More than 20 years ago, the ready-to-drink (RTD) tea category was revolutionized with the entry of Honest Tea, now a subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Co. Since that time, there’s been a dearth of innovation within the tea market, according to Josh and Jeremy Issak, brothers and co-founders of Tea Horse Road LLC, Santa Monica, Calif. Instead, healthful new categories like kombucha, high-pressure processing (HPP) juice and plant-based milks have taken the spotlight. The Issak brothers attributed this to the highly sweetened offerings currently on the market.
“As entrepreneurs in the beverage industry, we saw that most teas on the market were not real brewed, used large amounts of [high-fructose corn syrup] (HFCS) and were basically liquid candy,” Josh Issak explains. “Sugar and flavor took the front seat, while tea took a clear back seat.”