Applying lessons from Honest Tea

Most companies scale by cutting corners. Seth Goldman built a brand by refusing to.

Seth is one of the founders of Honest Tea, a longtime chair at Beyond Meat, and the cofounder of Just Ice Tea. His career has been defined by a belief that business can be a force for human and environmental good. From a thermos of tea brewed in his kitchen to national distribution and acquisition by Coca-Cola, he has spent decades exploring how values can live inside systems built for profit.

In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I sit down with Seth to talk about the full story of Honest Tea, from its founding to its sale and eventual shutdown, and how those experiences shaped his approach to building again. We discuss how trust and long-term relationships helped him rebuild quickly, what it takes to embed purpose in supply chains, and why he believes even B Corp standards do not go far enough.

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Where to find Seth Goldman:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seth-goldman-234bb7124

• X: https://x.com/HonestSeth

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Where to find Eric:

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In This Episode We Cover:

(00:00) Intro

(02:03) Seth’s early career in politics and how he saw business as a faster path to change

(07:40) The early ideas he explored before landing on tea

(11:30) How Seth connected tea to an ethical, fair-trade mission

(14:31) How Honest Tea aligned profit with purpose

(17:56) Honest Tea’s role in expanding organic and fair-trade sourcing

(18:50) How Seth got Whole Foods on board

(21:40) The next steps in scaling the business

(22:27) The value of the in-person pitch 

(24:20) When Whole Foods’ local buyers could still take a chance on new brands

(25:46) The case for mission transmission 

(27:05) How Honest Tea raised money from friends and family to major corporations

(29:15) How the Coca-Cola deal came together

(32:27) How a kids’ juice box carried Honest Tea’s mission forward

(34:51) The end of Honest Tea and the start of Just Iced Tea

(41:03) How existing relationships and lean habits helped Just Iced Tea move faster

(44:30) The magnetic power of a shared mission to attract teams, partners, and customers

(48:42) Why trust is the most valuable asset a company can build 

(51:15) What the Purpose Pledge is and how it raises the bar for ethical business

(53:42) Why great products and purpose are not mutually exclusive

(58:29) The story of Tony’s Chocolonely and Seth’s role as a mission guardian 

(1:01:40) Seth’s parting advice 

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You can find episode references at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.ericriesshow.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Production and marketing by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pen Name⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Eric may be an investor in the companies discussed.