Purple corn tea spells success for Inca Tea
Inca Tea, a startup launched just over a year ago, has found a new niche in the tea industry in the form of purple corn-based tea. The founder, Ryan Florio, discovered the beverage during a trip to Peru in 2012. There is some research showing that purple corn tea may help with ailments like inflammation and diabetes, but Folio decided to focus on its naturally sweet taste. A year after inception, the blends are sold in about 300 local stores and about a dozen foodservice outlets, as well as in Inca Tea's own cafe in Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. A second airport cafe is already in the works in Boston, and the company plans to add three to five cafes in cities such as Baltimore and Pittsburgh next year. The company made about $140,000 in sales in the first four months of 2015.