When was Sweet Leaf Tea founded?

Sweet Leaf Tea was founded in 1997 and raised its 1st funding round 11 years after it was founded.

Where is Sweet Leaf Tea located?

Sweet Leaf Tea is headquartered in Austin, United States.

How many employees does Sweet Leaf Tea have?

As of Jul 31, 2026, the latest employee count at Sweet Leaf Tea is 16.

Is Sweet Leaf Tea a funded company?

Sweet Leaf Tea is a funded company, having raised a total of $56.1M across 4 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a $***** Series A round, raised on Apr 02, 2008.

When was the latest funding round of Sweet Leaf Tea?

Sweet Leaf Tea's latest funding was a $***** Series B round on Feb 06, 2011, with participation from 0 investor. Its primary sector is Food & Beverage Products. In United States, the Food & Beverage Products sector has seen $641M in funding in 2026 to date.

Where does Sweet Leaf Tea rank among its competitors?

Sweet Leaf Tea ranks 14th amongst 1350 active competitors, of which 51 are funded. It stands 4th in terms of total funding among its competitors. The most recent competitor to raise funding was La Colombe, which secured $300M in Jul, 2023.

Who are the top competitors of Sweet Leaf Tea?

Sweet Leaf Tea's top competitors include Philz Coffee, Peet's Coffee & Tea and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Among them, La Colombe secured the most recent funding round in July, 2023.

Sweet Leaf Tea - 2026 Company Profile, Team, Funding & Competitors

Sweet Leaf Tea is an acquired company based in Austin (United States), founded in 1997 by Clayton Christopher and David Smith. It operates as a Brand of bottled ice teas. Sweet Leaf Tea has raised $56.1M in funding from investors like Kettle Brand Chips, Odwalla and P.F. Chang's. The company has 1350 active competitors, including 51 funded and 70 that have exited. Its top competitors include companies like Philz Coffee, Peet's Coffee & Tea and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

Company Details

Sweet Leaf Tea Company produces and markets bottled teas. The company offers various flavors of teas, including coffee-tea blends, sweet teas, green teas, fruit teas, lemonades, and zero-calorie teas. It sells its products through a network of third-party retailers and distributors.

Website: sweetleaftea.com
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Key Metrics

Founded Year

1997

Location

Austin, United States

Stage

Acquired

Total Funding

$56.1M in 4 rounds

Latest Funding Round

Series B, Feb 06, 2011, $*****

Investors

Kettle Brand Chips & 7 more

Ranked

14^th among 1350 active competitors

Employee Count

16 as on Jul 31, 2026

Similar Companies

Peet's Coffee & Tea & 830 more

Exit Details

Acquired by Purity Organic (Jan 13, 2020)

View Sweet Leaf Tea's full profile

Sweet Leaf Tea got acquired by Purity Organic on Jan 13, 2020.

Click here to take a look at Sweet Leaf Tea's acquisition in detail

Sweet Leaf Tea has raised a total funding of $56.1M over 4 rounds. Its first funding round was on Apr 02, 2008. Sweet Leaf Tea has 8 institutional investors.

Here is the list of recent funding rounds of Sweet Leaf Tea:

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Date of Funding	Funding Amount	Round Name	Post-Money Valuation	Revenue Multiple	Lead Investors	Other Investors
Feb 06, 2011	9174620	Series B	2808381	2073728	3695474	2310339
May 17, 2010	7762761	Series B	2319603	7477769	5741399	1929117
Mar 26, 2009	6327509	Series A	9343744	1445676	3461379	4488240

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View details of Sweet Leaf Tea's funding rounds and investors

The founders of Sweet Leaf Tea are Clayton Christopher and David Smith.

Here are the details of Sweet Leaf Tea's key team members:

Clayton Christopher: Co-Founder of Sweet Leaf Tea. They are also an angel investor in 5 startups and serve on the board of 1 company.
David Smith: Co-Founder of Sweet Leaf Tea.

View details of Sweet Leaf Tea's Founder profiles and Board Members

Sweet Leaf Tea's employee count trend

Sweet Leaf Tea has 16 employees as of Jul 26. Here is Sweet Leaf Tea's employee count trend over the years:

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Top competitors of Sweet Leaf Tea include Philz Coffee, Peet's Coffee & Tea and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Here is the list of Top 10 competitors of Sweet Leaf Tea, ranked by Tracxn score:

Rank	Company Details	Short Description	Total Funding	Investors	Tracxn Score
1st	Philz Coffee 2003, San Francisco (United States), Acquired	Brand of coffee	$75M	Summit Partners, TPG & 13 others	66/100
2nd	Peet's Coffee & Tea 1966, San Francisco (United States), Acquired	Premium coffee and tea purveyor, offering beans, pods, and café experiences	-	Spanos Barber Jesse, Torreal & 2 others	65/100
3rd	The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf 1963, Los Angeles (United States), Acquired	Online retailer of premium coffee, tea, powders, drinkware, and equipment	$5M	Mirae Asset Venture, Advent International ... & 2 others	63/100
4th	Bulletproof 2013, Seattle (United States), Acquired	Retailer of coffee, supplements, MCT oil, mix-ins, collagen, and protein bars	$43.9M	CAVU Consumer Partners, Trinity Ventures & 7 others	60/100
5th	La Colombe 1994, Philadelphia (United States), Acquired	Coffee roasters and chain of cafes	$328M	Keurig Dr Pepper, Goode Partners & 2 others	59/100
6th	Blue Bottle Coffee 2002, Oakland (United States), Acquired	Brand of coffee	$121M	Fidelity Investments, TriplePoint Capital ... & 27 others	55/100
7th	Costa Coffee 1971, Atlanta (United States), Unfunded	Brand of coffee	-	-	54/100
8th	Coffee Holding 1971, New York City (United States), Public	Wholesale coffee roaster and retailer	-	GNFH Capital Management, Mindful Capital Partners	54/100
9th	Traditional Medicinals 1974, Sebastopol (United States), Series C	Online retailer of beverages	$8.5M	The Builders Fund, Candide Group	52/100
10th	Trilliant Food & Nutrition 2013, Little Chute (United States), Acquired	Leading beverage partner offering comprehensive packaging, processing, and brand development	-	ICP Group, Norwest Equity Partners & 1 others	49/100
14th	Sweet Leaf Tea 1997, Austin (United States), Acquired	Brand of bottled ice teas	$56.1M	Asto Consumer Partners, L Catterton & 6 others	45/100