Dive Brief:
- Honest Tea said via Twitter that the company is in the process of removing quotes from Donald Trump that appear on product bottle caps.
- The company includes inspirational quotes on the inside of the caps of its glass bottles and changes the quotes out every 18 months. Trump's quote was already being phased out.
- Honest Tea co-founder Seth Goldman told the Associated Press the decision is not associated with Trump’s presidential bid.
Dive Insight:
Coca-Cola took over Honest Tea in 2011, and at that time Coca-Cola advised Honest Tea to use quotes exclusively from people who were deceased because they are less likely to stir up controversy.
It was only a matter of time for the quote — and Honest Tea — to receive attention, considering Trump's bid for the White House. Trump's quote on the Honest Tea bottle caps reads, "If you're going to think anyway, you might as well think big."
"There's nothing objectionable to the thought," Goldman told the Associated Press, regarding Trump's quote.
Honest Tea consumer and Humane Society of the U.S. vice president Paul Shapiro had seen Trump's quote on his bottle cap and posted on Twitter, followed by Honest Tea saying they were in the process of removing them:
Funny that the bottle of @HonestTea I just bought quotes @realDonaldTrump on the cap: pic.twitter.com/FNCzryypBz
— Paul Shapiro (@pshapiro) December 27, 2015