Tazo
| File:Tazo logo.svg | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Beverage |
| Founded | 1994 in Portland, Oregon |
| Founder | Steven Smith[1] |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Global |
| Products | Teas and herbal teas |
Number of employees | Approximately 50 (2010) |
| Parent | Lipton Teas and Infusions |
| Website | www.tazo.com |
Tazo Tea Company (TAZO) is a tea and herbal tea blender and distributor founded in Portland, Oregon. It is now a Lipton Teas and Infusions division and is based in Kent, Washington.
History
[edit | edit source]Tazo (/ˈtɑːzoʊ/) Tea was founded in 1994 by Steven Smith.[1] The manufacturing and distribution was maintained by North American Tea & Coffee, a Canadian-based food manufacturing company.[2]
Tazo approached then Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz in 1998, seeking further investment partners. The company was purchased by Starbucks in 1999 for $8.1 million.[3]
Starbucks opened the first Tazo-branded tea shop in November 2012.[4] It closed a year later and was converted into a Teavana store.[5]
In November 2017, Starbucks sold Tazo to Unilever for $384 million.[6]
Unilever reached an agreement in November 2021 to sell the majority of its tea business to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for €4.5 billion.[7] This included the Tazo business. The sale was completed in July 2022, with the new company named Lipton Teas and Infusions.[8]
Marketing
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The company uses "New Age"-style marketing and product labeling. For example, every box of tea was once labeled as "blessed by a certified tea shaman" and an original tag line was "The Reincarnation of Tea."
Until 2013, the logo used the Exocet typeface, slightly modified. For example, the T in Tazo was changed for readability purposes in 2006 by sliding the cross-piece toward the top of the letter.
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b Roberts, Sam. (2015, March 25). "Steven Smith, a 'Marco Polo' of American tea, dies at 65," The New York Times. Accessed: March 29, 2015.
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External links
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- Tea companies of the United States
- Tea brands in the United States
- Lipton Teas and Infusions
- Former Unilever brands
- Starbucks
- Food and drink companies established in 1994
- American companies established in 1994
- Food and drink companies based in Washington (state)
- Companies based in Kent, Washington
- 1994 establishments in Oregon
- 1999 mergers and acquisitions
- 2017 mergers and acquisitions
- American subsidiaries of foreign companies