Biz Inspiration: 7 Small Beverage Companies That Hit It Big
People had always told Seth Goldman, co-founder of Honest Tea, that he drank a lot of liquids. But he found all the options out there to be too sweet or just tasteless. What’s a guy to do? Create his own beverage, of course. In 1997, Seth joined forces with a friend, Barry Nalebuff, who had just returned from India where he was studying the tea industry and Honest Tea was born. The guys started brewing batches of barely sweetened tea in Seth’s kitchen and developed an all-natural brand which strives to create healthy and honest relationships with its customers, suppliers and the environment. Today, Honest Tea can be found in glass and plastic bottles in tens of thousands of stores across the United States.
Based: Bethesda, MD
Worth: In 1998, Honest Tea finished their first year with sales of $250,000. In 2009, the company sales hit $47 million.
