Crooked Tea
Crooked Tea is a US hard iced tea brand selling USDA Certified Organic, zero-sugar, gluten-free alcoholic teas in three flavors via nationwide grocery, specialty, and convenience retail plus alcohol delivery platforms. It serves health-conscious adult consumers and sports fans through athlete-driven sports marketing partnerships.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2025
- HeadquartersUnited States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Crooked Tea does
Crooked Tea is a United States hard iced tea brand operating under Crook & Marker, LLC. It produces three flavored alcoholic iced teas — Lemon, Peach, and Raspberry — at 4% ABV, formulated with zero sugar, less than 1g of carbs, gluten-free, vegan, kosher, Non-GMO, and USDA Certified Organic ingredients. The products are built on a proprietary Organic Super Dry Alcohol (OSA) base, produced via fermentation of organic quinoa, amaranth, millet, and cassava root with extra purification to remove residual carbs and impurities, combined with real brewed organic black tea and plant-based sweeteners. The company does not offer direct-to-consumer online purchase of its beverages; instead, it distributes through a nationwide US physical retail footprint spanning grocery (Harris Teeter, Publix), specialty beverage (Total Wine, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits), and convenience (Quiktrip) chains, plus on-premise bars and restaurants, and third-party alcohol delivery platforms such as DoorDash and Instacart.
The business generates revenue primarily through one-time wholesale and retail unit sales of canned tea SKUs sold in 8-pack 11.5oz formats and single 19.2oz formats at standard unit pricing. A secondary revenue stream consists of branded apparel and accessories — t-shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, shorts, and accessories — sold through the company's own e-commerce storefront under the Crooked Pop sub-brand. Marketing is heavily oriented around organic social content (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook), email and SMS capture, and sports marketing partnerships, including an official relationship with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and individual ambassadorships with NFL players Brandon Graham (co-founder/investor) and Rondé Barber, and NBA player Trae Young.
The brand was founded/launched in 2025 by Ahmet Buiuk — founder of Bai beverages — together with NFL legend Brandon Graham. Crooked Tea is privately held with no public listing, no disclosed funding rounds, no disclosed headcount, and no disclosed revenue. The trademark "CROOKED TEA" is registered to Crook & Marker LLC, and the company markets itself primarily to health-conscious adult consumers seeking clean-label alcoholic beverages for social, gameday, and casual occasions.
Crooked Tea firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Crooked Tea
- Legal name
- Crook & Marker, LLC
- Website
- https://crookedtea.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2025
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Crooked Tea is a US hard iced tea brand selling USDA Certified Organic, zero-sugar, gluten-free alcoholic teas in three flavors via nationwide grocery, specialty, and convenience retail plus alcohol delivery platforms. It serves health-conscious adult consumers and sports fans through athlete-driven sports marketing partnerships.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Crooked Tea industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Hard Iced Tea / Alcoholic Beverages
- NAICS
- Beverage Manufacturing (3121), Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920)
- SIC
- Beverages (2080)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Ready-to-Drink (RTD) Tea Manufacturing (AFAFADAI)
Keywords
Where Crooked Tea is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Crooked Tea business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel
Revenue model
- Hard Iced Tea Product Sales: Primary revenue from selling alcoholic iced tea beverages in three flavors: Lemon Tea, Peach Tea, and Raspberry Tea. Sold in 8-packs of 11.5oz cans and 19.2oz single cans at retail locations nationwide.
- Merchandise Sales: Secondary revenue stream from branded apparel including t-shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, and accessories sold through the Crooked Tea online shop.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | 11.5oz cans (8-pack) |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | 19.2oz single can |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | T-shirts |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Hoodies and sweatshirts |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Pants and shorts |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
Crooked Tea product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Crooked Tea brews and sells hard iced teas at 4% ABV in three flavors (Lemon, Peach, Raspberry), using proprietary organic alcohol derived from quinoa, amaranth, millet, and cassava root, with zero sugar, less than 1g of carbs, gluten-free formulation, and USDA Certified Organic real brewed black tea. Products are sold in 11.5oz 8-packs and 19.2oz single cans through grocery, specialty, convenience, and on-premise retail channels nationwide, alongside branded merchandise sold direct via its online shop.
Product overview
Crooked Tea is a hard iced tea beverage brand offering three flavored alcoholic tea products (Lemon Tea, Peach Tea, and Raspberry Tea), all featuring zero sugar, zero carbs, gluten-free formulation, USDA Certified Organic ingredients, and real brewed tea. The products contain 4% ABV and use proprietary organic alcohol made from quinoa, millet, amaranth, and cassava root. The company also sells branded merchandise including apparel items.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Crooked Pop: Sub-brand for merchandise including t-shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, and accessories.
Products and services
- Lemon Tea Hard iced tea with bright lemon flavor made with real organic brewed black tea. Contains 4% ABV, zero sugar, less than 1g carbs, non-carbonated, USDA organic, and sweetened with plant-based sweeteners. Sold in 8-packs of 11.5oz cans and 19.2oz single cans at grocery, convenience, specialty, and on-premise retail.
- Peach Tea Hard iced tea with peach flavor made with real brewed organic tea. Contains 4% ABV, zero sugar, less than 1g carbs, non-carbonated, USDA organic, and uses plant-based sweeteners. Packaged in 8-packs of 11.5oz cans and 19.2oz single cans for retail distribution.
- Raspberry Tea Hard iced tea with raspberry flavor brewed with real organic tea. Contains 4% ABV, zero sugar, less than 1g carbs, non-carbonated, USDA organic, and sweetened with plant-based sweeteners. Packaged in 8-packs of 11.5oz cans and 19.2oz single cans for retail distribution.
- Crooked Pop Branded Merchandise Branded apparel and accessories including t-shirts ($15.06-$41.94), hoodies and sweatshirts ($41.80-$57.94), sweatpants ($35.50-$37.96), shorts ($17.96), polo shirts, and related accessories sold directly through the Crooked Tea online storefront.
Quantifiable outcome
- Zero sugar, <1g carbs per serving
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Crooked Tea
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Crooked Tea technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Crooked Tea partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.
- Brandon GrahamcoreNFL Legend and Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham co-founded Crooked Tea with the founder of Bai beverages. Graham serves as athlete-investor partner bringing NFL credibility and sports fan engagement to the brand.
- Tampa Bay BuccaneerscoreCrooked Tea is a proud partner of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, featuring team branding and gameday activations for fan engagement.
- Trae YoungmajorNBA player Trae Young is featured in Crooked Tea marketing campaigns, appearing in social media content and promotional materials to drive brand awareness among basketball fans.
- Rondé BarberminorNFL Legend and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Rondé Barber serves as a partner and brand ambassador, appearing in marketing materials alongside team partnerships.
- Harris TeetermajorMajor grocery retailer carrying Crooked Tea products in stores across their retail footprint.
- PublixmajorSoutheastern grocery chain Publix stocks Crooked Tea products in their stores.
- Total WinemajorTotal Wine & More, a large specialty beverage retailer, distributes Crooked Tea products.
- DoorDashminorAlcohol delivery platform allowing consumers to order Crooked Tea products for delivery.
- InstacartminorGrocery delivery service enabling online ordering and delivery of Crooked Tea from partnered retailers.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Crooked Tea competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Arizona Iced Tea: Arizona Beverage Co. is the iconic non-alcoholic iced tea brand. While not a direct alcoholic competitor, Arizona's IP and brand equity in iced tea are highly relevant context to category economics and consumer tea-flavor expectations in the hard tea space.
Direct peers
- Twisted Tea: The Boston Beer Company's hard iced tea brand and the category leader Crooked Tea is directly competing against. Twisted Tea and Crooked Tea sell the same product format (flavored hard iced tea) into the same retail and on-premise channels, though Twisted Tea is non-organic and malt-based.
- Arnold Palmer Spiked: A hard iced tea/lemonade hybrid produced via an Arizona/Molson Coors partnership. Directly comparable as an alcoholic tea-forward RTD beverage sold across grocery and convenience channels in the same consumer occasions.
Emerging players
- Vizzy Hard Seltzer: Molson Coor's hard seltzer with antioxidant positioning (vitamin C). Comparable as a better-for-you-flavored hard RTD targeting a similar health-leaning consumer, distributed via the same large retail and on-premise channels.
- Bon & Viv Spiked Seltzer: Anheuser-Busch's hard seltzer brand positioning on cleaner ingredients. Comparable as a better-for-you hard RTD with a clean-label story aimed at the same health-conscious adult beverage consumer.
Broad incumbents
- Truly Hard Seltzer: Boston Beer Company's flagship hard seltzer line. Comparable as a better-for-you, flavor-led hard RTD beverage competing for the same shelf space, same buyer occasion, and same health-conscious adult demographic, though Truly is seltzer-based rather than tea-based.
- Mike's Hard Lemonade: Mark Anthony Brands' legacy flavored hard malt beverage. Comparable as a flavored, low-carb-leaning hard RTD that competes for the same flavor-aware, low-calorie-seeking consumer Crooked Tea targets.
- Topo Chico Hard Seltzer: Coca-Cola's hard seltzer line. Comparable as a better-for-you-flavored hard RTD beverage backed by a deep-pocketed incumbent, fighting for the same shelf space and the same health-minded casual drinking occasion.
- White Claw Hard Seltzer: Mark Anthony Brands' hard seltzer and the dominant US hard-RTD brand. Competes for the same alcohol occasion, same retail facings, and same health-minded casual drinker, with vastly larger scale and marketing budget.
- Lipton Hard Iced Tea: HPC's hard iced tea variant leveraging Lipton's massive tea brand equity. Comparable as a hard iced tea competitor and potential category partner, with massive grocery distribution Crooked Tea is still building.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Crooked Tea social profiles
Digital presenceCrooked Tea compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Crooked Tea financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Crooked Tea leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Crooked Tea funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Crooked Tea M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Crooked Tea
What does Crooked Tea do?
Crooked Tea brews and sells hard iced teas at 4% ABV in three flavors (Lemon, Peach, Raspberry), using proprietary organic alcohol derived from quinoa, amaranth, millet, and cassava root, with zero sugar, less than 1g of carbs, gluten-free formulation, and USDA Certified Organic real brewed black tea. Products are sold in 11.5oz 8-packs and 19.2oz single cans through grocery, specialty, convenience, and on-premise retail channels nationwide, alongside branded merchandise sold direct via its online shop.
Is Crooked Tea a public or private company?
Crooked Tea is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Crooked Tea founded?
Crooked Tea was founded in 2025.
Where is Crooked Tea based?
Crooked Tea is headquartered in United States, in the North America region.
How does Crooked Tea make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Hard Iced Tea Product Sales are the primary driver. The others are merchandise Sales.
Who are Crooked Tea's main competitors?
Arizona Iced Tea is listed as an others. Direct peers are Twisted Tea and Arnold Palmer Spiked. Emerging players are Vizzy Hard Seltzer and Bon & Viv Spiked Seltzer. Broad incumbents are Truly Hard Seltzer, Mike's Hard Lemonade, Topo Chico Hard Seltzer, White Claw Hard Seltzer and Lipton Hard Iced Tea.
Does Crooked Tea have an API?
No public API is recorded for Crooked Tea.
What industry is Crooked Tea in?
Crooked Tea's product category is Hard Iced Tea / Alcoholic Beverages. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAFADAI, Ready-to-Drink (RTD) Tea Manufacturing. Its NAICS code is 3121 and its SIC code is 2080.