2011 MISSION REPORT 2 Table of Contents 2011 Mission Report Page a LETTER from the Teaeo I
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HONEST TEA® sssssssssssssssssssssss 2011 MISSION REPORT 2 Table of Contents 2011 Mission Report Page A LETTER FROM THE TeaEO I. PRODUCT Welcome to Honest Tea’s 2011 Keeping It Honest report. Last year, in our first published mission report, we made a Organic Ingredients 3 commitment to keep challenging ourselves to advance our mission. In here you’ll find the updates on our progress, as Sourcing Ingredients 4 well as some new challenges. Antioxidants 5 OUR MISSION One of the most significant changes we experienced this year occurred in March when Honest Tea was acquired by Honest Tea seeks to create and promote The Coca-Cola Company, completing a transaction that began with a minority investment in 2008. Our partnership with Sugar Content 5 great-tasting, truly healthy, organic Coca-Cola has allowed us to increase the number of outlets in which Honest Tea is found from 15,000 in 2008 to over Fair Trade 5 75,000. Of course, that kind of growth brings with it additional challenges, which we also address in this report. Most beverages. We strive to grow our business importantly, our mission to democratize wholesome and organic beverages is being taken to scale. Innovation 6 with the same honesty and integrity Some of our more notable steps since our last report include: II. PACKAGING we use to craft our products, with • Converting to all Fair Trade Certified™ tea Our Bottles 7 sustainability and great taste for all. • Introducing two new innovative product lines: Zero Calorie and CocoaNova™ • Implementing our first annual all-staff service day Lightweight PET Bottle 8 This year, we were fortunate to have two Net Impact MBA Interns – Teddy Seidman (Washington U. St. Louis) and Megan Other Packaging Materials 8 Stohner (Georgetown) work with us on this report. Their support was especially welcome as we explored new ways to III. PLANET introduce Honest Tea’s mission to new audiences, resulting in our first ever Tumblr-based Mission Report (honesttea. tumblr.com). Organics For the Planet 10 We strive to grow our business with the same honesty and integrity we use to craft our products. In the same Recycling 10 spirit, I hope you’ll find this report honest - in how we report; optimistic - in how we see the future; and humble Life Cycle Analysis 11 - about the challenges we continue to face as 1) a brand striving towards sustainability while operating in a consumer economy, and 2) as a company that strives to provide lower-calorie choices. CO2 Offsets 12 We rely on our consumers to help keep us Honest. We need your feedback, so please let us know what you Water Usage 12 think. Transportation 13 Honest Marketing Initiatives 13 Honestly Yours, Honest HQ 14 IV. PEOPLE Our Impact on Consumers 15 Seth Goldman, President & TeaEO/Co-Founder Employees 15 V. PARTNERSHIPS 17 * This Mission Report covers the period from June 1, 2010 P. S . I n Keeping It Honest, we report on how our mission continues to influence our actions in 5 business to May 31, 2011. areas: Products, Packaging, Partners, the Planet and its People. You’ll notice a theme of innovation throughout ** The wood background is a photo of an actual tea crate this report, especially in the way we decided to explore a novel way of sharing it via Tumblr. This helps lessen the envi- from India. Since we like to keep the (re)cycle going, the ronmental impact by limiting our printing of hard copies and makes it easier for you to find information about the specific tea crates are not only cool office decor, but function as a issues that are of interest to you. We hope you’ll have just as much fun using honesttea.tumblr.com as we do. coffee table and podium. Another theme to this mission report could be “The Organic Revolution is Here!” The dialogue we had with our consumers about Honest Tea becoming part of The Coca-Cola Company was stimulating, as we heard from all sides – those who were disappointed by the move, and those who saw, as we do, that this represents an enormous opportunity for us. To learn more about what it has been like joining the world’s largest beverage company, visit Seth’s blog “After You Close a Deal” at www.honesttea.com. We especially hope that by sharing Keeping It Honest with you via honesttea.tumblr.com, we will be able to share news about our mission-related activities in an ongoing manner; just another way we’re trying to Keep It Honest. Find a topic you like? Locate the QR code for the topic on page 18 to continue the con- versation online or visit: Honesttea.tumblr.com Cheryl Newman, VP/Deputy Chief of Mission 3 4 What’s in It for You I. PRODUCT In 2010, Honest Tea purchased approximately 3.9 mil- lion pounds of organic ingredients, including tea and ORGANIC FAIR TRADE CERTIFIED™ GREEN TEA sugar, from approximately 4,875 acres—imagine 2,000 Anhui Province, China football fields of organic farmland—all across the world. The farmers who grow and pick the tea leaves where We believe the more we all purchase organic products, ORGANIC INGREDIENTS we source our green tea are part owners as well. They the more we support sustainable agriculture – and that’s choose how they want their Fair Trade premiums in- What’s In It better for us and better for the planet. Honest Tea introduced the world’s first certified organic vested. Fair Trade monies have been used to fund the bottled tea in 1999. Today, every product Honest Tea construction of a local elementary school and, recently, creates, from our teas to our thirst quenchers, is USDA SOURCING INGREDIENTS to provide educational scholarships to their children certified organic. Can A Tea Company Buy Local? graduating from high school. Unlike most produce which is rinsed after picking, tea As a company, we source our peach puree, apple juice, grape juice and some other ingredients from domestic leaves aren’t rinsed until they are steeped in hot wa- ORGANIC FAIR TRADE CERTIFIED™ BLACK TEA producers, but we can’t do that with a lot of what goes ter. Since our tea leaves are grown without pesticides, Makaibari Tea Estate – Darjeeling, India into our drinks. Tea, for example, doesn’t grow well in there’s a smaller chance pesticides end up in our tea. At Makaibari is one of the only family-owned and operated North America due to climate and soil conditions. It is Honest Tea we believe that by using organic ingredients tea gardens (now in its fourth generation) in Darjeeling. also a labor-intensive crop, which makes it economically in all of our products, we can deliver the best-tasting Brazilian rainforest The garden was the first certified biodynamic and Fair Honey harvest challenging in the United States. Many of our other in- beverages to our consumers and have a lighter impact Trade tea garden in the world, and is dedicated to em- gredients, like rooibos (South Africa), mangosteen (Thai- on the ecosystem. ploying women in supervisory roles. land) and yumberry (China) are indigenous plants that Visit www.HonestTea.com/TheHonestTeaWay Tucuman,Lemon argentinaFarm to watch how Honest Tea is made aren’t widely cultivated in the U.S. Blackberry Leaves Concord/White Grape Juice Cherry Pomegranate ORGANIC CLOVER HONEY Apple Juice Brazil Some of the organic honey we source comes from deep White Tea Goji Berry within the Brazilian rainforest. Local beekeepers place Watermelon Juice Fair Trade Peach Puree Yumberry scholarship graduates between 2 and 10 hives in uninhabited areas and return Orange Juice Tulsi anhui province, China several weeks later, carrying out the honey harvest in Peppermint/Spearmint Green Tea Cherry Oolong Tea pots and pans before selling to an organic honey con- Hibiscus Pineapple solidator Lime Juice Agave Pekoe Mangosteen Cocoa ORGANIC LEMON JUICE CONCENTRATE Passionfruit Argentina Honey Black Tea The family farm where our lemon juice is sourced Cinnamon turned their citrus business into the largest organic lem- Mango Puree Sugar on grower and processor in the world. Their Argentin- Sugar ean facility has reduced water utilization by more than Pear Juice Açaí 50% since spring 2010. Their U.S. facility is currently Honeybush installing a solar panel array that will supply 50% of their energy needs for that plant and is expected to be com- Maqui Berry Yerba Mate pleted by March 2012. Rooibos Ginger Syrup Lemon Juice Sugar Makaibari tea estate Darjeeling, India Seth and Barry Landed first account 1998 Sales: 1999 Sales: Introduced First Nation Introduced Premium whole Fresh Fields $250,000 Peppermint world’s first $1.1 million tea bag line leaf tea bags 1998Honest Tea founded (Whole Foods) 1999 certified organic bottled tea 2000 5 6 ANTIOXIDANTS Clear On Calories Our Fair Trade premiums are invested in a variety of In September 2010, we made a volun- projects, including: An independent analysis revealed that our plastic bottle tary commitment to the American Bev- teas contain up to 190mg of naturally occurring cat- s Construction of a local elementary school STEVIA erage Association’s “Clear on Calories” echins and Epigallocatechin gallate (better known as s Library upgrade initiative. As part of this program, we EGCG), substances found in tea that have antioxidant s Biogas units (which convert manure to fuel for have changed all of our labels to display properties. stovetops) the total calories per bottle on the front. s Stipends for university study We hope this trend in marketing makes it even easier for s Health training for villagers SUGAR CONTENT consumers to make more informed choices.