DENVER — Smashburger, the rapidly expanding better burger restaurant concept, today announced it is the first national restaurant chain to roll out HONEST Tea’s fresh-brewed iced tea options at all restaurants nationwide. HONEST Tea is the nation’s top-selling organic bottled tea company. Each Smashburger location will brew a selection of freshly brewed iced tea options, all made from organic ingredients: Classic Green Tea, Just Iced Tea, Lemon Herbal Tea and Naturally Flavored Raspberry Tea.
“Smashburger and HONEST Tea share a passion for providing guests with fresh-tasting, high caliber products, so the partnership was a natural fit for us. We are excited for the opportunity to be the first national restaurant to serve their fresh brewed teas to guests in all of our restaurants across the country,” commented Tom Ryan, Founder and Chief Concept Officer of Smashburger. “There are many synergies between our two brands, but first and foremost is our commitment to serving food and beverages that our guests can feel good about, comprised of quality ingredients for a better dining experience.”
Smashburger has long focused on offering premium beverages, serving craft beer and craft sodas at its locations nationwide.
Added Ryan, “The trend toward non-carbonated beverages in particular is continuing to grow, and has been the strongest area of growth in our beverage business recently. The addition of HONEST Tea’s freshly brewed iced tea platform fits in well with this growing consumer demand.”
Each of the new HONEST Tea Freshly Brewed iced tea offerings at Smashburger are certified organic, kosher, gluten-free, do not contain any genetically modified organisms, use Fair Trade Certified™ tea leaves and contain 50 calories or less per 8 fl oz. serving. Smashburger locations nationwide will serve a selection of the following four varieties based on regional consumer preferences:
- Classic Green Tea – Organic , Fair Trade Certified™ green tea that is “just a tad sweet”® thanks to real organic cane sugar.
- Just Iced Tea – Unsweetened, organic, Fair Trade Certified™ black tea sourced from tea gardens in the Assam region of India.
- Lemon Herbal Tea – Caffeine-free tea blend of organic Indian tulsi (also known as Holy Basil), lemongrass, lemon peel and lemon myrtle combined to create a mildly spicy, yet calming taste, that’s “just a tad sweet.”
- Raspberry Tea (Naturally Flavored) – Organic, Fair Trade Certified™ black tea sourced from the Korakundah tea gardens in southern India combined with natural raspberry flavors and organic cane sugar for that signature “just a tad sweet” taste.
HONEST Tea’s co-founder and TeaEO Seth Goldman noted “We are thrilled to have Smashburger as our first national partner for our freshly brewed organic iced teas. Both companies view high-quality ingredients as an integral part of the tasting experience, and we look forward to serving our freshly brewed iced teas alongside Smashburger’s great menu offerings.”
For more information please visit www.smashburger.com.
About Smashburger
Smashburger is America’s fastest growing, fast casual “better burger” restaurant with more than 230 corporate and franchise restaurants operating in 30 states and in four international countries. The company began in 2007 with the vision of Rick Schaden and funding by Consumer Capital Partners—the private equity firm that he and his father Richard own. By offering fresh, premium “smashed to order” burgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, signature side items and hand-spun Häagen-Dazs shakes, Smashburger has modernized the way people think about burgers. Known for localizing its menu in every market with regionally inspired burgers, side items and local craft beers, Smashburger has received numerous awards, including topping Fast Casual’s 2012 Top Mover & Shakers list, America’s Most Promising Company by Forbes magazine, INC. 500’s List of America’s Fastest Growing Companies and INC’s #9 Hire Power Award winner, as well as regularly receiving “best burger” awards in cities around the world. To learn more, visit www.smashburger.com.
About Consumer Capital Partners
Consumer Capital Partners is an innovative investment and operating company, focused on starting up, operating and investing in consumer, franchising and lifestyle brands. Consumer Capital Partners also engages in modern channels of giving across a broad spectrum of contemporary causes. To learn more about CCP, please visit www.consumercp.com.
About HONEST® Tea
HONEST Tea strives to create and promote great-tasting, healthier, organic beverages and extend economic opportunities to communities in need. Founded in 1998, Bethesda, MD based company HONEST Tea is the nation’s top-selling organic bottled tea company specializing in beverages that are ‘just a tad’ sweet. Honest Tea’s product lines include: HONEST Tea ready-to-drink bottled teas, HONEST® Ade and HONEST® Kids organic thirst quenchers, and new HONEST® Fizz naturally sweetened zero calorie sodas. All tea, juice drinks and kids varieties are USDA Organic, and all tea varieties are Fair Trade Certified™. In addition to being ranked by The Huffington Post as one of the leading “8 Revolutionary Socially Responsible Companies,” HONEST Tea is a multi-year winner of awards from the Alliance for Workplace Excellence. HONEST Tea has won Men’s Health “Best Green Tea” for five years running and in 2012 was named one of Women’s HealthMagazine’s “125 Best Packaged Foods for Women.” HONEST Tea is an independent operating unit of The Coca-Cola Company.