Yaupon Brothers American Tea

What Yaupon Brothers American Tea does

Yaupon Brothers American Tea Co. is a privately held, family-owned CPG company headquartered in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, that produces and sells tea and adjacent products derived from yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria) — North America's only native caffeinated plant. The company was founded in 2012 and is the first commercial enterprise in over a millennium to bring yaupon-based tea to a mass market, developing proprietary processing methods for the wild-harvested and cultivated leaf. It maintains a planted base of more than 250,000 yaupon trees and acquired a 30-acre site in Crescent City, FL in 2025 to expand cultivation and processing capacity.

The company's product portfolio centers on seven yaupon tea blends — American Green, Vanilla Hibiscus, Spiced Peach, Revive Mint, Lavender Coconut, Fire Roasted, and Florida Chai — sold individually at $11.99 per box and in a 6-blend variety pack at $69.95. Complementary SKUs include Eagle's Nest Wildflower Honey at $9.95, gift cards, and a co-branded Florida Sweet fragrance developed with Siff Sniffs. Yaupon Brothers sells through a three-channel go-to-market: direct-to-consumer (its primary growth engine, reportedly up ~150% year-over-year), wholesale to specialty and natural-foods accounts, and retail distribution in mainstream grocery.

Revenue mechanics blend high-margin DTC subscription and one-off purchases with wholesale volume through retailers including Whole Foods and Walmart. The company is currently raising on Wefunder (equity crowdfunding) and has pursued partnerships with entities such as Potlikker Capital for SXSW 2026, suggesting a strategy that pairs community-capital financing with cultural-marketing positioning. Headcount is reported in the 11–50 range, consistent with a small, growth-stage CPG operator scaling production after a new factory opening in 2024.

Name

Yaupon Brothers American Tea

Legal name

Yaupon Brothers Tea

Website

https://yauponbrothers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Yaupon Brothers American Tea is a family-owned Florida CPG company that commercially produces tea from yaupon holly — North America's only native caffeinated plant — selling seven blends, honey, and lifestyle products direct-to-consumer and through retailers including Whole Foods and Walmart.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Tea

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (31192)

SIC

Beverages (2080)

akta.pro primary industry

Tea Blending & Flavoring (AFAFADAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Tea (Leaf, Bagged, Instant, Concentrates) (CRADAHAE), Tea, Coffee & Cocoa Farming (Beverage Specialty Crops) (AFAGAGAG)

Keywords

• Yaupon tea
• Herbal tea blends
• Specialty tea company
• Sustainable tea farming
• Native caffeinated tea

Headquarters

HQ city

Edgewater

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Direct-to-Consumer E-commerce: Online sales through Shopify platform with product sales across multiple tea blends, bundles, gift cards, and wildflower honey. Offers subscription (Brew Crew) and one-time purchase options.
2. Wholesale Distribution: B2B wholesale program supplying yaupon tea to retailers including Whole Foods and Walmart, as well as cafés, wellness spaces, and hospitality businesses.
3. Ancillary Products: Sale of related products including Eagle's Nest Wildflower Honey and Florida Sweet Yaupon Infused Fragrance (collaboration with Siff Sniffs).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Yaupon Brothers American Tea grows, harvests, and processes yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria) into a portfolio of caffeinated tea blends. The company sells its teas direct-to-consumer via its Shopify website with a subscription program (Brew Crew), and through wholesale to retailers such as Whole Foods and Walmart. Ancillary products include Eagle's Nest Wildflower Honey and a limited-edition yaupon-infused fragrance.

Product overview

Yaupon Brothers American Tea is a direct-to-consumer tea company offering a portfolio of seven distinct yaupon tea blends plus a variety pack. The core product line includes American Green, Vanilla Hibiscus, Spiced Peach, Revive Mint, Lavender Coconut, Fire Roasted, and Florida Chai varieties, each available in 16-teabag boxes. The company also sells complementary products including wildflower honey from their Eagle's Nest organic farm and an e-gift card program. A fragrance collaboration (Florida Sweet with Siff Sniffs) extends the brand into personal care. The business operates subscription/loyalty (Brew Crew) and wholesale programs, plus experiential tourism through Yaupon Tree Experience tours. All teas are made from North America's only native caffeinated plant, organically and regeneratively grown in the American Southeast.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Yaupon Brothers: Primary brand for American-grown yaupon holly tea products including Classic Blends, Specialty Blends, and subscription offerings.
• Florida Sweet
• Eagle's Nest Wildflower Honey
• Brew Crew

Products and services

• Yaupon Tea - American Green Classic green yaupon tea with a light, crisp brew, grassy character, and a smooth caffeine boost; sold in a 16-teabag box for individual consumers seeking a natural caffeine alternative.
• Yaupon Tea - Vanilla Hibiscus Tart hibiscus blended with smooth vanilla in a 16-teabag box; naturally caffeinated and crafted with organic, regeneratively sourced ingredients for individual tea drinkers.
• Yaupon Tea - Spiced Peach Juicy peach with warm cinnamon in a 16-teabag box; naturally caffeinated yaupon tea for hot or iced serving.
• Yaupon Tea - Revive Mint Crisp mint combined with naturally caffeinated yaupon in a 16-teabag box; crafted with organic, regenerative ingredients.
• Yaupon Tea - Lavender Coconut Calming lavender, rooibos, and coconut blended with yaupon for a gentle caffeine boost in a 16-teabag box.
• Yaupon Tea - Fire Roasted Bold, smoky brew inspired by traditional leaf-drying methods; naturally sweet, low in tannins, and cannot be over-steeped; sold in a 16-teabag box.
• Yaupon Tea - Florida Chai Bold yaupon blended with organic cinnamon, clove, ginger, and cardamom in a 16-teabag box; an energizing, naturally caffeinated chai.
• Yaupon Tea - 6 Blends Variety Pack Variety pack containing Fire Roasted, Florida Chai, Lavender Coconut, Spiced Peach, Vanilla Hibiscus, and Revive Mint (each 16 teabags); positioned for steady sustained energy without crash.
• Eagle's Nest Wildflower Honey Raw Palmetto and Gallberry wildflower honey sourced from over 400 beehives on the Eagle's Nest organic farm in Florida; sold as an add-on to tea purchases.
• Yaupon Brothers Gift Card Digital e-gift card redeemable on the Yaupon Brothers website, offered in $10, $25, $50, and $100 denominations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 150% year-over-year increase in direct-to-consumer sales
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Potlikker CapitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 August 2025Partnership for SXSW 2026 panel proposal titled 'America's First Tea: How Indigenous Crops Are Reshaping the Future of CPG.' Potlikker Capital is a regenerative agriculture-focused investment firm supporting the yaupon movement.
• Siff SniffsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Florida Sweet Yaupon Infused Fragrance - a limited edition clean fragrance product featuring yaupon tea notes. Siff Sniffs is described as the premier American clean fragrance brand.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Harney & Sons: Premium specialty tea brand with strong DTC, hospitality, and gift-channel distribution. Comparable to Yaupon Brothers in DTC e-commerce strength, premium-tier pricing, and reliance on unique blend storytelling rather than commodity tea.
• Traditional Medicinals: Established U.S. herbal tea company focused on wellness, sustainability, and organic sourcing. Comparable to Yaupon Brothers in positioning as a functional, plant-based tea brand with natural foods retail presence and similar wellness-oriented customer segments.
• Republic of Tea: Direct-to-consumer and specialty-retail premium tea brand with a strong subscription program. Comparable on DTC-plus-wholesale model, premium positioning, and broad blend portfolio similar to Yaupon Brothers' seven-blend lineup.
• Rishi Tea & Botanicals: Premium, organic, direct-sourced specialty tea brand with a comparable mission-driven, single-origin positioning and a similar DTC-plus-wholesale go-to-market. Closely comparable as a domestic-adjacent U.S. tea CPG competing for the same health-conscious tea drinker shelf space.

Broad incumbents

• Celestial Seasonings: Mass-market herbal and specialty tea brand owned by Hain Celestial. Operates broadly in the same herbal/specialty tea category where Yaupon Brothers competes, with overlapping presence in natural-foods retail, but at vastly larger scale and broader SKU breadth.
• Stash Tea: Specialty tea brand owned by a major U.S. food manufacturer, distributed across grocery and natural-foods channels. Comparable on specialty tea positioning and natural-foods channel presence with broader incumbent scale.
• Bigelow Tea: Largest family-owned U.S. tea manufacturer with broad bagged and specialty tea lines distributed across mainstream U.S. grocery. Represents an incumbent that could enter yaupon as a category expansion following Yaupon Brothers' trend validation.

Emerging players

• MUDWTR: Coffee-alternative functional beverage brand marketed around clean caffeine, adaptogens, and ritual replacement for coffee. Competes directly with Yaupon Brothers for the same 'caffeine without jitters' consumer and appears alongside yaupon in 'healthy caffeine alternative' comparisons.
• Adagio Teas: Direct-to-consumer specialty tea brand with a strong online subscription and customization model. Comparable on the DTC plus subscription/loyalty motion used by Yaupon Brothers' Brew Crew program.
• Four Sigmatic: Functional mushroom coffee, tea, and alternative-caffeine brand with strong DTC motion. Competes for the same wellness-oriented, low-jitter caffeine consumer and shares a similar premium DTC-plus-natural-foods retail playbook.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC1hGFk-WriknjdCK0IqF0MQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/YauponAsiTea
• Instagraminstagram.com/yaupontea
• TikToktiktok.com/@yauponbrothers
• Xx.com/YauponAsiTeaCo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/yaupon-brothers-american-tea

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Yaupon Brothers American Tea