Honest Tea
Honest Tea is a Coca-Cola-owned organic beverage brand founded in 1998, producing USDA Organic certified Honest Kids juice drinks and tea products distributed nationally through grocery, convenience, and QSR channels including Wendy's.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1998
- HeadquartersBethesda, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Honest Tea does
Honest Tea is a Bethesda, Maryland-based producer of organic ready-to-drink beverages, founded in 1998 by Seth Goldman and Barry Nalebuff. The company operates the Honest Kids sub-brand, which offers six USDA Organic certified juice drink SKUs (Appley Ever After, Super Fruit Punch, Goodness Grapeness, Bananas about Strawberries, Strawberry Peachy Keen, and Berry Good Lemonade) positioned around an "Always Organic. Half the Sugar" value proposition. Products are formulated with filtered water, organic fruit juices from concentrate, organic natural flavors, and added Vitamin C, with no added sugars or artificial ingredients, and are certified organic by Pennsylvania Certified Organic. The portfolio is offered in 6 fl oz and 6.75 fl oz juice-box formats and 59 fl oz family-size containers.
Honest Tea has operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company since 2011, relying on its parent's national distribution network to reach grocery, convenience, and mass retailers across the United States. In August 2024, the company extended its go-to-market into food service through a partnership with Wendy's quick-service restaurants for on-premise availability. Brand marketing includes celebrity-driven social media campaigns such as the 2024 #FindYourGood activation with Twinkle Khanna, indicating emerging international brand ambitions. The customer base is split across health-conscious adult consumers, parents of young children (ages 5-12) seeking reduced-sugar organic options for school lunches and on-the-go consumption, and food service operators. Honest Tea generates revenue through one-time sales of consumer packaged goods rather than subscriptions or licensing, with pricing not publicly disclosed across multi-pack and family-size formats.
Honest Tea firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Honest Tea
- Legal name
- Honest Tea Inc.
- Website
- https://honesttea.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1998
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Honest Tea is a Coca-Cola-owned organic beverage brand founded in 1998, producing USDA Organic certified Honest Kids juice drinks and tea products distributed nationally through grocery, convenience, and QSR channels including Wendy's.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Honest Tea industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Organic Beverages
- NAICS
- Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920), Soft Drink and Ice Manufacturing (31211)
- SIC
- Beverages (2080)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Non-Carbonated Soft Drinks (Juice Drinks, Lemonades, Fruit Drinks) (CRADAHAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Organic Packaged Foods Manufacturing (Certified Organic, Clean-Label) (AFAKAJAA), Organic & Natural Beverage Wholesale (AFAIAJAE)
Keywords
Where Honest Tea is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bethesda
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Honest Tea business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel
Revenue model
- Consumer Packaged Goods Sales: Honest Tea generates revenue through the sale of bottled and packaged organic beverages and juice drinks through retail distribution channels, leveraging Coca-Cola's distribution network.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels1 record
Honest Tea product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Honest Tea manufactures and sells bottled organic beverages, including ready-to-drink teas and the Honest Kids sub-brand of organic juice drinks for children. All products are USDA Organic certified by Pennsylvania Certified Organic, made with filtered water and organic fruit juices, contain no added sugars, and are positioned as clean-label alternatives with half the sugar of conventional beverages.
Product overview
Honest Kids is a sub-brand of Honest Tea operating under The Coca-Cola Company, offering a portfolio of organic juice drinks for children. The product line consists of six distinct flavored varieties: Appley Ever After (apple), Super Fruit Punch (fruit blend), Goodness Grapeness (grape), Bananas about Strawberries (strawberry banana), Strawberry Peachy Keen (strawberry peach), and Berry Good Lemonade (berry lemonade). All products are USDA Organic certified, made with organic ingredients, contain no artificial flavors or added sugars, and are fortified with Vitamin C. Available in convenient juice box formats (6 fl oz, 6.75 fl oz) and larger family-size containers (59 fl oz). The brand tagline emphasizes 'Always Organic. Half the Sugar.' positioning the products as healthier alternatives for children.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Honest Kids: Organic juice drink brand for children offering varieties including Appley Ever After, Super Fruit Punch, Goodness Grapeness, Bananas about Strawberries, Strawberry Peachy Keen, and Berry Good Lemonade. Products are USDA Organic certified and made with filtered water and organic fruit juices.
Products and services
- Appley Ever After Organic apple juice drink from concentrate made with filtered water and organic apple juice, certified USDA Organic, available in 6 fl oz and 6.75 fl oz juice box formats for children.
- Super Fruit Punch Organic fruit punch juice drink blending grape, strawberry, apple, watermelon, and cranberry juices in a 38% juice blend, excellent source of Vitamin C, available in 6 fl oz, 6.75 fl oz, and 59 fl oz sizes.
- Goodness Grapeness Organic grape juice drink from concentrate made with white grape and Concord grape juice, 30% juice content, certified USDA Organic, available in 6 fl oz, 6.75 fl oz, and 59 fl oz sizes.
- Bananas about Strawberries Organic strawberry banana juice drink combining apple juice, pear juice, banana puree, and strawberry juice, made with organic natural flavors and Vitamin C, available in 6 fl oz size.
- Strawberry Peachy Keen Organic strawberry peach juice drink featuring apple juice, pear juice, peach puree, and strawberry juice with no added sugar, certified USDA Organic, available in 6 fl oz size.
- Berry Good Lemonade Organic berry lemonade juice drink blending apple, grape, lemon, blueberry, and cranberry juices, excellent source of Vitamin C providing 140% daily value, certified USDA Organic, available in 6 fl oz, 6.75 fl oz, and 59 fl oz sizes.
- Honest Tea Bottled Tea Ready-to-drink organic bottled teas under the original Honest Tea brand for health-conscious adult consumers, distributed nationally through The Coca-Cola Company's retail and food service channels.
Quantifiable outcome
- 40% less sugar than traditional juice drinks
Companies that use Honest Tea
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Honest Tea technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Honest Tea partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Wendy'sminorHonest Tea secured a partnership with Wendy's restaurants to have its organic beverages served at Wendy's locations, representing a significant milestone for the organic movement in the quick-service restaurant sector. This food service distribution channel provides on-premise access to Honest Tea products.
- The Coca-Cola CompanycoreHonest Tea operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary brand of The Coca-Cola Company, which acquired the company in 2011. Coca-Cola provides distribution, marketing support, and operational infrastructure.
- Twinkle KhannaminorBollywood actress and author Twinkle Khanna partnered with Honest Tea for the #FindYourGood campaign, leveraging her social influence to promote the brand's organic and healthy positioning to Indian consumers.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Honest Tea competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Suja Life: Organic, cold-pressed juice and functional beverage brand competing with Honest Tea/Honest Kids in the refrigerated and shelf-stable organic juice segment with USDA Organic positioning. Both target health-conscious consumers seeking clean-label ingredients.
- Gold Peak Tea: Bottled ready-to-drink iced tea brand owned by The Coca-Cola Company, directly competing with Honest Tea's core RTD tea line on retail shelves with similar sizing and distribution.
- Pure Leaf: Unilever/Lipton RTD iced tea brand competing head-to-head with Honest Tea in grocery and convenience channels across multiple flavors and sweetened/unsweetened variants.
- AriZona Iced Tea: Mass-market bottled iced tea competitor with broad flavor portfolio and large-format packaging competing on retail price-points and impulse purchases with Honest Tea.
- Tazo Tea: Premium tea brand owned by Starbucks/PepsiCo with overlap in bottled/canned RTD tea positioning, target consumers, and clean-label ingredient marketing.
Emerging players
- Steaz: Organic, fair-trade sparkling and still RTD tea brand targeting health-conscious consumers with clean-label positioning analogous to Honest Tea, though with smaller distribution footprint.
- Peace Tea: Sub-brand of Monster Beverage offering value-priced canned RTD iced tea competing in the same convenience/impulse retail channels as Honest Tea.
Broad incumbents
- Country Time Lemonade: Kraft Heinz mass-market lemonade brand competing with Honest Tea's Berry Good Lemonade and other lemonade offerings in retail and food-service channels.
- Newman's Own Organics: Mission-driven organic CPG brand with beverage line that overlaps with Honest Tea's organic, US-certified positioning and consumer demographic.
- Keurig Dr Pepper: Large-scale beverage conglomerate with Snapple, Dr Pepper, and tea brands competing in retail-ready RTD beverages broadly; relevant incumbent benchmark and potential acquirer profile.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Honest Tea social profiles
Digital presenceHonest Tea compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Honest Tea financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Honest Tea leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Honest Tea funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Honest Tea M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments3 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Honest Tea
What does Honest Tea do?
Honest Tea manufactures and sells bottled organic beverages, including ready-to-drink teas and the Honest Kids sub-brand of organic juice drinks for children. All products are USDA Organic certified by Pennsylvania Certified Organic, made with filtered water and organic fruit juices, contain no added sugars, and are positioned as clean-label alternatives with half the sugar of conventional beverages.
Is Honest Tea a public or private company?
Honest Tea is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Honest Tea founded?
Honest Tea was founded in 1998. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Honest Tea based?
Honest Tea is headquartered in Bethesda, United States, in the North America region.
How does Honest Tea make money?
One revenue line is on record: consumer Packaged Goods Sales.
Who are Honest Tea's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Suja Life, Gold Peak Tea, Pure Leaf, AriZona Iced Tea and Tazo Tea. Emerging players are Steaz and Peace Tea. Broad incumbents are Country Time Lemonade, Newman's Own Organics and Keurig Dr Pepper.
Does Honest Tea have an API?
No public API is recorded for Honest Tea.
What industry is Honest Tea in?
Honest Tea's product category is Organic Beverages. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRADAHAB, Non-Carbonated Soft Drinks (Juice Drinks, Lemonades, Fruit Drinks), with a secondary code of AFAKAJAA, Organic Packaged Foods Manufacturing (Certified Organic, Clean-Label). Its NAICS code is 311920 and its SIC code is 2080.