The Tale of Sir Thomas Lipton

Tea tycoon, America's Cup hero, and godfather of the World Cup

Anyone who has slotted a 50p coin into a vending machine will be familiar with the name Lipton (of iced tea acclaim). Few, however, will know that Sir Thomas Lipton — the Glaswegian merchant behind the brand — has a place in the America’s Cup Hall of Fame and is credited by FIFA as the organiser of the inaugural Club World Cup.

Born in 1848 to Irish parents who had fled the Great Famine, Lipton grew up in the Gorbals. As a boy, he was fascinated by the docks, where he spent hours watching ships and talking with sailors, captivated by their stories from the sea.

Inspired, he found work as a cabin boy at 15, using his wages to fund passage to America in 1865, spending several years travelling and working. One of his most formative experiences came working at one of Manhattan’s pioneering department stores.

Upon his return to Glasgow, Lipton opened his first shop in Anderston in 1871, selling everyday groceries. Buying directly from merchant ships he brought quality produce to the masses by cutting out the middle man. The business model was a success and by 1888, Lipton had more than 300 shops across the UK.

“He had a unique charm,” Laurence Brady, founder of the Sir Thomas Lipton Foundation, told The Saint. “Lipton was down-to-earth, very ordinary, and very accessible to the public.” 

In 1897, he anonymously donated £25,000 (about £4 million in today’s money) to fund a dinner for the homeless in London. Acts like these, paired with his affordable produce, won the hearts of the public.

Lipton was also known for his elaborate PR stunts. In 1881, he commissioned the “world’s biggest cheese” to be made in America and shipped across the Atlantic. After Queen Victoria declined his offer of the massive block, Lipton brought his prized cheese to Glasgow, where it was paraded through the street. The cheese was so large it didn’t fit through the door of his shop.

Building on the success of his grocery chain, Lipton entered the tea trade in 1890, purchasing a plantation in Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka). At the time, tea was a luxury item. By controlling the supply chain, Britain’s favourite import was brought to the masses under the slogan “from the tea gardens to the teapot”. Lipton Tea, now owned by a private equity firm, remains the largest tea brand on the planet.

Commercial success won Lipton a number of influential friends. He hosted the likes of Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Edison and Kaiser Wilhelm II on his steam yacht. He often went sailing with King George V, earning him the nickname “the King’s Grocer.” At a pre-war regatta, the Kaiser joked that the king was late because he had “gone boating with his grocer.”

Encouraged by the King, Lipton entered the America’s Cup, the world’s most prestigious sailing competition, first challenging in 1899 on behalf of the Royal Ulster Yacht Club. Although defeated, his charm and sportsmanship won over the American public.

He challenged four more times without success. After his fifth failure in 1930, the Mayor of New York awarded him the unofficial ‘World’s Best Loser Trophy’. Crowds lined the streets as he travelled from his hotel to City Hall to collect it. The trophy’s inscription read: “In the name of hundreds of thousands of Americans and well-wishers of Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton.”

Beyond the America’s Cup, Lipton supported a host of sporting events. Sailing competitions from South Africa to Hawaii bear his name to this day. His sponsorship extended to football – the Copa Lipton was played regularly between Argentina and Uruguay until 1992.

In 1909, the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy was held for the first time in Turin. Football teams from across Europe took part in one of the earliest international football tournaments. It was won by the English amateurs West Auckland, who beat Italian titans Juventus 6–1 in the final. The side from County Durham are thought to have been invited by mistake, after someone misinterpreted the initials “W.A.”, intended to refer to Woolwich Arsenal.

Lipton’s legacy extends well beyond caffeine and sport. “He was regarded as one of the people who helped shape modern American business,” Brady explained. In 1928, Lipton was invited to a dinner for the ‘Pioneers of American Industries’ hosted by Columbia University, alongside the likes of Henry Ford, George Eastman, and Walter Chrysler. 

Despite being little recognised today, Brady works to keep Lipton’s legacy afloat. He founded the Sir Thomas Lipton Foundation in 2010, teaching children from underprivileged backgrounds to sail. This year, Brady released a children’s book, Mysteries, Marvels and Miracles at Sea: Around the World in 18 True Stories, with all proceeds going to the foundation.

“Lipton shouldn’t be regarded as the world’s best loser,” Brady emphasised, “but as one of the world’s most positive enthusiasts – a great ambassador for sailing, and a great role model for young people.”

Image from Wikimedia Commons