Some 10 years ago or so, two friends from my home town just outside of Washington DC decided to become entrepreneurs and start an iced tea company, but their goals were bigger than just iced tea. They wanted to make a difference in the quality of beverages that people consumed (Snapple being the sugar-saturated slop that it was... and is), and make a dent in their local environment.
But how best to do that? Brew tea in their basement and sell to a few DC hippies? THAT's not going to change the world. They decided to start "Honest Tea", and they sold their first batches of tasty, perfectly brewed, not sickeningly sweetened refreshments into healthfood stores and co-ops, but always had their eyes on a bigger prize- offering healthy, tasty beverages to EVERYONE.
Barry and Seth, this pair of muchachos, started a great company, created a great product, and built a large grass-roots following from people that wanted better options. They expanded their distribution from mom-&-pops and co-ops to smaller grocery stores to larger chains to big box stores, always offering better products than the competition, always trying to have a positive impact in their community.
On Monday, BOOM, Honest Tea announced that beverage giant Coca-Cola (heard of them?) had invested a 40% stake in Honest Tea, giving them plenty of working capitol to get the job done, but leaving Barry and Seth with control of the company. This is HUGE for Honest Tea- it opens up distribution channels monopolized by Coca-Cola and Pepsi, gives them a flood of new resources, and acts as a huge encouragement for their pursuit of having a company that has a positive social impact.
But what about their "base"? What about the people that had originially supported them by buying them in tiny, neighborhood groceries and co-ops run by tasteful, picky grocers in cities like San Francisco and Boulder, Colorado? What about what THEY want?
Two days ago Seth posted the news of the investment on his blog, and the reaction was split- about half of the people who took the time to post a comment applauded Barry and Seth for their success; the other half, representing the Honest Tea "base", chastized them for "joining the criminal-industrial complex". Several testimonials promised never to but "Honest Tea" again, and one swears that she'll "go back to remembering to bring a thermos with a peppermint tea bag in it."
Okay, I appreciate the passion with which people have supported Honest Tea, and I can certainly understand that partnering with Coca-Cola can seem like getting in bed with the devil. But I ask these dissillusioned doubters, what's the point of starting a social conscious company if you only intend to raise the consciousnesses of people with whom you already agree? Are you so stingy with your healthy, tasty beverages that you don't want our countrymen in Des Moines to be able to buy them?
The Coca-Cola investment allows a great company to extend its reach to regions of the country that could REALLY use an option like Honest Tea. Shoppers at Rainbow Co-Op in San Francisco, an early adopter of Honest Tea, certainly have plenty of interesting options for beverage seekers, but the King Soopers in Cheyenne, Wyoming? Not so many, probably. With Coca-Cola's help, Seth and Barry can spread the word there.
And why should anyone discourage Coca-Cola from trying to make amends for years of making imperfect products? For 3 generations, American Companies were given a free ride to create environmental or social disasters, providing that the disasters would turn their stock-holders a profit. Now the generation has changed. Should we write off all previous companies and their transgressions? Or should we encourage them to adapt?
Honest Tea is a GREAT company, and makes a GREAT product. They can really benefit from Coca-Cola's help, as can all the shoppers in Topeka. The POINT of being a company like Honest Tea isn't to only reach the people that already think like you- it's to change the minds and behavior of those people that DON'T think like you. Honest Tea is an inspiration to Peeled Snacks, and I hope that more companies with missions like theirs try to win over the bigger players like Coke.
That way, we can REALLY make a change. Do you hear that, Frito-Lay?
