Steaz facts for kids
Flower logo used on Steaz products
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| Private | |
| Industry | Organic & fair trade green tea beverages |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Founder | Eric Schnell, Steven Kessler |
| Headquarters | Doylestown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Products | Steaz Iced Green Tea, Steaz Energy |
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Number of employees
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8 (2015) |
| Parent | The Healthy Beverage Company |
Steaz is a brand that makes tasty drinks from organic green tea. It was started in 2002 by two friends, Steven Kessler and Eric Schnell. The main office for Steaz is in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, in the U.S.. A company called The Healthy Beverage Company owns the Steaz brand today.
Contents
How Steaz Started: A Refreshing Idea
Before Steaz began, in the 1990s, Eric Schnell and Steven Kessler worked at a company called Country Life Vitamins. They saw that a bottled organic tea product was doing pretty well. At the same time, schools were starting to remove sugary soft drinks. Also, more and more people in the United States were looking for organic products.
Seeing these changes, Schnell and Kessler had an idea. They thought about making a soda that was based on organic tea. This led them to create their own company.
The Healthy Beverage Company and Steaz Drinks
In 2002, Eric Schnell and Steven Kessler officially started The Healthy Beverage Company. Their drinks would be sold under the name Steaz. Their very first big product was Steaz Green Tea Soda. This was special because it was the first soda to be certified as USDA Organic.
All Steaz products are now Certified Organic by a group called Quality Assurance International (QAI). They are also Fair Trade Certified by TransFair USA. This means the ingredients are grown in a way that is good for the planet and fair to the farmers.
Where You Can Find Steaz Drinks
When Steaz first started, you could only find their drinks in local grocery stores and natural food shops. But in 2005, Steaz made a deal with a distributor called Polar Beverages. This helped their drinks become available in bigger supermarkets.
Later, in 2014 and 2015, Steaz drinks also started appearing in popular stores like Costco and Target stores. This made it much easier for more people to buy them.
Steaz Helps Others: Whole Planet Foundation
In September 2011, Steaz announced a partnership with the Whole Planet Foundation. This foundation helps people in developing countries. They give small loans, called microcredit loans, to entrepreneurs. These loans help people start their own small businesses. Steaz helps to fund this important work.
Steaz Products: Organic and Fair Trade Drinks
Steaz makes several different kinds of drinks. These include canned organic green tea drinks and energy drinks. You can find them in fun flavors like peach and mint.
All Steaz products are made with special ingredients. They use fair trade green tea that comes from Kenya. They also use certified fair trade cane sugar from Paraguay. This means that the farmers who grow these ingredients are paid fairly for their hard work.
