Seth Goldman, co-founder and “TeaEO” of Honest Tea is the featured speaker at the Christy Lecture Series in Nutrition presented by Falk College April 13, from 10:15-11:30 a.m. in 312 Lyman Hall. Goldman’s presentation is titled “Scaling an Authentic Brand While Keeping it Honest,” and will highlight how he co-founded the company out of his home in 1998 with Barry Nalebuff of the Yale School of Management.
Seth Goldman
Scaling a mission-driven enterprise requires many ingredients, including resilience, determination, transparency and loyal partners. Goldman will share how those ingredients, along with his entrepreneurial vision and commitment to innovation, continue to guide the company to new levels of growth.
In January 2015, Beverage World magazine ran a cover story on the top 50 disruptors in the beverage industry. At the top of that list, above the CEOs of Starbucks, Red Bull and Boston Beer, was Goldman. While many of the disruptors were recognized for launching an innovative product or concept, Goldman and Honest Tea were recognized for a three-armed approach: “… healthful formulation (all-natural, organic and less sugar), ethical business practices (fair trade), [and] transparency.” Goldman is credited with setting a new bar for the beverage industry, helping transform the beverage landscape and bringing a better tasting, more authentic experience to ready-to-drink tea.
Honest Tea was acquired by Coca-Cola in 2011. Under Goldman’s leadership, the company has expanded into over 100,000 outlets across the U.S. The company continues to deepen its relationships with Fair Trade-certified suppliers in India, Paraguay, China and South Africa, and created innovative partnerships with organizations such as IndoSole, FoodCorps and National Parks Foundation. In 2014, Goldman was recognized by the U.S. Healthful Food Council with a REAL Food Innovator Award for helping change the food landscape by providing options that are healthier for both the body and the planet. Honest Tea was also recently named as one of Greater Washington’s Healthiest Employers of 2014 by the Washington Business Journal.
Goldman is the author of “Mission in a Bottle: The Honest Guide to Doing Business Differently—and Succeeding,” an accessible business book told in comic form that presents the story of how the co-founders of Honest Tea built their mission-driven business. With many failures and some success, the audience will gain entrepreneurial insights and advice about the importance of passion, perseverance and creative problem-solving.
The Christy Lecture Series is made possible by a gift from nutrition alumna Joan Christy ’78, G’81. For more information, contact the Department of Public Health, Food studies and Nutrition at 443-1710. To RSVP: https://syracuseuniversity.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_86rbQL2DqUR8E2p
