PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Editor's note: The above video is from March 2022.
The Coca-Cola Company announced on May 23 that they plan to phase out the Honest Tea product line by the end of the year.
Coca-Cola's mainstream tea brands, Gold Peak and Peace Tea, have seen a significant increase in sales compared to Honest Tea, which has seen a decrease in consumption, according to a press release.
“Shifting from a three-brand tea portfolio to a prioritized two-brand tea lineup will free up investment resources and supply chain capacity to better meet consumer needs and capture share in the category," Sabrina Tandon, group director of ready-to-drink tea for Coca-Cola North America, said in a press release.
However, the Honest Kids line will continue to be produced and distributed across the nation, according to Coca-Cola's latest statement.
“We are phasing out the Honest teas product line, but are not selling the Honest brand,” Tandon clarified in the release.
The press release says the Coca-Cola Company wants to challenge itself to think differently about its brands to "help accelerate business transformation" and "reflect consumer choice and promote growth".
Ultimately, this means products with lower sales, such as Honest Tea, will be given the boot as Coca-Cola aims to prioritize their most popular beverages.
Seth Goldman and Barry Nalebuff founded the Honest brand in 1998, and was acquired by the Coca-Cola Company in 2011.