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| 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.
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]
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.
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker at Seattle's Pike Place Market initially as a coffee bean wholesaler. Starbucks was converted into a coffee shop serving espresso-based drinks under the ownership of Howard Schultz, who was chief executive officer from 1986 to 2000 and led the aggressive expansion of the franchise across the West Coast of the United States.
Unilever PLC is a British multinational fast-moving consumer goods company founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of British soap maker Lever Brothers and Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie. It is headquartered in London, England.
PG Tips is a brand of tea in the United Kingdom manufactured by LIPTON Teas and Infusions.
Brooke Bond is a brand of tea owned by LIPTON Teas and Infusions, except in India, Nepal, and Indonesia where it is owned by Unilever. Brooke Bond was formerly an independent tea-trading and manufacturing company in the United Kingdom, known for its PG Tips brand and its Brooke Bond tea cards.
Wyler's is a food and beverage brand established by Wyler's Company in 1931. The brand is now owned by Kraft Heinz for bouillon and dry soup mixes and by The Jel Sert Company for powdered drink mixes.
CVC Capital Partners plc is a Jersey-based private equity and investment advisory firm with approximately €186 billion of assets under management and approximately €157 billion in secured commitments since inception across American, European, and Asian private equity, secondaries, credit funds and infrastructure. As of 31 December 2021, the funds managed or advised by CVC are invested in more than 100 companies worldwide, employing over 450,000 people in numerous countries. CVC was founded in 1981 and, as of 31 March 2022, has over 850 employees working across its network of 25 offices throughout EMEA, Asia and the Americas.
Unilever Pakistan Limited, formerly Lever Brothers Pakistan Limited, is a Pakistani fast-moving consumer goods company based in Karachi. It is a subsidiary of the British multinational company Unilever.
Lipton is a brand named after its founder, Sir Thomas Lipton who started an eponymous grocery retail business in the United Kingdom in 1871. The brand was used for various consumer goods sold in Lipton stores, including tea from 1890 for which the brand is now best known.
Salada tea is a Canadian brand of tea currently sold in Canada by LIPTON Teas and Infusions and in the United States by Salada Foods, a division of Redco Foods, Inc.
Teavana Corporation was an American tea company, which previously had locations throughout the United States(650 stores), Canada, Mexico, and the Middle East. Starbucks acquired Teavana in 2012, and in 2017, Starbucks announced it would close all Teavana locations by 2018. As of 2022, a very limited variety of Teavana products continue to be sold at Starbucks.
PAI Partners is a French private equity firm based in Paris. It is one of the oldest firms in the sector, with its origins dating back to Paribas Affaires Industrielles, historically the principal investment arm of Paribas, which started operations in 1872.
Tata Consumer Products Limited is an Indian fast-moving consumer goods company and a part of the Tata Group. Its registered office is located in Kolkata while its corporate headquarters is in Mumbai. It is the world's second-largest manufacturer and distributor of tea and a major producer of coffee.
Bushells is an Australian company that produces tea and coffee.
Steven Dean Smith was an American tea entrepreneur, best known as the founder of Tazo tea company, co-founder of Stash Tea Company, and co-founder of Steven Smith Teamaker in Portland, Oregon. Smith was recognized internationally as one of the tea industry's leading entrepreneurs, and often spoke to various industry groups about branding, product development, and origin projects. He was an active investor in, and consultant to, multiple business ventures in North America and abroad. A philanthropist, Smith supported numerous community projects locally and internationally, ranging from work with Mercy Corps to local schools and arts organizations, creating special tea blends for the Oregon Ballet Theatre and the Oregon College of Art and Craft.
Storyteller Distribution Co., LLC, doing business as Amblin Partners, LLC., is an American independent entertainment production company. It develops and produces films under the Amblin Entertainment and DreamWorks Pictures banners, as well as television series through Amblin Television.
T2, officially registered as Tea Too, is a chain of specialty tea shops with stores in Australia, Singapore, and New Zealand. The company was established in Melbourne, Australia in 1996, and was purchased by Unilever in 2013. In 2013, T2 had 40 stores across the globe and made an annual turnover of A$57 million.
Annie Young-Scrivner is a Chinese-American business executive who is now serving two years as the chief executive officer of Wella Company. She previously held senior positions at Godiva Chocolatier, PepsiCo, and Starbucks.
Flora Food Group B.V. is a Dutch food company owning multiple brands of margarine, food spreads, and plant-based foods, including Flora and Blue Band. It states that it is the largest plant-based consumer packaged goods company in the world, operating in 95 countries.
LIPTON Teas and Infusions is a privately held company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, that produces tea and other herbal drinks.
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