Teavana
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurants Retail Tea |
| Founded | In 1997 at Phipps Plaza in Atlanta, Georgia. |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
| Products | Loose-Leaf Tea Made-to-order tea beverages Tea-Related Products |
| Parent | Starbucks Corporation |
| Website | Teavana.com |
Teavana is a specialty tea and tea accessory retailer based in Atlanta, Georgia. The company-owned stores operate in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.[1] On December 31, 2012, Starbucks acquired Teavana for about $620 million.[2]
History
Teavana was started in Atlanta, Georgia in 1997, with the opening of the first teahouse at Lenox Square. The husband and wife team that created Teavana invested their life savings into the teahouse concept after traveling abroad, noticing the gravitation of Americans towards fine wines and coffees in the United States.[3]
In late 2012 Starbucks stated it will be paying $620 million in cash to buy Teavana Holdings Inc.[4] Three class-action lawsuits were commenced by shareholders of Teavana concerning the Starbucks buyout; these were settled on December 14, 2012 (subject to court approval).[5] The acquisition of Teavana by Starbucks was formally closed on December 31, 2012.[6][7]
Products
Tea types
Teavana offers teas and herbal infusions, with categories such as: white, green, flavored & scented green, "blooming" white, black, flavored & scented black, oolong, and pu-erh teas along with rooibos, herbal, and Yerba Maté infusions. Teavana retail stores generally offer various blends of each type of tea, and consistently promote cross blending different types of tea.[8]
Tea products
In addition to tea, Teavana sells tea products, including cast iron tetsubin teapots, decorative teapots, Asian-inspired teapots and cups, tea kettles, various Japanese hot water dispensers and electric tea makers (produced mostly by Zojirushi), tea measures, tea infusion and steeping wares, honey, world music, and Asian books. Teavana also markets rock sugar sourced from Germany.
Blooming Teas
Blooming teas are an extremely popular form of tea in which various flowers and plants are hand rolled into specific shapes and placed into the bottom of a glass teapot. When the water is poured over these plants and allowed to steep, the flowers "bloom" by unfurling and showing their true shape. Many blooming teas are tied and rolled in such a way as to be as aesthetically pleasing as possible, usually using a variety of colours and shapes.
Stores
Teavana retail stores are usually located in upscale shopping malls and designed to be "part tea bar, part tea emporium."[9] Individual cups of tea to go are offered for sale, and the retail locations offer free samples of various tea blends and tea varieties at their front door and within the store. Teavana currently has over 330 stores.
Competitors
Apart from generic tea brands (such as Lipton, Red Rose and Tetley), Teavana's competitors include Art of Tea, Nuovo Tea, Stash and Sea at Tea, DavidsTea.
See also
- Tazo, another tea brand owned by Starbucks
References
- ^ Map of retail locations.
- ^ Melissa Allison (2012-12-31). "Starbucks closes Teavana deal". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
- ^ last accessed January 23, 2008. Atlanta.bizjournals.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-13.
- ^ "Starbucks Buys Teavana". Huffington Post. 2012-11-15.
- ^ Annie Gasparro (2012-12-14). "Teavana Reaches Settlement With Shareholders Over Starbucks Deal". Deal Journal. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
- ^ Melissa Allison (2012-12-31). "Starbucks closes Teavana deal". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
- ^ "Starbucks Closes Teavana Acquisition" (Press release). Starbucks Newsroom. 2012-12-31. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
- ^ "Teavanna Tea Blends". Retrieved 23 October 2013.
- ^ last accessed January 23, 2008. Teavana.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-13.