Business is a matter of human service

As a young Ceylonese Teamaker in London in the 1950s, Dilmah Founder Merrill J. Fernando, conceived a unique vision for the business he dreamed he would one day establish. He acknowledged that no one could single-handedly establish and build a business, and that any endeavour would succeed only with the goodwill, involvement and dedication of workers and the community. Naturally, therefore, they should share in the success of his business.

With this notion he set out to establish a business that would genuinely be a matter of human service.

Today, more than half a century later, Merrill’s business - Dilmah Tea - is flourishing. And he has not forgotten the pledge he made in the 1950s; his business is genuinely ethical , and he shares his success with his workers and the community through his MJF Charitable Foundation.

The Five Pillars of Dilmah are the basis of the unique philosophy that makes Dilmah different; they require that Dilmah is managed according to the family values with which Merrill formed his vision of the first producer owned tea brand - authenticity, quality, ethics, the consumer and integrity. They acknowledge the reality that every successful human endeavour is the product of divine blessing, and thereafter human effort.

The MJF Charitable Foundation touches the lives of over 10,000 underprivileged people each year. Dilmah Conservation is helping to protect our precious environment whilst promoting sustainability.