Lipton is a British brand of tea, owned by Ekaterra. Lipton was also a supermarket chain in the United Kingdom, later sold to Argyll Foods, after which the company sold only tea. The company is named after its founder, Sir Thomas Lipton. The Lipton ready-to-drink beverages are sold by "Pepsi Lipton International", a company jointly owned by Unilever and PepsiCo. They also make soup, but this is not as widespread.In 1871, Thomas Lipton (1848–1931) of Glasgow, Scotland, used his small savings to open his own shop, and by the 1880s the business had grown to more than 200 shops.[1] In 1929, the Lipton grocery retail business was one of the companies that merged with Home and Colonial Stores, Maypole Dairy Company, Vyes & Boroughs, Templetons, Galbraiths & Pearks to form a food group with more than 3,000 shops. The group traded in the high street under various names, but was registered on the UK stock market as Allied Suppliers.[2] Lipton's became a supermarket chain focused on small towns. Allied was acquired by Argyll Foods in 1982; the supermarket business was rebranded as Presto during the 1980s. [Wikipedia]
