Mlesna

Mlesna is a Sri Lankan tea company owned by Euro-Scan Exports. The brand produces and sells a broad selection of teas, including black tea, green tea, flavoured teas, and herbal teas, in both loose-leaf and tea-bag formats. It also develops tea-related gift products and has built a retail identity around dedicated Tea Centres and Tea Kiosks. The company was established in 1983 by Anselm Perera, a tea professional whose career began with Brooke Bond in 1969, when he joined the company as a tea taster at the age of eighteen. After approximately ten years with Brooke Bond, Perera moved to Shaw Wallace and Hedges, where he became Tea Manager and was promoted to Tea Director within about a year and a half. He subsequently founded his own tea business. The name Mlesna was formed as a mirror image of Perera's first name, Anselm. According to the brand's documented history, the name also reflects his birth on St Anselm's Day. This naming decision gave the company a distinctive identity while retaining a personal connection to its founder and tea expertise. Mlesna introduced the Tea Centre and Tea Kiosk retail concepts in Sri Lanka. Its first store opened at Liberty Plaza in Colombo in 1985. The format allowed the company to present packaged teas, specialty products, and tea gifts directly to consumers rather than relying exclusively on conventional grocery distribution. The company later expanded the concept beyond Sri Lanka, with outlets reported in Russia, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Greece, and India. Within Sri Lanka, the brand has been reported to operate sixteen outlets. Packaging and export recognition have been important elements of Mlesna's development. The company has received awards including Presidential Export Awards, National Export Awards, Lanka Star national packaging awards, Asia Star packaging awards, and World Star awards associated with packaging excellence and product quality. The documented award total is eighty-two awards across these categories. Mlesna's brand proposition combines Sri Lankan tea heritage, product variety, presentation, and gift-oriented retail. Its assortment spans conventional black tea as well as green, flavoured, and herbal categories, while its Tea Centre and Tea Kiosk formats provide a branded consumer experience. Publicly available reference material does not establish a separate listed corporate structure, a current executive roster beyond founder Anselm Perera, or a definitive corporate website URL.

Mlesna was founded in Sri Lanka in 1983 by Anselm Perera, a tea specialist whose professional background included tea tasting and senior tea-management roles. Perera entered the tea industry in 1969, joining Brooke Bond as a tea taster at eighteen. He stayed with Brooke Bond for roughly a decade before moving to Shaw Wallace and Hedges. At that company he initially served as Tea Manager and was promoted to Tea Director after approximately one and a half years. Perera established Mlesna after gaining experience across tea tasting, management, and direction. The brand name was derived by reversing or mirroring the letters of Anselm, Perera's first name. The documented account also connects the name to his birth on St Anselm's Day. Mlesna subsequently operated under Euro-Scan Exports, which is identified as the company's owner. A major early development was Mlesna's creation of the Tea Centre and Tea Kiosk retail concepts in Sri Lanka. The first Mlesna store opened at Liberty Plaza in Colombo in 1985. These formats gave the company dedicated branded locations for selling tea and tea-related gifts, supporting a more specialized presentation than ordinary packaged-tea distribution. The company later developed a network reported at sixteen outlets across Sri Lanka. Mlesna also extended its retail concept internationally. Reference material records outlets in Russia, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Greece, and India. The available material does not provide opening years, outlet counts, ownership structures, or current operating status for each of those markets, but the international locations indicate that the company used its branded retail format as part of its expansion beyond Sri Lanka. The company's product range includes loose teas, tea bags, black tea, green tea, flavoured teas, herbal teas, and gift products. This assortment allows Mlesna to address everyday tea consumption while also emphasizing specialty products and presentation suitable for gifting. Packaging has been a particularly visible part of the brand's development. Mlesna is reported to have won eighty-two awards, including nineteen Presidential Export Awards, eleven National Export Awards, twenty-three Lanka Star national packaging awards, seventeen Asia Star packaging awards, and nine World Star awards related to packaging excellence and superior quality. The available reference material establishes Mlesna as an active Sri Lankan tea brand with an export and specialty-retail orientation. It does not provide sufficient information to identify current senior management, detailed financial performance, a public listing, or a verified official website URL.

• 1985

  First Tea Centre opens in Colombo

  [1]Mlesnaen.wikipedia.org

  Mlesna opened its first Tea Centre or Tea Kiosk at Liberty Plaza in Colombo, introducing the company's branded specialty-retail concept in Sri Lanka.

• 1983

  Mlesna is established

  [1]Mlesnaen.wikipedia.org

  Anselm Perera founded Mlesna after earlier tea-tasting and tea-management experience. The brand name was derived from his first name, Anselm.

• 1969

  Anselm Perera enters the tea industry

  [1]Mlesnaen.wikipedia.org

  At the age of eighteen, Anselm Perera began working as a tea taster for Brooke Bond.

• International retail expansion

  [1]Mlesnaen.wikipedia.org

  Mlesna expanded its Tea Centre and Tea Kiosk concept to reported outlets in Russia, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Greece, and India.

• Recognition for exports and packaging

  [1]Mlesnaen.wikipedia.org

  The company accumulated eighty-two reported awards across export achievement and packaging categories, including Presidential Export, National Export, Lanka Star, Asia Star, and World Star awards.

A Sri Lankan tea brand combining a broad tea assortment with specialty retail, gift presentation, packaging quality, and an international outlet concept.

• Tea

  Black tea

  Black tea is one of Mlesna's core product categories. The brand presents black tea in loose formats and tea bags, alongside its broader range of specialty and gift-oriented tea products.

• Tea

  Green tea

  Mlesna's range includes green tea as a distinct category within its broader tea assortment. It is offered as part of the brand's packaged and specialty retail portfolio.

• Tea

  Flavoured teas

  Flavoured teas extend Mlesna's assortment beyond conventional black and green tea. The available reference material identifies the category but does not specify individual flavour variants.

• Tea

  Herbal teas

  Herbal teas form another category in Mlesna's range, supporting the brand's positioning as a supplier of varied tea and infusion products.

• Tea format

  Tea bags

  Mlesna produces tea bags in addition to loose teas, giving the brand a convenient format for everyday consumption and a packaged format suitable for retail distribution.

• Gift products

  Tea gifts

  Tea gifts are part of Mlesna's product and retail offer. They complement the company's emphasis on packaging and the presentation of tea through dedicated Tea Centres and Tea Kiosks.

• 1985

  Adoption of the Tea Centre and Tea Kiosk retail conceptStrategy

  Background

  Mlesna sought to develop a dedicated branded retail presence for tea and tea gifts rather than relying only on conventional distribution.

  Action taken

  The company opened its first Tea Centre or Tea Kiosk at Liberty Plaza in Colombo and subsequently expanded the format within Sri Lanka and into several overseas markets.

  Aftermath

  The concept became a defining part of Mlesna's retail identity, with sixteen reported outlets in Sri Lanka and additional reported locations in Russia, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Greece, and India.

  Source

1. 1Mlesnaen.wikipedia.org