Beginning with our 2014 crowdfunded launch, it’s been quite a ride for Zest Tea, and it’s only getting better.

We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve secured $1M in a funding round led by Maryland based Momentum Fund, Lord Baltimore Fund, and various angel investors. On the heels of launching our line of flavorful iced tea energy beverages into limited retail stores, this infusion of funding gives us the ammunition we need to fuel rapid expansion and push Zest to the forefront of the rapidly expanding clean energy segment.

It’s been over 20 years since energy drinks landed in US stores, but no one has managed to successfully blend health, flavor, and functionality. Ever since our bagged teas became available, people have been asking for a bottled Zest Tea. After a year of tweaking and improving formulations, we believe we’ve finally cracked that code and the response from our customers has been incredible.

After our great success in online sales, in 2017 we entered the retail store market, and now Zest Tea is available in nearly 2,000 locations across the US including chains like Harris Teeter, Safeway, Winco, HEB and others. Our new canned sparkling iced tea line, in direct competition with established energy drinks, is rolling out in Mid-Atlantic 7-Eleven locations, with many additional Northeast retail placements to be announced in the months to come.

In 2015, Zest Tea’s bagged line was named the best new tea product at the World Tea Expo, the industry’s premier trade show. In 2016, Entrepreneur Magazine named us as one of the best entrepreneurial companies in America. And this year BevNet, the industry’s leading beverage oriented media company, has named our new ready to drink line as a finalist for the upcoming BevNet Live New Beverage Showdown, which highlights the best new products in the ready to drink category. Awards are great, but what really makes us proud are the thousands of upbeat comments from our loyal customers.

When we launched our bagged tea line, Huffpost said “Coffee, you’ve got some competition.” Well, don’t look now, but the high energy ready to drink market may soon be disrupted too! Here comes a healthy canned high energy iced tea in three delicious flavors, with all of the caffeine to keep you going, none of the jitters or crash, and way less sugar than other energy drinks. With the funding secured to push rapid national expansion, the wild ride continues!