Millennia TEA Exceeds $500,000 Target In First Seed Funding Round
SAINT JOHN — Millennia TEA, a company that uses flash-freezing technology to offer antioxidant-rich tea, has closed its first-ever funding round.
The round was led by Natural Products Canad (NPC), a group of private investors, and SOSV, an international venture capital firm that is also home to Food-X, considered the world’s leading food and beverage accelerator that Millennia TEA took part in last year. The exact amount of the round is not being disclosed, but the company confirmed they did exceed their $500,000 target.
“Today’s health-conscious consumer has embraced ‘food as medicine’ and is looking for ways to optimize the nutritional value of their everyday pleasures like a simple cup of tea,” says Shelley King, CEO of Natural Products Canada, and a key investor and strategic advisor to Millennia TEA, in a release.
Founded in 2017 in Saint John, Millennia TEA offers delicate-tasting tea packed with powerful health benefits thanks to its first-in-category flash-freezing technology that preserves 5x the antioxidants found in dry leaf teas – nutritional properties lost through the traditional drying processes around tea.
Funding from the seed round will help the company support its innovation and growth potential in the $3-billion North American specialty tea market. Since 2017, it’s grown its customer base and scaled production and international sourcing to accommodate its growth throughout the frozen section of specialty grocery stores and health food stores across Canada.
They plan to use the funds to expand their market presence in Canada and to begin exporting to interested customers in the United States and Europe.
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“We’ve been fortunate to have strategic advisors from the beverage and wellness industries on board from the start,” said Tracy Bell, co-founder of Millennia TEA, in an interview. “Their insight and connections have helped us accelerate quickly and take advantage of the booming interest in functional beverages and personal nutrition.”
Millennia TEA got its start after Bell and her co-founder and partner Rory had a cancer scare in their family and were encouraged by health professionals to find the most antioxidant-rich tea they can find. The experience created a company with a mission to provide the freshest, most nutrient-rich teas products anywhere and bring it to everyone who wants it.
“We’re a company born out of a health scare. We believe tea – in its purest form – is a perfect partner in promoting clarity, focus, energy and overall well-being,” said Bell. “This is why we spent years developing a way to share the freshest and most antioxidant-rich version of tea. Our vision is for a world where tea is enjoyed together in a powerful, healing way as it was a millennia ago.”
King says the strength of the advisors around the company and the purpose-driven nature of the entrepreneurs factored heavily in NPC’s decision to invest.
“Millennia TEA has a category-changing product that ticks all the boxes for today’s consumer,” says King. “The innovation and quality of the product, their commitment to sustainable sourcing and socially-responsible practices, plus their ability to attract and implement strategic advice make them a very exciting company to watch.”