Teavana
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Subsidiary | |
Industry |
Restaurants Retail Tea |
Founded | In 1997 at Phipps Plaza in Atlanta, Georgia. |
Headquarters | 2987 Clairmont Road NE, Suite 300, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, United States |
Products |
Loose-Leaf Tea Made-to-order tea beverages Tea-Related Products |
Number of employees | 5000+ |
Parent | Starbucks |
Website | Teavana.com |
Teavana is a specialty tea and tea accessory retailer based in Atlanta, Georgia. The company has over 400+ locations throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Middle East.[1] On December 31, 2012, Starbucks acquired Teavana estimated around $620 million.[2]
History
![](../I/m/Teavana_NYSE_2011_Shankbone.jpg)
Teavana was started in Atlanta, Georgia in 1997, with the opening of the first teahouse at Lenox Square. The husband and wife team that created Teavana invested their life savings into the teahouse concept after traveling abroad, noticing the gravitation of Americans towards fine wines and coffees in the United States.[3]
In late 2012 Starbucks stated it would be paying $620 million in cash to buy Teavana Holdings Inc.[4] Three class-action lawsuits were commenced by shareholders of Teavana concerning the Starbucks buyout; these were settled on December 14, 2012 (subject to court approval).[5] The acquisition of Teavana by Starbucks was formally closed on December 31, 2012.[6][7]
Products
Tea types
Teavana offers teas and herbal infusions, with categories such as: white, green, flavored & scented green, "blooming" white, black, flavored & scented black, oolong, and pu-erh teas along with rooibos, herbal, and Yerba Maté infusions. Teavana retail stores generally offer various blends of each type of tea, and consistently promote cross blending different types of tea.[8]
Tea products
In addition to tea, Teavana sells tea products, including cast iron Tetsubin teapots, Bone China teapots, Japanese porcelain teapots and cups, stove-top kettles, electric kettles, milk frothers and automatic tea makers (produced by Australian company Breville), Japanese hot water dispensers and electric tea makers (produced by Zojirushi), tea measures, tea infusion and steeping wares, honey, world music, and Asian books. Teavana also markets rock sugar sourced from Belgium.
Blooming Teas
Blooming teas are an extremely popular form of tea in which various flowers and plants are hand rolled into specific shapes and placed into the bottom of a glass teapot. When the water is poured over these plants and allowed to steep, the flowers "bloom" by unfurling and showing their true shape. Many blooming teas are tied and rolled in such a way as to be as aesthetically pleasing as possible, usually using a variety of colours and shapes.
Stores
Teavana retail stores are usually located in upscale shopping malls and designed to be "part tea bar, part tea emporium."[9] Individual cups of tea to go are offered for sale, and the retail locations offer free samples of various tea blends and tea varieties at their front door and within the store. Teavana currently has over 355 stores.
![](../I/m/Teavana_Nashville.jpg)
Competitors
Apart from generic tea brands (such as Lipton, Red Rose Tea and Tetley), Teavana's competitors include Art of Tea, Nuovo Tea, Stash Tea Company, California Tea House , T2, The Wellness Group (TWG), Harney & Sons, Sea at Tea, and DavidsTea.
Giving Back
Between Partners
Teavana partnered with a few charities and organizations to help give back. Starbucks and Teavana are known for providing jobs to veterans and military spouses, and have hired over 4,000 total. They also helps their partners enroll into Arizona State online classes through their College Achievement Plan.[10]
Supporting Youth Education
In April 2014, Starbucks and Teavana collaborated with Oprah Winfrey to develop a tea called Teavana Oprah Chai Tea, along with additional tea accessories. For every sale of Oprah Chai Tea products, Starbucks will make a donation to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Foundation Academy which supports youth education and funds the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.. Starbucks describes the tea as, "a bold infusion of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and cloves, blended with loose-leaf black tea and rooibos."[11] Teavana and Starbucks have raised $5M in support of education for young people with the chai tea. In result of the partnership, Teavana then partnered with the New York-based organization Girls, Inc. to further support youth education and mentorship. The organization supports young girls to be strong, smart, and bold while providing them with experiences to help them when looking towards higher education and career paths. [12] Teavana has donated $100,000 to benefit young women across the U.S. and Canada, helping them transition between high school and college.[10]
Ethical Tea Partnership
On April 1st, 2015 Teavana joined the Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP). The partnership is a non-profit that ensures ethical production and distribution of tea products, by "factory health and safety, safe use of agrochemicals, human resource management, and environmental management." Also, ETP monitors for issues that cannot be tracked with audits and certification, such as discrimination and living conditions of the workers. [13]
See also
- Tazo, another tea brand owned by Starbucks
References
- ↑ Map of retail locations.
- ↑ Melissa Allison (2012-12-31). "Starbucks closes Teavana deal". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
- ↑ last accessed January 23, 2008. Atlanta.bizjournals.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-13.
- ↑ "Starbucks Buys Teavana". Huffington Post. 2012-11-15.
- ↑ Annie Gasparro (2012-12-14). "Teavana Reaches Settlement With Shareholders Over Starbucks Deal". Deal Journal. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
- ↑ Melissa Allison (2012-12-31). "Starbucks closes Teavana deal". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
- ↑ "Starbucks Closes Teavana Acquisition" (Press release). Starbucks Newsroom. 2012-12-31. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
- ↑ "Teavanna Tea Blends". Retrieved 23 October 2013.
- ↑ last accessed January 23, 2008. Teavana.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-13.
- 1 2 "Giving Back | Teavana". www.teavana.com. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
- ↑ Teavana Oprah chai tea debuts at Starbucks and Teavana stores in the U.S. and Canada. (2014, April 29). Retrieved November 24, 2014, from http://news.starbucks.com/news/teavana-oprah-chai-tea-debuts-at-starbucks-and-teavana-stores-in-the-u.s.-aores-in-the-u.s.-a
- ↑ "Teavana Announces National Partnership with Girls Inc.". Starbucks Newsroom. 2015-07-07. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
- ↑ "What We Do - Ethical Tea Partnership". Ethical Tea Partnership. Retrieved 2016-11-08.