Steaz, a brand of organic green tea-based beverages, was established in 2002 by co-founders Steven Kessler and Eric Schnell. The Steaz brand, headquartered in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, is currently owned by the privately held Healthy Beverage Company.
History
In the 1990s, prior to the founding of Steaz, both Schnell and Kessler were employed at Country Life Vitamins. The business was described as fledgling, but produced a somewhat profitable organic bottled tea product called Long Life Tea.[1] Based on this success, the observation that soft drinks were being removed from schools, and the growth in organic products in the United States, Schnell and Kessler decided to pursue the possibility of creating an organic tea-based soda product.[2]
In 2002, The Healthy Beverage Company was founded by Schnell and Kessler, but their products would be sold under the Steaz brand name. Their first major product was Steaz Green Tea Soda, which was the first USDA Organic certified soda.[1] All Steaz products have since been Certified Organic by