Forget Starbucks — two local companies have staked their futures on coffee’s quiet competitor, tea, and each is pleased with the results.
Golden Moon Tea was originally a Washington state-based company until it was bought by D.C.-area residents about 18 months ago, Chief Executive Officer Marcus Stout said. The firm, which specializes in 31 varieties of premium loose-leaf tea, is now based in Chantilly. Seth Goldman, meanwhile, started Honest Tea, a line of bottled beverages, out of his home nine years ago — the firm now has new, environmentally friendly headquarters in Bethesda.
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Stout saw tea as a growing market — it is a more than $5 billion industry that is expected to reach $10 billion by 2010, he said. Goldman, who has spent time in China, was looking to start a business around a beverage that didn’t have a ton of sugar, and he was the first to market with organic bottled tea.
“We’ve now become the best-selling tea in the natural foods industry,” Goldman said, adding the company’s business grew by 80 percent this year. “Our big growth has come from the fact that consumers are moving away from soda, and just seeking out healthier beverages.”
Golden Moon’s most recent accomplishment was to earn first and second place for best flavor at the World Tea Expo’s competition, Stout said.
Golden Moon Tea can be found in many specialty teashops, Stout said, though much of its customer base is still on the West Coast. Honest Tea is sold in places like Whole Foods, My Organic Market and Wawa, Goldman said. Golden Moon’s next plan is to capture a younger market, Stout said. In about a month, it will release a new brand of teacalled Tiger Wing, a highly caffeinated line of tea bags geared toward a younger, college-age audience.
“We’ve noticed that a lot of people don’t like coffee and just drink it for the caffeine,” Stout said. “We think there’s a demand for a healthy beverage that has more caffeine.”
Honest Tea has recently begun selling unsweetened tea in 64-ounce. bottles.
