塞思·戈德曼（Seth Goldman）在5月22日检查了他的电话时，企业家和诚实茶的联合创始人注意到了一条特定的短信：这是来自可口可乐的一位高管，想知道他是否可以自由地与高级管理层交谈。星期一“关于重要的商业问题”。
A day later, Goldman, who sold a 40% stake in the ready-to-drink tea brand to the beverage giant in 2008 and the rest three years later, learned Coca-Cola would be在2022年中止它。
"It was obviously disappointing to see how a large corporation handled this. I did not anticipate it at all," a shocked Goldman confessed in an interview. "We had developed and the brand had maintained ... the category-leading position in ready-to-drink bottled tea. And they were willing to just walk away from that."
决定公开后几天，高盛说，他渴望与他合作推出一个新的茶品牌，该品牌捕获了许多使诚实茶成功的属性：这是有机，公平贸易认证和类别中的糖少于类似产品。
A LinkedIn post from Goldman强调这种类型的饮料仍在消费者，零售商和成分供应商中，观看次数超过120万。
他说：“这帮助我欣赏了[诚实的茶]品牌多么有意义。”“这对我来说是强化的，这是您不能仅仅坐在那里观看它发生的事情。”
Rather than "hand this over" to another beverage company, Goldman decided to develop a new drink to fill the void that would be created by the departure of Honest tea. He already had 20-plus years of relationships with farmers, retailers, customers and employees who were instrumental in growing Honest tea that he could tap into to quickly establish and grow the upstart brand.
Many of the specifics of Goldman's new tea, including the name and flavors, are still unknown. But the beverage, which is expected on shelves in the natural food channel before the end of the year, will embody the same attributes as Honest tea. Goldman said he's heard from retailers interested in carrying the new offering.
饮料将得到名人厨师Spike Mendelsohn和Goldman的前耶鲁大学的支持联合创始人巴里•纳尔教授和诚实的茶。Mendelsohn is currently partnering with Goldman on Eat the Change, a two-year-old startup making environmentally friendly, nutrient-dense snacks from carrots, mushrooms and other plant ingredients. The tea will be part of Eat the Change's portfolio but will take on a different name.
Once it's launched, the offering will find itself going up against other premium brands in the space also riding the growing demand for tea and better-for-you beverages. These include Coca-Cola's Gold Peak; PepsiCo and Unilever's Pure Leaf; and Tazo,acquired last year from Unileverby private-equity firm CVC Capital Partners.
As beverage companies look for growth, ready-to-drink tea offers an especially attractive opportunity. Global sales are forecast to surge 40% to $29.7 billion by 2024 from six years earlier,according to Statista data，复合年增长率为5.7％。
直到可口可乐决定停止诚实的茶,Goldman resisted overtures to advise or get involved in a beverage venture, instead choosing to focus his attention on snacks and his work at Beyond Meat where the 56-year-old is chairman. He never felt the pull to make another tea because, as Goldman said before pausing, "Honest Tea absolutely embodies all the things I care about ... but if it disappears from the world ..."
Honest tea is the latest product line to be discontinued or sold by Coca-Cola as itshrinks its drink lineup优先考虑更少，更大的品牌，这些品牌拥有最大的规模和盈利增长机会。近年来，该公司也停产Tab, soldOdwallato an investment firmanddivested Zico coconut water由该品牌创造者创立的私募股权集团。
可口可乐说，就诚实的茶而言，该品牌受到销售下降和有限的玻璃供应的负面影响。持续的供应链挑战意味着该公司必须优先考虑某些产品SKU的生产和分销，这使其无法满足消费者对其亿美元全国性品牌Gold Peak Tea的消费者需求。它还注意到黄金峰和诚实的茶消费者之间的一些重叠。
随着消费者继续倾向于使用更少的糖选择更好的选择，或反映其价值（例如公平贸易认证）的产品，高盛仍然坚信这些产品的市场是“不发达的”，这是他惊讶的可口可乐的重要原因决定离开诚实的茶。
Goldman said Coca-Cola declined to sell Honest tea back to him. The Atlanta companywill continue making Honest Kids, a fast-growing juice that has thrived behind a mantra of organic and fewer calories. It likely wouldn't want someone else managing a portion of the Honest brand, Goldman said. Coca-Cola also plans to explore licensing ventures and innovation opportunities for the Honest brand in other categories. (Food Dive has reached out to Coca-Cola for additional comment.)
高盛说，随着饮食变更的高管开始考虑新品牌的食谱和配方，“其中一些将与诚实茶中已经存在的东西非常相似。”他说，该团队已经对消费者在饮料中寻找的销售和寻找的东西有深入的了解。
尽管新饮料和诚实的茶之间有相似之处，但高盛说，他并不担心可口可乐，因为它选择吸引该品牌，这给寻找低糖，公平贸易和有机选择的消费者留下了空白。他没有可口可乐的非竞争条款。
高盛说：“我永远不会与诚实的茶竞争。这仍然是我的孩子。”他指出，他的名字仍然印在瓶子的侧面。“但是，如果诚实的茶被停产，我必须解决这个问题。”他说，可口可乐正在诚实的茶播放，因此“不应该感到竞争，因为他们不会在架子上拥有与市场相关的产品的产品”。
