Detroit-based beverage company Ellis Island Tea announced this week that it has received an investment from comedian Kevin Hart, a partnership that will allow the brand to increase production ahead of expansion plans this year. Details of the deal were not disclosed.
Speaking to BevNET, Ellis Island Tea founder and CEO Nailah Ellis said the investment comes ahead of a planned seed round and the first formal financing for the bootstrapped, 12-year-old brand, which produces a line of Jamaican style teas using hibiscus, rosehips and mint. In addition to helping the company purchase new production equipment, Hart will also help promote the brand through social media channels, beginning with a livestream announcement this Thursday.
“I started this back in 2008 as something out of my trunk, and then things just kind of grew from there,” Ellis said. “[In the past] we hired a co-packer, but I just wasn’t satisfied with the quality output with those services. So we ended up opening up shop ourselves not expecting it to grow this big. Now today we’re the largest Black female-owned beverage manufacturer in the country.”
Ellis Island Tea’s portfolio includes sweetened and unsweetened varieties and is available online for $29.99 per two 4-packs of 16.9 oz. bottles. Additional innovations are slated to launch next summer.
Despite limited distribution, Ellis Island Tea has achieved national recognition over the past several years through appearances on programs such as BET’s business competition show Queen Boss and media appearances in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, MSNBC, The Financial Times and The Root. According to Ellis, she met with Hart this past winter and agreed to the investment prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There were a lot of people pulling for Nailah,” Hart said in a press release. “Her name just kept coming up and coming across my radar. So, I figured there had to be something to it.”
The new financing comes shortly after the brand introduced new packaging, changing from glass bottles to plastic in a move that has allowed it to halve the price. The company also launched a new website this month to put an increased focus on direct-to-consumer ecommerce, which has now seen a surge in sales during the pandemic and also received a boost following social campaigns to highlight Black-owned businesses. Last month, Ellis Island Tea was featured in pop star Beyonce’s online directory of Black-owned brands, dubbed the Black Parade Route, prompting sales to start “shooting through the roof,” Ellis wrote on Facebook.
“It’s been great to have more people try our product and have more people follow us on this journey,” she told BevNET. “Our product has always been great, and it’s just been a struggle to increase that product awareness. I think a major move in the right direction is Kevin Hart coming in and making that investment.”
According to Ellis, the brand plans to focus its marketing efforts on the social and digital channels online, particularly as consumers increasingly embrace the ecommerce channel during the pandemic.
This year, the company expanded its staff to 10 full time employees, recently hiring three new team members on the production side to help keep up with the growing demand. Ellis said she will likely hire additional employees in the near future.
Ellis Island Tea is also working to expand its presence in brick-and-mortar retail. The brand will roll out to Walmart stores this summer and is aiming to add Costco, Target and CVS this year. Ellis noted that retail expansion has been hindered by the pandemic, as many buyers stopped accepting new products, but the brand has now signed with broker Acosta to grow its nationwide footprint.
“The largest pain point for our consumers and fanbase has always been the lack of accessibility,” Ellis said. “I’ve gotten tons of national media attention and then people will go into stores all over the country looking for the product and they can’t find it…. 2020 is our year of getting intentional about distribution.”