Episode Details

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NEWSMAKER – Matt McLean, founder and CEO of beverage brand Uncle Matt’s Organic

The Ins and Outs of Organic Refrigerated Tea –

According to Mintel International, refrigerated ready-to-drink teas are leading the growth in the ready-to-drink tea category. US sales are approaching $1.5 billion of the $4.2 billion worth of bottled tea sold in multi-outlets. Interestingly, it’s not just the younger generation driving this growth. Older tea drinkers and millennials are also contributing, while Gen Zs prefer hot herbal infusions and sweeter profiles, including flavored green teas in ready-to-drink format.

Matt McLean, founder and CEO of beverage brand Uncle Matt’s Organic, joins Tea Biz to discuss why his brand is betting on refrigerated Southern-style black teas. His sweet tea features a blend of organic agave and stevia. He says most traditional sweet teas contain 30 to 40 grams of sugar, using a mix of cane sugar and artificial sweeteners. His third tea is a sweetened half-and-half made with organic lemonade. McLean’s proprietary blend of black teas is freshly brewed and being packaged at his Texas bottling facility for a July 1 national rollout.