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Sweet Leaf Tea Company

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Sweet Leaf Tea Company
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryBeverage
FoundedBeaumont, TX, 1998
Founder
  • Clayton Christopher
  • David Smith
Headquarters
Austin, Texas
ProductsSee products section
Number of employees
43
ParentBlueTriton Brands
Websitesweetleaftea.com

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.

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

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Sweet 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

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Teas

  • 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)

Lemonades

  • Organic Original Lemonade
  • Organic Peach Lemonade (discontinued)
  • Organic Cherry Limeade (discontinued)

Headquarters

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The entrance to Sweet Leaf Tea in Penn Field Business Park.

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

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References

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  1. ^ Sweet Leaf Tea Announces $18 Million in Private Equity Funding from Catterton Partners
  2. ^ Sweet Leaf Tea sues an Arizona company to defend the use of name
  3. ^ HOOVER, BRITTANY. "Rawls College of Business hosts founder of Sweet Leaf tea". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  4. ^ a b "Sweet Leaf Tea founder to step down as CEO". Retrieved 7 Oct 2013.
  5. ^ "Sweet Leaf Tea History". Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  6. ^ "Sweet Leaf Tea History". Retrieved 7 Oct 2013.
  7. ^ Harrell, Barry. "Sweet Leaf Tea founder to step down as CEO". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  8. ^ Valdez, Andrea. "How to Brew Sweet Tea." Texas Monthly. Aug. 2009
  9. ^ "Sweet Leaf Tea Brews a Recipe for Success." NSIDE ATX. July 2010
  10. ^ "Contact Us." Sweet Leaf Tea Company." Retrieved on January 10, 2010.
  11. ^ a b c "Sweet Leaf triples space, adds flavors and new can." Austin Business Journal. Tuesday, January 5, 2010. Retrieved on January 10, 2010.
  12. ^ "Contact Us." Sweet Leaf Tea Company. June 7, 2001. Retrieved on January 10, 2010.
  13. ^ "History." Sweet Leaf Tea Company. Retrieved on January 10, 2010.
  14. ^ "Contact Us." Sweet Leaf Tea Company. May 7, 2006. Retrieved on January 10, 2010.
  15. ^ "Sweet Leaf Tea.(relocates headquarters)(Brief article)." Beverage Industry. April 1, 2007. Retrieved on January 10, 2010.
  16. ^ "Sweet Leaf Tea Purchases "Green Power" for Corporate Headquarters from Green Mountain Energy Company." PRWeb. October 1, 2009. Retrieved on January 10, 2010.
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