Honest Tea

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.

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

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

• Organic beverages
• Bottled tea
• Juice drinks
• USDA organic drinks
• Ready-to-drink tea

Headquarters

HQ city

Bethesda

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel

Revenue model

1. 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

Core 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

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Wendy'sminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 8 August 2024Honest 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 CompanycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHonest 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 KhannaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBollywood 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

Direct 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

• Xx.com/HonestTea
• Facebookfacebook.com/HonestTea
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/34064

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Honest Tea