Tea lovers know they’re getting a mild boost of caffeine every time they sip their favorite drink. But some of them would rather get a high-energy jolt. Fort Worth-based HTeaO hears those tea lovers loud and clear—and just dropped a new product line to prove it.
The leading iced tea franchise—which offers “ultra-premium” iced teas and coffee at around 100 locations in seven states—has announced the launch of HTeaO Energy Shots. Offered in four fruit flavors, they’re available now at all HTeaO locations.
HTeaO says customers can ask for them “straight” or use them as a “tea topper” for an extra kick of energy.
‘Only natural ingredients’
The company says that while typical energy shots are “loaded with synthetic ingredients and additives,” HTeaO Energy Shots are “crafted with care, using only natural ingredients. Each shot is tea-based, gluten-free, and kosher certified, ensuring a guilt-free energy boost for consumers.”
Besides providing a caffeine boost, the energy shots contain L-theanine, “a naturally occurring amino acid found in tea leaves,” the company said, adding that the amino acid “is known for its ability to support mood, reduce stress, and enhance focus, making it the perfect addition to these energy shots.”
The shots are available in Lemon, Georgia Peach, Watermelon, and Blueberry, sized at 2.5 fluid ounces, and cost $3.29 a pop.
An HTeaO location in Tyler. [Photo: HTeaO]
“We’re thrilled to introduce HTeaO Energy Shots to our loyal fans and the communities we service,” HTeaO President Heath Nielsen said in a statement. “At the heart of our brand is our mission to provide high-quality beverages that taste great and enhance overall well-being for our customers.”
Nielsen said the company’s latest innovation offers “a healthier option to the current energy shots available in the market,” and that HTeaO customers “can feel good about what they’re putting into their bodies while enjoying a delicious and refreshing beverage.”
In its rapidly growing array of franchise locations, HTeaO caters to customers both in-store and through drive-thru services. Each location offers 26 “meticulously crafted” flavors of sweetened and unsweetened tea, made using a proprietary water filtration system and 100% natural ingredients. HTeaO currently serves customers in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, and Florida.
Crux Capital and Trive Capital slurped up a minority stake in 2023
One thing that helped fuel HTeaO’s recent growth happened in January 2023, when Dallas-based Crux Capital and Trive Capital both decided to have a taste—by getting a minority stake in the company.
At the time, the company said the partnership would enable HTeaO to expand its brand to new markets, leveraging the resources of both Dallas PE firms. HTeaO also aimed to the investments to attract new talent and “employ innovative technology to improve quality of service while enhancing the customer experience.”
The company was originally launched in 2009 in Amarillo, when Founder and CEO Justin Howe first got the idea for a shop focused on iced tea. The inspiration? His parents’ restaurant in Amarillo, Buns Over Texas, began offering a lineup of flavored iced teas and sales suddenly spiked.
You can read more about HTeaO’s origins and the 2023 investment in our January 2023 story.
Get on the list.
Dallas Innovates, every day.
Sign up to keep your eye on what’s new and next in Dallas-Fort Worth, every day.
R E A D N E X T
-
Fort Worth-based HTeaO said that Heath Nielsen will enhance its already positive, industry-leading unit level economics to help its franchisees find even greater success, and he will drive exponential franchise growth by attracting aspiring and existing entrepreneurs throughout the country. The new president has previously held executive positions at several notable companies including Black Rifle Coffee Co., Just Food for Dogs, Nestle Coffee Partners' Starbucks division, and Sony Corp.
-
By having a solar farm built on a former city landfill, Farmers Branch plans to be the first Texas city to power all its facilities with 100% locally generated renewable electricity. Groundbreaking is slated for early next year, with operations starting as soon as Fall 2024.
-
Dallas-based JetWind Power Corp.—whose founder and CEO is Dr. Tarek O. Souryal, a former Dallas Mavericks team physician—is testing its revolutionary Energy Capturing Pod system near the control tower at Dallas Love Field. Could aircraft carriers be next?
-
Industrial process heating is used to manufacture everything from the food we eat to the clothes we wear to the steel and paint on the cars we drive. Richardson-based Skyven is working to decarbonize that process with heat recovery systems that reduce CO2 emissions—and public-private funding is helping it do that. Real-world impact from its California Dairies projects demonstrate Skyven's model in action reducing emissions and costs.
-
Jacobs will support design and development of a micro modular power reactor from Seattle-based Ultra Safe Nuclear. Jacobs' Karen Wiemelt says the reactor—designed to harmonize with renewables—"has the potential to assist the world's energy transition and take nuclear power into a new era."
