Halda Valley opens new horizons for world-class tea
Four jars containing Dragon Well Green Tea, Silver Needle White Tea, Golden Eyebrow Black Tea, and Halda Valley Black Tea were roasted and packed again into sturdy, attractive boxes. These boxes, filled with globally admired specialty teas, are now being used as gift boxes.
Halda Valley Food and Beverage, a sister concern of one of the country's leading tea marketing companies, Halda Valley, is working to create new opportunities for world-class tea in the local market. By reducing dependency on imports, they are introducing new, high-quality varieties to the tea market. At present, the company markets eight types of speciality teas and three types of CTC Black Tea.
Not just that, Halda Valley Food and Beverage has also launched a specialised tea lounge in Dhaka to strengthen tea branding, where around 60 varieties of tea are available.
How it started
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In 2003, industrialist Nader Khan acquired an abandoned tea garden in Fatikchhari, Chattogram, and began cultivating tea under the name Halda Valley. In 2004, the Ramgarh Tea Estate in Khagrachhari was also acquired for cultivation. Regular tea was processed in their own factory and sold at auction, after which traders marketed it. Khan later initiated a project to produce international-standard Dragon Well Green Tea for export.
In 2016, his son, physician Dr Shamim Khan, joined the family business, giving it a new dimension. He focused on marketing world-class Dragon Well Green Tea in the local market. In February 2019, Halda Valley Food and Beverage officially began operations.
The company's managing director, Dr Shamim Khan, told The Business Standard that "Since 2014, we have been bringing in experts from China to train plucking and factory workers. Initially, our goal was only to export. We even exported to China twice. But selling tea at Tk16,000 or Tk30,000 per kilo in Bangladesh was a challenge. I took on that challenge. Even my father opposed me at first, saying—who would buy such expensive tea? But I accepted it."
Specialty tea made from the finest leaves
The production and processing steps of speciality tea are different from regular tea. Essentially, speciality tea is made by processing the finest leaves of the garden—carefully selected and produced in smaller quantities. Regular CTC Black Tea goes through 7–8 stages in the factory before becoming a product, often with artificial flavours added for taste variation. But speciality tea goes through only 2–4 stages, without any artificial ingredients. It is made solely from buds and tender leaves, with only moderate, internationally standard fertilisers used in the garden—fertilisers that are not harmful to soil, plants, or the environment.
According to Dr Shamim Khan, speciality tea gardens have to be managed differently, with trained pluckers under a separate wage structure. Plucking is highly selective. A plucker cannot collect more than 700–800 grams of leaves in a whole day, whereas in regular black tea, a worker can pluck over 100 kilos. The ratio is such that, against 9–10 lakh kg of black tea annually, only 10–12 thousand kg of green and white tea are produced. Currently, more than 200 workers are engaged in speciality tea production in their two gardens.
A new dimension in branding with packaging
Tea cultivation began in nearly all regions of the Indian subcontinent around the 1850s under British rule. While regions like Darjeeling, Assam, and Sri Lanka have successfully branded their teas, Bangladesh has not achieved the same recognition, despite having a rich tea heritage.
Understanding this, Dr Shamim Khan took on the challenge of building a market for world-class tea in Bangladesh. He said:
"As a physician, I try to think deeply about everything. After joining the business, I studied this industry carefully. During my business trips to Singapore, China, Thailand and other countries, I observed tea branding—how it added value to tourism and culture. I studied these aspects."
Dr Khan added that Singaporean brand TWG collects teas from around the world and presents them not just as beverages, but also as luxury products and lifestyle items. Some Chinese brands also excel in marketing. "In Bangladesh, big businessmen and industrialists were buying expensive teas from abroad. That's when I thought about packaging. We introduced the idea that tea could be used as a gift item."
According to the company, teas are presented in tin containers or glass jars within boxes, sometimes even accompanied by cups. At least six varieties of gift boxes are marketed this way. In 2024, on National Tea Day, Halda Valley Food and Beverage won the Best Packaging Award. Embassies, as well as government and private organisations in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other places, are now collecting these gift boxes.
The tea lounge
Although coffee shops are common in Bangladesh, there had been no specialised high-end tea shop. To add a new dimension to tea branding, Halda Valley opened a dedicated tea lounge in Gulshan, Dhaka, in October 2019. However, after the pandemic, it was transformed into a full restaurant—though tea remains its central focus. Here, at least 60 varieties of world-class teas are served. Speciality teas are offered with breakfast or afternoon sittings. A cup is priced between Tk175 and Tk345.
Future plans
Every year, Halda Valley Food and Beverage introduces new varieties of tea. Four more are currently under research and development, with plans to launch them this year. Work is also underway to bring variations through natural ingredients and flavours.
Dr Shamim Khan said, "Alongside introducing new teas, we plan to supply our products abroad through e-commerce platforms in various cities. We are also researching how tea can contribute to health benefits. Since I am a physician, I am working on which teas can act as preventive agents for different diseases. By creating new markets, we are establishing our brand. When we started, the premium tea market in Bangladesh was nearly empty. Now, at least we have a foothold."
Starting with two estates in 2003–04, Halda Valley now cultivates tea on around 2,100 acres of land, producing about 1.8 million kg annually. The company employs about 1,800 workers in total.
