Founded | 1883 |
---|---|
Founder | Alfred Bushell |
Headquarters | |
Products | tea and coffee |
Parent | FreshFood Services |
Website | www |
Bushells is an Australian company that produces tea and coffee.
Bushells was founded by Alfred Bushell in 1883, when he opened a tea shop in Queensland. His sons moved the enterprise to Sydney in 1899 and began selling tea commercially, founding Australia's first commercial tea seller.[1] A Bushells tea factory was set up in Harrington Street, Sydney, and a coffee roasting department at Atherton Place in The Rocks.[2]
In 1940, members of the Bushell family acquired the heritage-listed Sydney house, Carthona.[3] In the 1980s, the company diversified its coffee manufacturing under the Bushells Coffee brand.[citation needed]
In 1998, as part of an acquisition of coffee brands from Unilever, FreshFood Services Pty Ltd purchased the Bushells Coffee brand.[4] FreshFood also purchased the New Zealand division of Bushells Coffee.[citation needed] The tea brand remained with Unilever. Coffee continues to be produced at the Concord factory.
FreshFood announced a long-term plan[when?] to close the Concord factory. As of January 2018, planning was still in the early stages and the closure was at least three to five years away.[5]