Celestial Seasonings is an American tea company based in Boulder, Colorado, United States. The company specializes in herbal teas but also sells green, white, black, and chai teas. Founded in 1969, it is a subsidiary of Hain Celestial Group.
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Tea |
| Founded | 1969 |
| Headquarters | Boulder, Colorado |
| Products | Herbal tea |
| Parent | Hain Celestial Group |
| Website | celestialseasonings |
| Footnotes / references [1] | |
History
edit
Early history
editCelestial Seasonings has origins dating back to 1969 when co-founders Mo Siegel and Wyck Hay gathered wild herbs in the area of the Rocky Mountains and used them to make herbal teas. The tea was then packaged and sold to local health food stores with the help of wives and friends.[2] The first tea blend was called Mo's 36 which Siegel, his wife, and friends sold out of the back of a car while traveling across the United States.[3]
Additional blends were created and the company Celestial was officially formed in 1972, becoming the first American tea company to offer herbal tea blends. Celestial Seasonings also created and sponsored the Red Zinger Bicycle Classic race in Colorado during the 1970s.[4] In 1972, it introduced Sleepytime, its bestselling tea.[5]
1983–1999; purchase and sale by Kraft
editCelestial Seasonings went public in 1983, but withdrew its public offering after a product recall. The following year it was purchased by Kraft Foods.[3] By 1983, it had sales of $27 million in its first year and was responsible for 40 percent of the herbal tea business.[3] Siegel retired in 1986, and the next year, Kraft announced they would sell Celestial Seasonings to Lipton.[6] Bigelow successfully sued to stop the sale based on antitrust laws. Kraft then sold Celestial to Vestar Capital Partners in 1988.[7]
In 1990, Celestial Seasonings moved into new headquarters in a custom-designed facility in North Boulder. Siegel returned in 1991 to serve as its chairman and CEO.[8] The company introduced a green tea line in 1995, the first to be sold in mainstream stores in the United States.[5]
2000–present; Hain Celestial Group merger
editCelestial Seasonings merged with natural food company the Hain Food Group in 2000 to form the Hain Celestial Group. The same year it introduced a chai tea line.[5] Siegel retired for the second time in 2002.[9] The following year it released cool brew iced tea and rooibos tea lines.[5]
Hain Celestial Group was one of 25 companies named in a 2013 class action lawsuit overall allegations of mislabeling its products (which included Celestial Seasonings) under California law.[10] The company reached a settlement in 2015, paying $7.5 million in compensation with an additional $2.4 million worth of coupons to consumers.[11]
By 2019, Celestial had over 100 varieties of teas and accounted for 5 percent of Hain Celestial Group's net sales.[5]
Products
editCelestial Seasonings manufactures and sells herbal and other varieties of tea.[5] The company's teas are branded using animals, including an anthropomorphic bear for the Sleepytime range.[12]
Trivia
editSinger and musician Camryn is the granddaughter of Celestial Seasonings co-founder Mo Siegel.[13]
References
edit- ^ "Our History". Celestial Seasonings. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
- ^ Leggett, Ann (2009). Insiders' Guide to Boulder and Rocky Mountain National Park. Insider's Guide. ISBN 9780762756247. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
- ^ a b c Sanger, David E. (March 22, 1984). "Kraft to Buy Celestial". The New York Times. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
- ^ Zito, Tom (December 6, 1977). "Herbs in the Hills". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Joshi, Pratik (September 14, 2019). "Long before 'natural' was cool, Celestial Seasonings saw the future in tea leaves". The Denver Post. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
- ^ John Gorman (December 8, 1987). "Kraft Sells Celestial Seasonings". Articles.chicagotribune.com. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
- ^ Andrews, Nina (September 13, 1988). "Partnership Will Buy Celestial Seasonings". The New York Times. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
- ^ "Mo Siegel, who founded Celestial Seasonings Inc..." The Los Angeles Times. August 6, 1991. Archived from the original on June 20, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
- ^ Meltzer, Erica (September 12, 2009). "Celestial founder misses the grind". Boulder Daily Camera. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
- ^ "Organic Product Lawsuit: Center for Environmental Health Sues Dozens". Joanna Lin. The Huffington Post California. June 20, 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
- ^ "Hain Celestial settles mislabeling lawsuit for nearly $10 million". Aisha Al-Muslim. Newsday.
- ^ Pop Icon https://popicon.life/celestial-seasonings-sleepytime-bear-tea-icon/
- ^ "These are real people; this is real life". Rocky Mountain News, December 22, 2007. Archived.