Sweet Leaf Tea Company
Encyclopedia
Sweet Leaf Tea Company is a producer of ready-to-drink
organic teas and lemonades made with 100% pure cane sugar headquartered in the Penn Field Business Park in the South Congress
area of Austin, Texas
. It was founded in 1998 by Clayton Christopher and David Smith. Sweet Leaf Tea is available in 16 oz recyclable aluminum cans, 16oz glass, 12oz PET
and 20oz PET at specialty grocers across the United States.
On April 2, 2008 Sweet Leaf Tea Company announced $18 million in private funding from Catterton Partners
. On May 29, 2008 Sweet Leaf Tea Company filed suit against an Arizona-based company for the name of their sweetener, SweetLeaf Stevia. On March 23, 2009 Nestlé
Waters North America made a $15.6 million investment in Sweet Leaf Tea. It acquired the rest of the company in 2011.
After already having a 35% stake with Sweet Leaf, Nestle Waters North America fully acquired Sweet Leaf on May 5, 2011.
, Whole Foods Market
, Albertsons, Piggly Wiggly
, Costco
, Target
, Kroger
, The Fresh Market, Wal-Mart
and Straub's Markets
throughout the United States
and online at the bottlers website.
area of Austin, Texas
.
Sweet Leaf originally had its headquarters in Beaumont, Texas
. The headquarters moved to Austin in October 2003. In the mid-2000s Sweet Leaf had its headquarters in an area west of Downtown Austin
. In 2007 Sweet Leaf relocated to the South Congress area. In April 2009 the company began to look for a larger headquarters space. In October 2009 Sweet Leaf announced that it planned to move its headquarters to a LEED certified building during that month. In December 2009 the company moved its headquarters to the Penn Field Business Park in South Congress in December of that year. After the move the company had almost three times the amount of headquarters space that it previously had.
Ready to drink
Ready to drink is a term used to describe a packaged beverages that is sold in a prepared form, ready for consumption.The term is typically used to contrast packaged forms of beverages that are also sold in forms that require preparation, for example iced tea and alcopops Ready to drink (often...
organic teas and lemonades made with 100% pure cane sugar headquartered in the Penn Field Business Park in the South Congress
South Congress
South Congress is a neighborhood located on South Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas, United States. It is also a nationally-known shopping and cultural district famous for its many eclectic small retailers, restaurants, music and art venues and, more recently, food trucks.South Congress begins at...
area of Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. It was founded in 1998 by Clayton Christopher and David Smith. Sweet Leaf Tea is available in 16 oz recyclable aluminum cans, 16oz glass, 12oz PET
Polyethylene terephthalate
Polyethylene terephthalate , commonly abbreviated PET, PETE, or the obsolete PETP or PET-P, is a thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in synthetic fibers; beverage, food and other liquid containers; thermoforming applications; and engineering resins often in combination...
and 20oz PET at specialty grocers across the United States.
On April 2, 2008 Sweet Leaf Tea Company announced $18 million in private funding from Catterton Partners
Catterton Partners
Catterton Partners is a private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations and growth capital investments in middle-market companies...
. On May 29, 2008 Sweet Leaf Tea Company filed suit against an Arizona-based company for the name of their sweetener, SweetLeaf Stevia. On March 23, 2009 Nestlé
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
Waters North America made a $15.6 million investment in Sweet Leaf Tea. It acquired the rest of the company in 2011.
History
Sweet Leaf Tea was created after founder Clayton Christopher returned from a road trip throughout Alabama and Mississippi where he saw the abundance of homemade iced tea that all the local "mom and pop" restaurants served. They did not find bottled tea on the market that tasted like homemade iced tea. Using his grandmother's iced tea recipe, Clayton and his best friend and business partner, David Smith started brewing tea in pillow cases and crawfish pots in Clayton's kitchen; then using garden hoses to transport the tea to plastic bottles.After already having a 35% stake with Sweet Leaf, Nestle Waters North America fully acquired Sweet Leaf on May 5, 2011.
Availability
Sweet Leaf Tea is available for purchase in convenience stores, restaurants, supermarkets and specialty grocers like Market of ChoiceMarket of Choice
Market of Choice is a supermarket chain based in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The store carries conventional groceries, as well as natural and organic products.-History:...
, Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market is a foods supermarket chain based in Austin, Texas which emphasizes "natural and organic products." The company has been ranked among the most socially responsible businesses and placed third on the U.S...
, Albertsons, Piggly Wiggly
Piggly Wiggly
Piggly Wiggly is a supermarket chain operating in the Midwestern and Southern regions of the United States, run by Piggly Wiggly, LLC, an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers. The current company headquarters is in Keene, New Hampshire....
, Costco
Costco
Costco Wholesale Corporation is the largest membership warehouse club chain in the United States. it is the third largest retailer in the United States, where it originated, and the ninth largest in the world...
, Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
, Kroger
Kroger
The Kroger Co. is an American supermarket chain founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It reported US$ 76.7 billion in sales during fiscal year 2009. It is the country's largest grocery store chain and its second-largest grocery retailer by volume and second-place general retailer...
, The Fresh Market, Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
and Straub's Markets
Straub's Markets
Straub's Markets is a specialty food retailer headquartered in Clayton, Missouri, near St. Louis. The company has been in business since their original store opened in 1901 in Webster Groves, MO. Currently it has four operating stores with a fifth on the way...
throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and online at the bottlers website.
Headquarters
Sweet Leaf is headquartered in the Penn Field Business Park in the South CongressSouth Congress
South Congress is a neighborhood located on South Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas, United States. It is also a nationally-known shopping and cultural district famous for its many eclectic small retailers, restaurants, music and art venues and, more recently, food trucks.South Congress begins at...
area of Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
.
Sweet Leaf originally had its headquarters in Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
. The headquarters moved to Austin in October 2003. In the mid-2000s Sweet Leaf had its headquarters in an area west of Downtown Austin
Downtown Austin
Downtown Austin is the central business district of Austin, Texas. Downtown is located on the north bank of the Colorado River. The approximate borders of Downtown include Lamar Boulevard to the west, 11th Street and sometimes Martin Luther King, Jr...
. In 2007 Sweet Leaf relocated to the South Congress area. In April 2009 the company began to look for a larger headquarters space. In October 2009 Sweet Leaf announced that it planned to move its headquarters to a LEED certified building during that month. In December 2009 the company moved its headquarters to the Penn Field Business Park in South Congress in December of that year. After the move the company had almost three times the amount of headquarters space that it previously had.