Eat the Change, the parent company of Just Ice Tea, is channeling its limited resources into its rapidly expanding beverage line and scaling back further investments in its snacks division, co-founder and chief change agent Seth Goldman shared in a recent interview. “I still believe in the [snacking] concept, but it’s just not as compelling from a business perspective,” Goldman told Food Dive at the Beverage Forum in California last week. “With our limited resources, I don’t think we can pursue both avenues effectively. We continue to call ourselves Eat the Change, but we are essentially transitioning into Just Iced Tea as our primary focus.”
Founded in 2020, Eat the Change aimed to provide environmentally friendly, nutrient-dense snacks made from ingredients like carrots and mushrooms. However, following Coca-Cola’s announcement in 2022 to discontinue Honest Tea, a brand co-founded by Goldman 24 years ago, Eat the Change pivoted towards beverages. Goldman believed there was still a market for organic, less-sweet tea offerings, a niche that Honest had successfully established. His intuition proved accurate, as sales of Just Ice Tea reached $16 million in 2023 and are projected to exceed $20 million this year.
In contrast, the sales of snacks are lagging significantly behind the “phenomenal” growth the company is experiencing in the tea sector. In 2023, Eat the Change eliminated its mushroom-based snacks but continues to offer fruit chews made with carrots and fruit juice. Although the Maryland-based company remains involved in the snacks market, all marketing and R&D resources are now dedicated entirely to tea. Goldman highlighted the ongoing opportunity in the snacking sector, particularly the need for kids to consume more vegetables, noting, “Maybe down the road, there will be a chance to re-enter the snacks market, but for now, we are a small company focused on our biggest growth opportunity.”
He added, “Often, the market dictates the direction for you. In this situation, the market is clearly expressing a preference for tea over snacks.” Just Ice has already become the best-selling bottled tea brand at Whole Foods and across natural food channels. Goldman pointed out that Whole Foods, which stocks both the snacks and beverages, sells approximately $350 worth of tea weekly at each location, compared to just $13 in snack sales.
As part of their commitment to health, Eat the Change products are designed to provide nutritional benefits, akin to a multivitamin with calcium citrate, making them appealing to health-conscious consumers. This focus on health and nutrition further supports their strategic shift towards tea, which is clearly resonating with the market.