Shaka Tea

Hawaiian beverage brand Shaka Tea is shutting down, according to a message the company posted to its website and sent out to email list subscribers this afternoon.

Seven months after the brand was acquired by King’s Hawaiian parent company Irresistible Foods Group, Shaka Tea’s founders Harrison Rice and Bella Hughes are moving on to new ventures, beginning with the launch of investment fund Roya Capital.

Family-owned food manufacturer King’s Hawaiian has acquired Hawaii-based beverage brand Shaka Tea, the company announced today. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal comes less than two years after the baked goods and restaurant company invested in Shaka as part of a $2.3 million funding round.

Hawaiian tea brand Shaka Tea is expanding its presence on both coasts this month through partnerships with key regional distributors, including Nestlé Waters’ ReadyRefresh service in California; Pillars Drinkable Greek Yogurt is going nationwide with Whole Foods, a move that marks the Massachusetts-based brand’s first expansion into the West Coast.

Shaka Tea, a Hawaii-based maker of ready-to-drink and bagged tea products, has raised $2.3 million in a funding round led by farming company Mahi Pono, bringing the brand’s total financing to $4.1 million. The round also includes investments from King’s Hawaiian, Gingerbread Capital, LDR Ventures, Allison Rose Culinary Ventures and Park Bench Capital as well as several angel investors.

Shaka Tea is now project non-GMO verified and debuted refreshed branding, including new labels at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco taking place January 19-21.

Shaka Tea, the first line of authentically Hawaiian iced teas on the market brewed with adaptogenic, herbal mamaki, a leaf only found and grown in the Hawaiian Islands, has announced the appointment of Cameron Hill as director of sales, Western US.

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