Zest Tea was recently recognized as one of the “Best Entrepreneurial Companies in America” by Entrepreneur Magazine’s Entrepreneur 360™ List, the most comprehensive analysis of private companies in America. Based on this study forged by Entrepreneur, Zest Tea is recognized as a well-rounded company that has mastered a balance of impact, innovation, growth and leadership.

“We’re incredibly honored to have made the Entrepreneur 360 list,” says James Fayal, founder of Zest Tea.  “This award is an indication of the phenomenal team we’ve built here at Zest Tea. I’m lucky to be surrounded by such an intelligent and versatile group of individuals that have taken it upon themselves to secure our product’s success in the market.”

“Our annual evaluation offers a 360-degree analysis of the current private-business landscape,” explains Lisa Murray, Chief Insights Officer of Entrepreneur Media, Inc. “Top performers are determined by how well-rounded they are in these four key operative areas. Entrepreneurship is a complex endeavor—this listing recognizes those who have mastered the challenge and are thriving this year.”

James Fayal, founder of Zest Tea, has always been a tea drinker. Right out of college he worked long hours as an investment analyst at a venture capital firm. James found himself drinking coffee for the caffeine but missed his preferred drink of tea. It got him thinking, "why couldn't I get my caffeine fix from tea?" so he took on the challenge to create high quality, high caffeine teas.

At first, the tea was just for James' own enjoyment, but requests from friends led to a crowd funding campaign and the company officially launched in 2014. Zest built a fanatical following online. In 2015 it grew 300% and won Best New Product at the World Tea Expo. This year, Zest is expanding to retail.

“I believe our teas have made a splash because our brand strives to be unapologetically bold, something that really stands out in the seemingly stagnant tea industry,” says Karyn Vilbig, CMO at Zest. “The demographics of the tea industry are increasingly shifting towards younger, Millennial consumers and we’re building a tea company for the modern tea drinker. Most of the industry is still trying to market to an outdated, older crowd, which is no longer representative of the consumer base.”

Entrepreneur 360 honorees were identified based on the results from a comprehensive study of independently-owned companies, using a proprietary algorithm and other advanced analytics. The algorithm was built on a balanced scorecard designed to measure four metrics reflecting major pillars of entrepreneurship—innovation, growth, leadership and impact.

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