1902-1999

Lyons Tea is one of Ireland’s biggest and best-loved brands. Anyone on the island of Ireland over the last few decades knows the jingle ‘Extra quality, Extra flavour, Lyons the Quality Tea’ unless you were hiding under a rock.

Our other claim to fame is introducing Ireland to the first ever pyramid-shaped tea bag! Generations of Irish families have grown up with Lyons Tea. For them it will always be entwined with their memories of home and homecoming

How it all began:

In 1902 the Lyons family started their little tea business at High Street in Dublin, near Christchurch Cathedral.

In 1932, Lyons moved to Marlborough Street, behind the Gresham hotel.

1963 saw Lyons move up in the world, to a state-of-the-art factory in Goldenbridge, Dublin 8.

The very first on-pack promotion by Lyons Tea was in 1963. When people bought a pack of Lyons Tea, they could hope to find a voucher for between 10 shillings and £10 inside.

Iconic campaigns, such as the Minstrels and the very popular car giveaway would become a vital part of the Lyons Tea brand over the next 25 years.

In the late 1970s, Lyons reinvented the wheel by going round. The change to round tea bags was so successful that Lyons managed to capture over 65% of the Irish tea market.

The famous “Lyons Tea jingle” played an important role in the Lyons success story, and is still one of the first things people remember today.

Lyons Tea became a part of the Unilever family in 1996.

Another milestone was the development of the tea-caddy style pack. People loved it for its sleek good looks and practicality.

The move from round to pyramid bags in 2004 was another major leap forward for the brand.

2004 also saw the creation of our famous feathered friends, the Lyons Tea birds: Maggie, Niamh, Pete and Tom.

In 2007, Lyons launched a new campaign to celebrate the health benefits of Lyons Tea, as a 100% natural product.