Honest Tea's Bethesda Offices Show Company's Personality

BETHESDA, MD — Office spaces don’t have to be bland beige cages of workers with no personality. Bethesda-based Honest Tea company is the antithesis of a sterile office, and its digs were featured in Washington Business Journal.

Founded in 1997 by Seth Goldman and Barry Nalebuff, the company aimed to fill the void between soft drinks and watery drinks. Goldman started brewing batches of tea in his kitchen, according to the company blog, and within five weeks landed an order for 15,000 bottles from Fresh Fields (Whole Foods Market).

In March 2011, The Coca-Cola Company bought Honest Tea in 2011, and it is now run by Goldman as an independent business unit. The brand is sold in more than 100,000 stores across the country.

The Honest Tea headquarters at 4827 Bethesda Ave. features an open layout decorated with art and items from the company’s history. Anywhere from 40 to 55 employees work in the 3,600-square-foot office.

The Business Journal gives readers an inside look at the inner sanctum of the company. From walls decorated with items from the countries where its ingredients are sourced – a bicycle and a tea-picking basket from India, or Goldman’s cardboard boxes used as his in and out baskets – the interior has personality.

Watch a video with Goldman and see more of the inside of Honest Tea here.