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Sweet Leaf Tea Company is a producer of ready-to-drink organic branded teas and lemonades owned by Nestlé. It was founded in Beaumont, TX in 1998 by Clayton Christopher and David Smith.
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| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Beverage |
| Founded | Beaumont, TX, 1998 |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | |
| Products | See products section |
Number of employees | 43 |
| Parent | BlueTriton Brands |
| Website | sweetleaftea.com |
On April 2, 2008, Sweet Leaf Tea Company announced $18 million in private funding from Catterton Partners.[1] On May 29, 2008, Sweet Leaf Tea Company filed suit against an Arizona-based company for the name of their sweetener, SweetLeaf Stevia.[2]
History
editSweet Leaf Tea was founded in 1998 in Beaumont, TX by Clayton Christopher,[3] using $10,000 and his grandmother's recipe for home-brewed iced tea made with cane sugar.[4][5] Early production consisted of brewing tea in crawfish pots in Hen's kitchen, using pillow cases as "tea bags" and; then using garden hoses to transport the tea to plastic bottles.[4][6]
In March 2009, Nestlé Waters North America invested $15.6 million in the company. In 2012, Clayton Christopher stepped down[7] as CEO and was succeeded by former Nestlé General Manager Dan Costello.[8][9]
In April 2010, Sweet Leaf acquired Cincinnati-based Tradewinds Beverage Co.
In 2012, Sweet Leaf replaced the organic brewed tea used in the original recipes with organic tea concentrate.
Products
edit- Organic Original Sweet Tea
- Diet Original Sweet Tea
- Organic Mint & Honey Green Tea
- Organic Citrus Green Tea
- Diet Citrus Green Tea
- Organic Peach Sweet Tea
- Organic Lemon Sweet Tea
- Raspberry Sweet Tea
- Lemon Lime Unsweet Tea
- Organic Half & Half Lemonade Tea
- Diet Mint & Honey Green Tea (discontinued)
- Diet Peach Sweet Tea (discontinued)
- Organic Mango Green Tea (discontinued)
- Organic Pomegranate Green Tea (discontinued)
- Organic Original Lemonade
- Organic Peach Lemonade (discontinued)
- Organic Cherry Limeade (discontinued)
Headquarters
edit
Sweet Leaf is headquartered in the Penn Field Business Park in the South Congress area of Austin, Texas.[10][11]
Sweet Leaf originally had its headquarters in Beaumont, Texas.[12] The headquarters moved to Austin in October 2003.[13] In the mid-2000s, Sweet Leaf headquartered in an area west of Downtown Austin.[14] In 2007, Sweet Leaf relocated to the South Congress area.[15] In April 2009, the company began to look for a larger headquarters space.[11] In October 2009, Sweet Leaf announced that it planned to move its headquarters to a LEED certified building during that month.[16] In December 2009, the company moved its headquarters to the Penn Field Business Park in South Congress.[11]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ Sweet Leaf Tea Announces $18 Million in Private Equity Funding from Catterton Partners
- ^ Sweet Leaf Tea sues an Arizona company to defend the use of name
- ^ HOOVER, BRITTANY. "Rawls College of Business hosts founder of Sweet Leaf tea". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
- ^ a b "Sweet Leaf Tea founder to step down as CEO". Retrieved 7 Oct 2013.
- ^ "Sweet Leaf Tea History". Retrieved 7 October 2013.
- ^ "Sweet Leaf Tea History". Retrieved 7 Oct 2013.
- ^ Harrell, Barry. "Sweet Leaf Tea founder to step down as CEO". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
- ^ Valdez, Andrea. "How to Brew Sweet Tea." Texas Monthly. Aug. 2009
- ^ "Sweet Leaf Tea Brews a Recipe for Success." NSIDE ATX. July 2010
- ^ "Contact Us." Sweet Leaf Tea Company." Retrieved on January 10, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Sweet Leaf triples space, adds flavors and new can." Austin Business Journal. Tuesday, January 5, 2010. Retrieved on January 10, 2010.
- ^ "Contact Us." Sweet Leaf Tea Company. June 7, 2001. Retrieved on January 10, 2010.
- ^ "History." Sweet Leaf Tea Company. Retrieved on January 10, 2010.
- ^ "Contact Us." Sweet Leaf Tea Company. May 7, 2006. Retrieved on January 10, 2010.
- ^ "Sweet Leaf Tea.(relocates headquarters)(Brief article)." Beverage Industry. April 1, 2007. Retrieved on January 10, 2010.
- ^ "Sweet Leaf Tea Purchases "Green Power" for Corporate Headquarters from Green Mountain Energy Company." PRWeb. October 1, 2009. Retrieved on January 10, 2010.