If you’re going to get Southerners to stop putting sugar in their sweet tea, you better be prepared with a darn good reason.
Ryl Tea believes it has two: a winning, authentic taste and the star power of country artist and investor Morgan Wallen, who’s name is proudly given a “crafted by” credit on cans of the brand’s new zero-sugar Sweet Tea, launched on Thursday exclusively on drinkryl.com and Gopuff.
The new SKU is the first since Wallen’s partnership with Ryl was announced last month, and represents another early milestone for the New Jersey-based startup roughly six months after its formal debut in January. Founded and led by former OWYN chief strategy officer Blodin Ukella, Ryl touts proprietary technology that it claims delivers a consistent 200mg serving of tea polyphenols per 16 oz. can, while replacing sugar with a combination of monk fruit and stevia extract. The brand, which has raised $6.7 million in seed capital thus far, is available in four zero-sugar flavors — Strawberry, Peach, Green Tea and Lemon — at Wegmans (Northeast) and select Whole Foods stores, among retailers.
With the rise of influencers and proliferation of celebrity-backed tequilas, famous names are arguably more common than ever in beverage; what makes Wallen’s work with Ryl Tea special, Ukella argued, is his close involvement in the six months of R&D it took to make its Sweet Tea. With an authentic product he can proudly stand behind, the “Last Night” singer is helping Ukella build a bridge to the specific consumer demographic he has targeted from the beginning: “Southern-inspired” Gen-Z and Millennials.
As Wallen was quoted saying: “This tea takes me right back to my Mamaw’s front porch on a hot summer’s day.”
Reduced and zero-sugar sweetened teas have been around for some time: brands ranging from AriZona and Milo’s to Zevia and now Liquid Death all have products in the category, while relatively new entrants like Humanitea, Halfway, Equitea, Saint James and Space Tea have all jumped into the battle for market share. Ukella and Ryl are hoping that Wallen’s voice can help cut through some of the noise: Beyond any formal marketing work, the singer is expected to help Ryl build general brand awareness as he continues his One Night At A Time Tour across the U.S. this summer. To promote the launch, Ryl and Wallen are giving fans the opportunity to win a backstage meet-and-greet with the artist at one of those shows, as well as cans of Sweet Tea and assorted Ryl swag.
The brand is also planning to use Wallen’s Sweet Tea to fuel expansion in regions where the drink is most popular. By the middle of next month, the product is entering Harris Teeter stores in the Midwest, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, as well as ShopRite, Wegmans, Brookshires and Sprouts. Expansion is set to continue in July with a move to Kroger stores in the Southern strongholds of Texas (Dallas) and Tennessee, plus Michigan and the Mid-Atlantic.