. Certainly for a cause that does not give them recognition nor give them a return. Doing charity, you get no return, you only get divine blessings, which are in ours more than any money or any recognition can give you here. So if people realize that this world would be a better place, if every country follows the example of death of Dilmah tea, and add value to their crops with this coffee, cocoa, chocolate, tea or rubber, and other crops, all the wealth which leaves their country will remain in their countries, and poverty in the world will disappear.

How is poverty in this world cost, you must know? Rich traders, multinationals and others, as long as they are traders, squeeze the produce, the farm, and lie to consumers. In the case of tea, they say, Dilmah from the inception said, single origin, 100% use a lot. Single origin has a lot of meaning, comes from one country, and earnings from that single origin tea goes back to origin. And origin-packed produced tea is ethically produced because all earnings remain in the country. And in our case, we share it with the poor. Even if you don't share it with the poor, earnings come back to the country of origin, and that country will grow.

So there's a lot of significance in single origin, which I introduced to Dilmah when I launched the ban 32 years ago. So today, I can tell you that in the next 2-3 years, people will begin to realize that by 50-60% discounted teas, they are feeding themselves junk. They will spend $1,000 on an ice dress, out to the pier, doesn't do anything inward. When it comes to eating and drinking, they want to save money and supermarkets, and big traders discount all the time. Whatever discount they give, they are 45%, 50% profit is issued. Consumers who do not want discounts are also forced to buy cheap products and poison themselves.

By the time you realize the damage done to the systems, it will be too late. So my advice to average consumers is don't look for bargains. Discounted products cause pain to the producer, the farm. Not to the brand owner, not to the supermarket. Every discount is driving the producers and the farmers deeper and deeper into poverty. They are fortunate if they have one meal a day. Who causes that? Rich people, will they people? So if they all begin to realize that, the world will be a happy place for all. There you have it, my father, Dilmah Fonda, Merrill J. Fernando.