Flora Mutahi – The Kenyan tea queen

February 11, 2021 Newsroom

Flora Mutahi is not your everyday captain of industry. She is the Chief Executive Officer and founder of Melvins Tea, one of the first companies in the region to venture into the flavoured tea industry.

The accountant by training says that growing up, everyone thought she should pursue the highly regarded professions such as a doctor or a nurse.

In the ’90s, she says, venturing into business was seen as a path for people who were simply incapable of pursuing other lucrative careers. Mutahi’s interest in business would later see her pursue an executive MBA from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Before she ventured into the tea business, she tried her entrepreneurship hand in processing salt, where she made Kenya’s first free flowing salt, with anti-caking additives.

Her company now employs more than 120 Kenyans. She is a true embodiment of the ‘kiuka’ spirit, where Kenyans choose to take a leap of faith in pursuit of their dreams for the benefit of the community and the country.

Last year, her company made more waves in the tea industry after it introduced the orthodox range of teas with four flavours.

Mutahi, describes herself as a creator, innovator and frontrunner. Besides founding Melvin Marsh International, the company that produces Melvin teas, she is also the immediate past Chairlady of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), making her the first woman to head the lobby group. She has also been the vice president of the COMESA Business Council. She is also a board member of the UN Global Compact.

The tea guru is also a member of the board of directors of Seed Hope, a Kenyan not-for-profit entity striving to improve the living conditions of people in Kibera slums.

Here are other key highlights in Flora Mutahi‘s thriving career that demonstrate her willpower to go beyond: