As we learned last week, even a beverage firmly entrenched in American culture can be subject to the whims of politics. But the same fickle whims may have set up a family-owned company that has been making the same simple lemonade and iced tea recipes since 1946 as an example of the “healthy” which America must be made again.
The Alabama-based brand is ready to let its intentions be known, with next week’s forthcoming announcement its projection to exceed $1 billion in retail sales by 2027 on the back of significant investments in manufacturing infrastructure over the past three years.
- The numbers suggest it’s within reach: per Circana data through July 3, Milo’s has helped drive refrigerated tea sales +4.4% even while volume has been flat (-0.3%); at 40-point share of the market, Milo’s increased category sales nearly 18% to north of $702 million.
- In refrigerated tea, Milo’s bumped sales even higher (+25%) to over $94 million, with 16.4% volume growth (+7.5% avg. pricing).
- Citing data from Numerator, Milo’s says it also secured the highest household penetration in the refrigerated lemonade and iced tea, at twice the rate of the category average, and claims to own the highest repeat purchase rate in the category.
But the company’s confidence in forecasting two years out likely comes from the security of vertical integration. Milo’s is fresh off cutting the ribbon on a $200 million manufacturing and distribution hub in Spartanburg, South Carolina, its third new facility in the last five years and fourth overall. The plant will produce 25 million cases (4x 1 gallon bottles) of tea by year’s end, and employ up to 200 people at full strength.
And while defining “healthy” may be folly in the age of MAHA, under the current regime, at least, Milo’s approach may seem, well, less unhealthy? The company’s adherence to tradition means only natural ingredients and cane sugar – so it has escaped the crackdown on additives and coloring, and most of the the discussion about removing sugar-sweetened beverages from SNAP eligibility has been focused on soda and carbonated soft drinks; teas, it appears, have been left alone. (Let us ponder the effect of a Sweet Tea rebellion in Southern states like Arkansas and Texas, which are leading the SNAP attacks on sodas).
Yet even a brand steeped in the old ways isn’t completely immune to changing times: Milo’s will debut a Zero Sugar Lemonade (not to be confused with Sugar Free) later this year.
Publisher’s Note: A previous version of this story indicated that Walmart is an investor in the Spartanburg facility. The story has been updated.