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ScribeBy: John P. McDermott of The Post and
Courier Staff
Originally Published on: 4/11/03
New owners brewing plan to get Charleston plantation going again
When the bidding hit $1.28 million, Mack Fleming gazed down at his notes, paused and then conceded.
Congratulations," he said to no one in particular, barely audible.
On that note, R.C. Bigelow Tea, one of the biggest names in the U.S. tea-packing industry, purchased the Charleston Tea Plantation at a court auction Thursday.
The 127-acre Wadmalaw Island farm, which Fleming and former business partner William Hall had owned for about 16 years, was considered America's only working tea plantation until it ceased operations last May.
Eunice Bigelow, who runs Connecticut-based Bigelow Tea with husband David and their daughters, said after the sale that she was "in shock."
"We are very happy," Bigelow said. "It's the only working tea plantation in the country and it's something we're very proud to own."
She said her company plans to continue cultivating tea at the property.
"There should be some synergies," said Bigelow, referring to Bigelow Tea's other operations.
The Bigelows have known Hallmore than 30 years, and they plan to turn the day-to-day operations of the Charleston Tea Plantation over to him.
Hall said Thursday he was unsure whether he will reopen the Maybank Highway property for tours. For the moment, he is working on a long-term business strategy.
"There are no definite plans as to the whats and the whens," Hall said.
Among the questions yet to be decided: whether the locally grown tea will be marketed as a Charleston Tea Plantation product. "It will have Charleston reference," Bigelow said.
Now based in Fairfield, Conn., Bigelow Tea was launched in 1945 when Ruth Campbell Bigelow and her husband, David, created a new brew in their New York kitchen. They named it "Constant Comment" after the reaction of their friends, who could not stop praising the taste.
Bigelow Tea has since expanded to include dozens of flavored teas, including green, vanilla-flavored and decaffeinated versions. It also sell honey, gift sets and other products. The company has plants in Boise, Idaho, and Louisville, Ky., and more than 350 employees nationwide. It was named one of the family businesses of the year in 2002 by the University of Connecticut.
"The Bigelows are delighted with Charleston as a city," said Collin "Ben" Gunn, a longtime family acquaintance and general counsel for the company.
The plantation sale spells the end of a long partnership between Hall, a trained third-generation tea taster, and Fleming, a horticultural researcher.
They purchased the property in 1987 from Fleming's former employer, the company that makes Lipton tea. Eventually, they sold their American Classic Tea brand through more than 1,000 retail outlets, including Wal-Mart-owned Sam's Club, and diversified into other products.
At one point, the farm employed more than 40 workers.
But profit margins for tea are razor-thin, as most is grown in low-wage countries overseas. And despite the fact that tea is the world's most consumed drink after water, the company had trouble selling consumers on the novelty of an American-grown variety.
Last year, after ceasing operations, Fleming said he and Hall had different visions for the business, comparing their split to 15-year marriage that went south.
Fleming, a horticultural researcher at Trident Technical College, said he had hoped to buy the tea plantation and "restore it to its former grandeur, if you will."
"Oh, I'll miss it," he said.
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