COMING SOON!

Spindrift this week is unveiling new iced-tea platform that its CEO Dave Burwick regards as "our second beachhead in the health & wellness space" that may hold potential to ultimately get Newton, Mass-based co to $1 bil topline. The line is launching in quartet of flavors, half of them with an added sweetening lift from agave, as purveyor of unsweetened seltzers tries to offer approachable option not too distant from what tea fans are used to drinking. Packed in 12-oz conventional cans just like the seltzers, Spindrift Tea is breaking in trio of black teas - Lemon Black Tea, Blood Orange Black Tea and Raspberry Black Tea - and a single green tea entry, Peach Green Tea. Like the core line, the teas comply with Non-Ultraprocessed Food Verified Standard that co recently adopted (BBI, Jan 22). It represents the first innovation from recently established Ventures Lab headed by svp Jon Silverman. The teas just broke online and next month head to grocery, mass and maybe club channels in 6-pks, with 16-oz single cans to follow. Line will go out at a premium to the seltzers at $7.99-9.99 per 6-pk, vs seltzers' 8-pks in $7.50 range. With Big Geyser in NY its only DSD partner, C&G channel isn't an immediate target as CEO works channels where brand already resonates. "Let's not complicate things," he said. "Leave that for the next owner." The innovation reps close-in adjacency, and one co had tiptoed into with longstanding Half & Half flavor, as Silverman noted. Burwick, who was brought in by new investor Gryphon, said launch decision dated back to the 6 mos he spent with banker working on due diligence over investment, process that included assessing future revenue streams that could get co to $1 bil. Internally, co already had been tinkering with what it could bring to segment among other potential new directions. Spindrift went from $300 mil in net revenue in 2024 to almost $400 mil last year as core grew 28%, with 2026 anticipated to bring further 25-30% in growth, Dave indicated.So unlike some extensions that will debut at Expo, this one isn't aimed at offsetting any struggles of core brand. But it seemed like tempting opportunity, as Burwick noted, since tea segment hasn't drawn much attention lately, certainly not from major bevcos, tho there has been raft of emerging players like Just Ice Tea, Ryl Tea and Saint James. None on market use real squeezed juice, offering differentiator keyed to Spindrift's core equity around real, squeezed fruit. As for the tea part of the equation, where Spindrift doesn't bring expertise, it partnered with major leaf tea importer, per announcement, to develop custom black and green tea blends sourced from 16 global origins, including China, India, Indonesia and Argentina. The proprietary blends were designed specifically to complement real fruit so that both ingredients come thru. As noted, lineup includes pair sweetened with fruit only and a pair that also employs 5 g agave to accommodate palates that have been honed on highly sweetened entries. Co's existing network of copackers is able to do the teas. "So if we bring some news to this category, it should respond very well," Dave figures. He noted pointedly that intent was to start small and go slow, but concept was so readily embraced by every retail customer that launch plan was expanded.Consumer research process described separately by Burwick and Silverman didn't lack for its quirks and novelties. Among many inputs was Aaru's Lumen process, described by co as a "map of not just every person that exists, but every combination of person that could exist" - in other words, a focus group of imaginary people. In Spindrift's case, Aaru simulated 10K consumers.Silverman pointed to an odd insight gleaned from Spindrift's category explorations: Many iced tea brands will spotlight green tea in their infusions but not necessarily point out a black tea base, since that's default choice. Turns out, that's giving consumers too much credit for tea knowledge. Some actually just assume all the tea they drink is green, since that's the only designation they ever notice. So co learned to temper consumers' seemingly robust desire for green tea, confining it to that one initial entry. Silverman is open to extensions into white tea, rooibos or other formats down the road but for now is intent on keeping proposition straightforward. "First we make sure it's not a big mental leap," he said. "Stay very understandable and approachable."As for move to add agave as sweetener in Raspberry Tea and Peach Tea entries, that was "conundrum" for brand that's not used sweeteners since its earliest days as a pulp-laden fruit soda. Still, with many consumers' palates honed on sweet teas or brands like AriZona, innovation team felt it had to offer an easier on-ramp. Agave seemed to work best because it doesn't build up on the palate or reduce the innate drinkability of the liquid, Jon noted."For too long, ready-to-drink tea has trained people to expect sweetness first and tea second," per Silverman. "We flipped that thinking. We started with real brewed tea &mdash; with all its depth and character &mdash; and layered in fruit to complement it. The goal wasn't to overpower the tea with sugar. It was to create a drink where both the tea and the fruit shine."

EXPO WEST: Spindrift Offers Its Fresh-Squeezed Take on Tea; Could Be Potent Growth Avenue, CEO Believes

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