Finlays, part of Swire Group, appointed James Woodrow as its group managing director. Finlays is a leading, independent B2B supplier of tea, coffee and botanical solutions to beverage brand owners worldwide. Founded in 1750, the company has been sourcing tea since 1817 and producing it since the 1870s.
As group managing director of Finlays, Woodrow will oversee all aspects of its global operations from the company’s headquarters in London.
Woodrow brings a wealth of experience to his new role. Prior to joining Finlays, Woodrow was managing director of Swire Shipping. He’s been with Swire since 1990 and has held executive roles at various Swire businesses, including cargo director at the airline Cathay Pacific. Woodrow was also a director of Air China Cargo and Steamships Pty Limited. While at Cathay Pacific Cargo, Woodrow was chairman of the IATA Cargo Committee. He holds a master’s degree in law from the University of Cambridge.
Finlays has extensive and diverse operations across Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. It also has a unique bush to cup supply chain in tea, a strong direct trade coffee sourcing network, and is a major player in the global tea, coffee and botanical extracts market.
Over recent years, Finlays has increased its focus on extracts via organic growth, acquisition and innovation. The company is also the world’s largest producer of cold brew coffee and will soon open a new U.K. cold brew coffee production facility to serve Europe. In addition, it offers a range of premium, health-focussed tea extracts called The Wellbeing Collection, which are produced at its Saosa facility in Kenya, one of the few extracts facilities globally situated on a tea farm.
“Finlays has an illustrious heritage stretching back nearly 300 years and is a trusted and admired industry leader,” said Woodrow. “Today, it is ideally placed to serve the evolving needs of the global beverage market by helping customers address critical long-term consumer trends, whether that’s health and wellbeing, premiumization or sustainability.”
Through its integrated supply chains, Finlays strives to operate with sustainability at the heart of all it does, creating value for stakeholders at every stage from bush to cup. This is something Woodrow believes is of paramount importance to the future of Finlays.
“Sustainability – whether environmental, social or economic – is a defining characteristic of our era,” said Woodrow. “Global consumers have never been more switched on to the provenance of their food and drink and this represents a big opportunity for the beverage industry, even in markets where this trend is just emerging.”
Woodrow added: “The scope and scale of Finlays means it can offer true traceability and assurance that its products have been ethically sourced. But most importantly, it gives us the precious ability to have a positive, long-term impact on the communities we serve around the world, and the environments in which we operate. Our core value of ‘sustainable’ has never been more important.”
Woodrow officially joined Finlays in September.
For more information about Finlays, visit Finlays.net.
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