Coca-Cola has tied up with Luxmi Group’s Makaibari, a Darjeeling based tea estate, to launch a ready-to-drink iced green tea, as reported by Business Standards. The iced green tea is crafted from organic green tea, sourced from Makaibari estate. It comes in two flavours, lemon-tulsi and mango. It is marketed under Honest Tea brand, owned by Honest Corporation, a subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company.
The exclusive launch of the bottled iced green tea took place on November 22, 2023, marking the conclusion of the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata.
Honest Tea, a US founded organic bottled tea company, established in 1998 by Seth Goldman and Barry Nalebuff, was acquired by Coca-Cola in 2011. In 2022, Coca-Cola announced plans to phase out the Honest Tea product line to streamline its beverage portfolio, focusing on fewer, larger brands.
Karthik Subramanian, director of marketing- hydration, coffee and tea category, Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia, commented, “We are thrilled to introduce our new ready-to-drink iced green tea. With Honest Tea, we are offering consumers a unique experience of a great tasting green tea-based beverage.”
Rudra Chatterjee, managing director, Luxmi Group hailed Makaibari as the paramount tea estate in Darjeeling during the event. “It is the last word among teas, whether in Japan or England, royal houses”, he added.
