05.24.22
The Coca-Cola Company will phase out its Honest Tea product line by the end of this year, but keep the Honest Kids portfolio, the company announced.
Coca-Cola said it will rely on Gold Peak, a national brand, and the regional Peace Tea to anchor its ready-to-drink tea strategy in North America, “prioritizing fewer, bigger brands with the greatest potential for scale and profitable growth.”
“Ongoing supply chain challenges mean we are having to prioritize production and distribution of certain product SKUs, and that we’ve been unable to meet consumer demand for Gold Peak,” said Sabrina Tandon, group director, RTD Tea, Coca-Cola North America Operating Unit. “This, among other factors, helped drive this very difficult decision.”
Tandon also cited some overlap among Gold Peak and Honest tea consumers. The Honest brand was founded in 1998 by Seth Goldman and Barry Nalebuff. Coca-Cola took a 40% investment stake in Honest in 2008, before fully acquiring the brand in 2011.
Goldman said on Twitter that Coca-Cola’s decision to phase out the brand was a “gut punch to all the sweat, tears, and incredible passion that went into building our beloved brand.”
“My gratitude goes out to the tens of millions of consumers who bought our drinks and who benefited from having a less sweet, less caloric, authentic drink as part of their diet,” he added.
Gold Peak launched in 2006 and became a billion-dollar brand in 2015. Peace Tea has built a loyal Gen Z following in the Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast, according to Coca-Cola.
The Coca-Cola system will continue to produce and distribute the Honest Kids line of organic juice drinks and explore licensing ventures and innovation opportunities for the Honest brand in other categories. “We are phasing out the Honest teas product line, but are not selling the Honest brand,” said Sabrina Tandon, group director, RTD Tea, Coca-Cola North America Operating Unit.
Coca-Cola said it will rely on Gold Peak, a national brand, and the regional Peace Tea to anchor its ready-to-drink tea strategy in North America, “prioritizing fewer, bigger brands with the greatest potential for scale and profitable growth.”
“Ongoing supply chain challenges mean we are having to prioritize production and distribution of certain product SKUs, and that we’ve been unable to meet consumer demand for Gold Peak,” said Sabrina Tandon, group director, RTD Tea, Coca-Cola North America Operating Unit. “This, among other factors, helped drive this very difficult decision.”
Tandon also cited some overlap among Gold Peak and Honest tea consumers. The Honest brand was founded in 1998 by Seth Goldman and Barry Nalebuff. Coca-Cola took a 40% investment stake in Honest in 2008, before fully acquiring the brand in 2011.
Goldman said on Twitter that Coca-Cola’s decision to phase out the brand was a “gut punch to all the sweat, tears, and incredible passion that went into building our beloved brand.”
“My gratitude goes out to the tens of millions of consumers who bought our drinks and who benefited from having a less sweet, less caloric, authentic drink as part of their diet,” he added.
Today’s announcement by Coca-Cola that they will be discontinuing @HonestTea is a gut punch to all the sweat, tears, and incredible passion that went into building our beloved brand. (1/11)
— Seth Goldman (@HonestSeth) May 23, 2022
Gold Peak launched in 2006 and became a billion-dollar brand in 2015. Peace Tea has built a loyal Gen Z following in the Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast, according to Coca-Cola.
The Coca-Cola system will continue to produce and distribute the Honest Kids line of organic juice drinks and explore licensing ventures and innovation opportunities for the Honest brand in other categories. “We are phasing out the Honest teas product line, but are not selling the Honest brand,” said Sabrina Tandon, group director, RTD Tea, Coca-Cola North America Operating Unit.
