Sweet Leaf Tea Company facts for kids
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Beverage |
| Founded | Beaumont, TX, 1998 |
| Founder |
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| Headquarters | |
| Products | See products section |
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Number of employees
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43 |
| Parent | BlueTriton Brands |
Sweet Leaf Tea Company makes organic teas and lemonades that are ready to drink. This company is owned by Nestlé. It was started in Beaumont, Texas in 1998. The founders were Clayton Christopher and David Smith.
Contents
How Sweet Leaf Tea Started
Sweet Leaf Tea began in 1998 in Beaumont, Texas. Clayton Christopher started it with $10,000. He used his grandmother's special recipe for homemade iced tea. This tea was made with cane sugar.
In the early days, they brewed tea in big pots, like those used for crawfish. They even used pillow cases as "tea bags"! Garden hoses helped move the tea into plastic bottles.
In 2008, Sweet Leaf Tea Company received $18 million in funding. This money came from a company called Catterton Partners.
Changes Over Time
In March 2009, Nestlé Waters North America invested $15.6 million in Sweet Leaf Tea. This was a big step for the company.
In 2010, Sweet Leaf bought another drink company. It was called Tradewinds Beverage Co. and was based in Cincinnati.
In 2012, Clayton Christopher, one of the founders, stepped down as the company's CEO. Dan Costello, who used to work for Nestlé, became the new CEO. Also in 2012, Sweet Leaf changed its tea recipe. They started using organic tea concentrate instead of brewed tea.
Sweet Leaf Products
Sweet Leaf Tea Company makes different kinds of drinks. These include various teas and lemonades.
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
Lemonades
- Organic Original Lemonade
Where Sweet Leaf Tea is Located
Sweet Leaf Tea's main office is in Austin, Texas. It is located in the Penn Field Business Park. This area is known as South Congress.
The company's first office was in Beaumont, Texas. In October 2003, they moved their headquarters to Austin. They moved to the South Congress area in 2007. In December 2009, Sweet Leaf moved its office to the Penn Field Business Park. This building is special because it is LEED certified. This means it was built to be very good for the environment.
See also
- List of companies based in Austin, Texas
