Since 2022, the company completed the following:

•    Milo’s retail sales have more than doubled from $450 million to $1 billion, according to Circana’s U.S. multi-outlet with convenience data in the 52 weeks ending Sept. 6.

•    Milo's retail distribution has increased by 50% to 65,000 plus stores across America.

•    The brand accounts for nearly half the market in units and dollars in the refrigerated tea category while lemonade grew by double digits, according to Circana data.

•    Household penetration has increased by 56%, now reaching one in four U.S. households, while also increasing its conversion and repeat rate, citing Numerator data for 52 weeks ending Aug. 23.

•    Milo's has the highest repeat purchase rate relative to other top ready-to-drink refrigerated tea competitors — 52% of the brand's households are repeat purchasers, citing Numerator data for 52 weeks ending Aug. 23. 

Founded as a single restaurant in Alabama in 1946 by Milo and Bea Carlton, the company has been led by Chair and CEO Tricia Wallwork, granddaughter of the founders, since 2012. Wallwork is one of the few female CEOs running a billion-dollar beverage company based in the United States. Under her leadership, Milo's has grown from a local brand to a national beverage leader with distribution in all 50 states.

“If you told my grandparents in 1946 that their walk-up burger stand would grow into a billion-dollar beverage brand, I don’t think they would have believed you, but I know they’d be very proud of the way we did it using their same philosophy: use high-quality real ingredients, always listen to your customers and never sacrifice taste,” Wallwork said in a statement.

This kind of hockey stick growth is rare in beverage and in the CPG industry as a whole, the company notes, citing Citi CR – Non-Alc. Beverage Newsletter. Over the past five years, Milo's has delivered a compound annual growth rate of 25%.

Wallwork credits this growth to Milo’s award-winning People First culture, a delicious product made with real ingredients, a compelling core company purpose, excellence in execution, strong customer relationships and a loyal fan base.

Tea is a multibillion-dollar category, and Milo's growth has outpaced category trends. According to Circana, over the last five years, Milo’s has led the tea category in America in dollar and unit growth.

Milo's growth has largely been driven by a loyal fan base and by growing intentionally, not everywhere at once. Milo’s has focused on building velocity before expanding its retail footprint, which allowed it to grow household penetration nationwide at a remarkable rate, the company notes.

“In a world where premium beverages chase an individual serving, we’ve built our core business around the family gallon — a format that delivers extraordinary value for families and drives consistent household penetration,” Wallwork said.

Milo's never compromises on taste or quality, brewing real tea fresh daily with only the best natural ingredients. Milo's has never added preservatives, acids, colors or dyes. As consumer demand grows for natural products with clean ingredients and functional benefits, Milo's foundational values and infrastructure uniquely position the company to meet more fan occasions.

“We were clean label before it was cool, so we don't have to chase trends,” Wallwork said. “That’s a value we’re not willing to sacrifice to grow faster, and our consumers appreciate that authenticity. We see that through repeat purchase — they can taste the difference, and they are loyal to brands like Milo’s that don’t take shortcuts. Now we’re going to innovate on our assortment to give fans more of what they want.”

Milo’s isn’t marking the billion-dollar milestone with a new number to chase. Instead, the company will continue to focus on what got it here: scaling its People First culture, excellence in executing its core portfolio of beverages, reinvesting in operations, expanding strong and honest retailer relationships and listening to its loyal fan base for future innovation ideas.

As a family brand, Milo’s is working to continue leading category growth while competing with industry giants, exceeding fan and retailer expectations and meeting consumers in new use occasions where it is uniquely positioned to lead.

Milo’s growth has been enabled by investing about $400 million in U.S. manufacturing capabilities since 2020, tripling production capacity and adding more than 600 jobs. Milo’s operates four of its own U.S. manufacturing and distribution facilities in Bessemer, Ala.; Birmingham, Ala.; Tulsa, Okla.; and Spartanburg, S.C.

“People are the No. 1 ingredient in our success, and every strategic decision we’ve made over the last 80 years of this company has focused on putting people first,” Wallwork said. “The biggest priority I own as CEO is our culture, and I take that responsibility very seriously. I don’t take it for granted that each one of our more than 1,000 associates feels comfortable sharing honest feedback with me when I walk the plant floor. That makes our company different and better. It means a lot to me when an associate shares a Milo's Moment, like having a new addition to their family, graduating from college through Milo's tuition assistance, or taking advantage of our volunteer time off and associate-led giving funds to contribute to a cause that's important to them."

Milo’s invests in the people helping it grow, offering well-paying, meaningful careers and excellent benefits for all associates like 100% company-paid health insurance premiums for associates and their families, generous parental leave, 401(k) match, gym stipends, tuition assistance and growth pathways.