All hail the specialty teas! This is one category I’ve heard much conversation around as we kicked off the 2022 Summer Fancy Food Show (SFFS), and Yaupon Brothers American Tea Co. and sister company Yazoo Yaupon are strutting their stuff. The brands, owned and operated by Ilex Organics, are exhibiting out of booth #7514.
“We are thrilled to be back at Fancy Foods showcasing our 100 percent American-made Yaupon tea products and increasing awareness of this, historic, delicious, and nutritious tea, which has been used by indigenous people in North America for thousands of years,” said Bryon White, Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Ilex Organics.
White began exhibiting at the SFFS in 2012 when Yaupon Brothers shared a booth with the Tropical Blossom Honey Company, according to a press release. In 2021, he was selected by the Specialty Food Association for its Leadership Award in Citizenship and has served as a volunteer member of the Regulatory & Legislative and Digital Strategy working groups since 2020.
“Yaupon tea is a superfood full of powerful vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, polyphenols, and lacks the bitter tannins found in imported teas, so it is impossible to over-steep, never bitter, and can be enjoyed throughout the day,” White continued. “Since it doesn’t have to travel thousands of miles to reach your cup, our Yaupon tea has a much lower carbon footprint, and it brings economic opportunities to our communities.”
The mission of the two Yaupon tea brands is reportedly to offer people a better tea product and disrupt the nearly $18 billion a year imported tea market in the United States.
“Our goal is to let American consumers know there is a better tea that is grown and made here in the United States, and we aim to cut into the imported tea market, taking 1 percent of all tea sales in the states in the next ten years,” Co-CEO Oliver Luckett said in the press release.
Be sure to swing by booth #7514 for all of this and more!
