Hoop Tea

Born in a tiny brewery on the beach of Ocean City MD, Hoop Tea is a brand of tea-based alcoholic beverages for modern consumers who prefer products with ‘clean labels’, low calories, and thoughtful ingredients. 

Hoop Tea was started by free spirited individuals who decided to quit their jobs and move to the beach. While simply "creating things they wished existed", the Hoop Tea team quickly became pioneers of the exploding "beyond beer" alcohol category.

Our purpose

According to Danny, the founder of Hoop Tea;
"I've always been careful about what goes into my body, but I grew frustrated that I couldn't find any clean-label or organic options when I joined my friends for drinks. I watched the change in grocery and convenience stores as they focused on better-for-you options when consumers began to seek alternatives to artificial, sugary, and high calorie foods. Unfortunately liquor stores and bars have shelves that look the same as they have for the past 40 years. We believe there is a better way. Using thoughtful ingredients, we've created a beverage to be enjoyed without great sacrifice to your health or compromising on flavor. We create options for people, like me, who are concerned with their wellness, but still want to enjoy a vibrant social life." 

How it all started

I’ve been in the hospitality business my whole life. I began by parking cars, washing dishes, and eventually bootstrapped my way up to owning my own bars and restaurants. In 2013 I fulfilled my dream of opening a brewery on the beach of Ocean City MD. We brew our beer with our toes in the sand and the sun on our faces, so it’s fitting that this is where Hoop Tea was born.

In Ocean City we spend our mornings surfing or practicing yoga, then re-fuel at a local fresh juice shop or organic market. After a day's work at the brewery we'll usually meet up with friends at a local beach bar to watch the sun set. I noticed that my healthy habits had to be left at the door, and I heard the same complaint from many of my friends. I couldn't help but think there was a glaring need for something different and, since I owned a brewery, I thought there was no one better suited to craft a concoction to make all my juice drinking, yoga practicing, surf riding friends have a happier happy-hour.

We launched the first iteration of Hoop Tea a few years ago after making some small batches in the brewery. We immediately got bombarded with inquiries from customers as well as bars and retail stores asking where to purchase our product. The following year we decided to package our alcoholic tea in eco-friendly 3 liter pouches and distribute them to local bars. We made 4 flavors including White Mango, Watermelon Mint Green Tea, Peach Tea Lemonade, and Sweet Lemon. In no time our little brand gained a cult-like tribe of loyal followers and the demand is spreading faster than we can keep up with it.

Our products are created with natural ingredients, purified water, organic cane sugar, and a thousands of years old process of fermenting natural sugars to create alcohol.

Today's consumers are increasingly turning towards emerging brands. They place importance on authentic brand stories and distrust the advertising of large companies. This trend has helped Hoop Tea achieve remarkable sales growth and a cult-like following in the Mid-Atlantic region. 

While the "beyond beer" or "flavored malt beverage" category has dwarfed the growth of almost all alcohol categories, including craft beer, Hoop Tea remains one of the only craft brands achieving success against the larger competitors. 

Note: the above shows sales of Southbound One, Inc., who have conducted all historic sales for Hoop Tea.  Hoop Tea, Inc., the company conducting this raise, is a new entity.

While the Hoop Tea brand has shown remarkable traction with limited resources and almost no employees, we've decided it's time to 'pour fuel on the fire' by hiring a team of superstars to handle sales, marketing, production, and finance.

We have the unfair advantage of being an exciting, free spirited, and authentic brand which no big competitor can recreate. Raising capital is our last hurdle to becoming an unstoppable brand.