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Ideas Product Management

The Rebirth of Honest Tea as Just Ice Tea

I used to love Honest Tea. It made me feel so good. The company was the brainchild of Barry Nalebuff and Seth Goldman. It was based on an idea that we could have healthy, great-tasting, and ethically sourced tea. They even wrote up the history of their company, Mission in a Bottle, as an engaging graphic novel.

When they were bought by Coca-Cola in 2008, I thought, “Good for Seth and Barry. They made some money, and Coca-Cola will take the company forward.” I didn’t pay attention to the company for a while, thinking that Coca-Cola was being an attentive steward to the brand. After all, Coca-Cola had the resources to expand Honest Tea’s reach and keep the company alive. That’s why I was so surprised to see the brand Just Ice Tea on the shelves looking exactly like Honest Tea. And when I looked at the back of the bottle, I saw the same message from Seth and Barry I used to see on Honest Tea.

What was going on? In 2022, Coca-Cola made the surprising decision to discontinue Honest Tea, despite it being the top-selling organic bottled tea at the time. The company, focusing on more sugary teas, exited the market, leaving a huge gap for consumers who loved Honest Tea’s low-sugar, organic beverages. This move upset many people, including Seth, who had devoted years to building the brand’s reputation and market presence. Even more troubling was the fact that Coca-Cola abandoned the brand while there was still such strong market demand.

Seth, who at the time was deeply involved in his other ventures like Eat the Change and PLNT Burger, realized that he could revive the brand. He was working at Eat the Change, a planet-friendly snack company he co-founded, and many of the original Honest Tea employees were still connected with him, either directly through his new ventures or as part of his broader network. These former colleagues shared his passion for the mission that Honest Tea stood for and were eager to bring that spirit back to life.

They managed to get the product in stores within 3 months by leveraging the team’s prior experience and from established relationships with suppliers, distributors, and retailers. Their “muscle memory” from years of building and managing Honest Tea allowed them to bypass many of the hurdles that typically slow down product launches. On September 6, 2022, Just Ice Tea was officially launched. This speed was also important because Just Ice Tea could go into the exact locations that Honest Tea was in before.

The name was important. They couldn’t name it Honest Tea—Coca-Cola owned that. So they called it Just Ice Tea because it captured both the essence of what they wanted to offer and the values they stood for. “ICE” stands for Initiatives, Community, and Equity, reflecting the brand’s commitment to social responsibility, much like Honest Tea did. Additionally, the name played on the idea of “justice”—a nod to the ethical sourcing and fair trade practices that had always been at the heart of their mission.

Coca-Cola didn’t object because they were focusing on other parts of its portfolio, and Just Ice Tea, while similar in spirit, was a distinct brand with its own identity. Moreover, Seth and his team ensured that Just Ice Tea didn’t directly conflict with any of Coca-Cola’s existing products. Also, it probably isn’t a good idea for Coca-Cola to sue a smaller company focusing on ethical practices after it abandoned those customers.

This was such a happy ending. What could have been a disappointing end to a beloved brand instead became a story of renewal and persistence. Seth Goldman and his team turned the discontinuation of Honest Tea into an opportunity to reassert their commitment to ethical, healthy beverages, bringing us Just Ice Tea—a brand that not only honors the legacy of Honest Tea but also pushes its mission forward in new and exciting ways.