Just Ice Tea and My Reflections on the Evolving Natural Foods Industry

by Seth Goldman, cofounder, Just Ice Tea and Honest Tea

This Autumn will mark three years since Just Ice Tea entered the market and 27 years since I first entered the natural foods industry with Honest Tea. These milestones give me the chance to reflect on some of the ways the natural foods business is evolving.

First, some thoughts on the retailers. While most natural food entrepreneurs and investors talk about how important it is to launch a new brand in Sprouts or Whole Foods Market, there are two networks of stores, INFRA and NCG which are not as well-known but played a critical role for Honest Tea, Just Ice Tea and hundreds of other brands that launch in the natural channel.

As an entrepreneur, I am duty-bound to serve my investors. I raise money from them to launch products that compete based on their taste, health and environmental and social impact. In exchange for their capital, I work to deliver a return on their confidence in my enterprise. That’s what happened with Honest Tea/Honest Kids when our founding investors realized a 23-fold return as a result of our sale to Coca-Cola.

But the financial return is only part of the story. Through the success of Honest Kids, we expanded access to organic drinks and helped reduce empty calories in the American diet. And through Just Ice Tea we are showing how we can invest in tea farmers and their Fair Trade communities while building a powerful brand.

Capitalism has plenty of flaws but I’ve yet to see a system that does a better job deploying money to innovators and creating a marketplace for ideas and products.

Read Seth's full article here - https://greenmoney.com/just-ice-tea-and-my-reflections-on-the-evolving-natural-foods-industry

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