Who is Brandon Echols?
Brandon Echols is co-founder of Y'all Sweet Tea, the Alabama bottled tea brand he started in 2021 with his childhood best friend, Darien Craig. The two grew up together in Hayden, Alabama, and blended their families' sweet tea recipes into a ready-to-drink product. They tested it at festivals, where repeat customers asking 'Y'all got any more of that tea?' supplied the brand name. The partners leaned heavily on social media, recruiting influencers including Southern grandmothers, one of whom became spokesperson 'Mama Sue' with more than a million followers. That strategy drove most sales through the company's own website.
The business reported about $1.2 million in sales in 2021, $2 million the next year and $4 million in its third year, with roughly 20% profit in 2023. In Season 16 of Shark Tank the founders asked for $500,000 for 5% at a $10 million valuation. Several sharks made offers, and they accepted $500,000 for 15% from Lori Greiner and Rashaun Williams. Y'all Sweet Tea is stocked in about 600 grocery stores across the Southeast and sold on Amazon.
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