Sweet Leaf Tea gets $18 million
Sweet Leaf Tea, maker of ready-to-drink iced teas and lemonades, has announced a huge $18 million capital injection from Catterton Partners, a private equity firm. The company from Beaumont, TX plans to use the investment to increase its marketing and distribution efforts across the US, thereby gaining greater exposure in a market worth $2.8 billion and growing at a whopping 25% annual rate. The sales of Sweet Leaf Tea have nearly doubled every year for the past five years and the company hopes the latest move will solidify its position in what is expected to become a $4.4 billion industry by 2011.