HONEST KIDS SUSPENDS OU CERTIFICATION DUE TO SOURCING PROBLEMS

Honest Kids Suspends OU Kosher Certification Due to Sourcing Challenges
March 1, 2016

HONEST KIDS SUSPENDS OU KOSHER CERTIFICATION DUE TO SOURCING CHALLENGES

Interruption in Supply Chain Prevents All Honest Kids Varieties from Retaining Kosher Status

(Bethesda, MD)—March 1, 2016—Honest Tea will transition all five varieties of its Honest Kids juice drinks from certified kosher to non-kosher due to limitations with sourcing organic white grape juice certified by the Orthodox Union. The removal of the OU kosher symbol from all Honest Kids products will begin at the end of March 2016 and is planned to be temporary as the company reworks its ingredient and supply chain strategy.

This change affects all varieties of Honest Kids 6.75 fl. oz. juice pouches, 59 fl. oz. multi-serve bottles, and 6 fl. oz. Tetra Pak® juice boxes, including those used in food service locations. The OU symbol has been removed from the non-kosher Honest Kids products, and additional labeling measures have been implemented for added clarity whenever possible.

“As much as we love organic and kosher ingredients, one downside is that they are not available in unlimited quantities,” said Honest Tea Co-Founder & TeaEO Emeritus Seth Goldman. “As a result, when we encounter a hiccup in our supply chain, we are not always able to make a quick switch. We’ve spent the last couple of months scouring the globe to find a supply of organic, kosher white grape juice to replace our previous supply. Unfortunately, there just wasn’t enough organic and kosher white grape juice to maintain both the organic and OU kosher certifications on our Honest Kids products.”

All Honest Kids products still remain organic and gluten free, and all of Honest Tea’s other beverages will remain kosher and organic. The company is working diligently to acquire a new supply of kosher organic white grape juice that meets the needs of all Honest Tea products and aims to renew its Honest Kids OU kosher certification in the future.

For more information and updates about the kosher status of our Honest Kids products, please visit www.honesttea.com/kosher.