The tea industry is not short on stories about heritage, terroir and centuries-old traditions. What is less common is a founder who approaches tea the way a designer approaches a room.
That was the impression left by Sumita J. Singam-Takacs, founder of Tea Republic, whom we met at the International Coffee & Beverage Show Malaysia 2026. While many conversations at trade shows revolve around products and sales figures, hers drifted naturally between aesthetics, consumer behavior and the subtle details that shape an experience.
Before tea, there was design.
Sumita’s professional background is in interior design, a discipline that continues to influence the company she founded in Malaysia in 2010. Tea Republic’s packaging, presentation and product development reflect a designer’s attention to proportion and detail rather than the visual excess often found in the premium gifting market.
The idea for the business emerged during a trip to Australia, where she encountered tea brands that had yet to reach Malaysia. She initially opened a tea shop, importing international labels and observing how customers interacted with them. Over time, those observations became more valuable than the products themselves.
“They taught us what people were looking for,” she explained.
That understanding eventually led to the creation of Tea Republic’s own collection.
Today, the company offers more than 40 tea varieties, developed in partnership with a master tea blender in Germany. The portfolio serves multiple markets, from retail customers to hotels, cafés and restaurants. Increasingly, the company is known for creating bespoke tea blends and gifting concepts tailored to hospitality brands and corporate clients.
Among its customers are companies such as Gamuda, Maybank and Canon, as well as hospitality brands including Sofitel. Tea Republic has also developed customized tea gifting programs for luxury resorts in destinations such as the Maldives.
Yet what distinguishes the company is not necessarily the breadth of its catalogue. Many tea companies offer dozens of blends. Tea Republic’s differentiation lies in its point of view.
For Sumita, tea is not simply a beverage. It is part of a broader experience — one that combines taste, design, memory and hospitality. That perspective has allowed the company to occupy a niche between specialty tea supplier, gifting partner and hospitality consultant.
As the premium tea sector continues to evolve, Tea Republic represents a new generation of brands emerging from Southeast Asia: commercially minded, globally connected and rooted in an understanding that consumers increasingly buy experiences, not products.
The tea may be served in a cup. But the brand’s real focus is everything that surrounds it.
