Q & A
Montclair ’ sAnneand StevePrato arethe forces behind Joe Tea
Originally from Bergen County , Ann and Steve Prato both grew up in families that ran small businesses . The couple ’ sfirst venture together was aT-shirt company ; they launched Joe Tea in1998 , and have since added Joe Chips totheir lineup . Currently , they offer 19 flavors of drinks and eight chip varieties inthe US and 20-plus other countries around the globe . Here , they talk about creating a successful brand , and how they built a worldwide thirst for their products .
Why did you switch from T-shirts to iced tea ? Steve : By the early ‘ 90s , leading department stores like Hahne ’ s , Bradlee ’ s and B . Altman had disappeared , and Macys and Bloomingdales were in Chapter 11 . Production was going overseas , and we didn ’ t speak the languages . Fashions may come and go , but if people like what they ’ re eating , they ’ ll continue to do it .
Has the beverage business been more your taste ?
Ann : There are trends in the food business , too – for example , green teas became big things , so we decided to expand with the trends – but people are willing to take aflyer for adrink with lunch , as opposed to a $ 150 dress . We experimented and adapted incrementally .
Whatwas your first product ?
Steve : The legal name of our original business was The TwoLittle Guys Company , so our first product was Two Little Guys Pink Lemonade . We put $ 1,000 inand $ 72,000 on our credit card , and Isold it door-to-door from the back seat ofour Dodge Intrepid . We were either going to sell them , drink them or give them away . We thought we ’ d have interest from beverage distributors , but they were going out of business . We ’ d been used to department stores , but selling to supermarkets is avery different animal . Youcan ’ tput beverages in UPS boxes .
How did Joe Team come to be ? Ann : Someone told us , “ I sell 10 times as much tea as lemonade ,” and the Joe Teaconcept popped up .
And the distinctive logo ?
Steve : We learned from making T-shirts that bestsellers had words and a picture , so we came up with the truck .
How did you grow your brand ? Ann : We had big issues to get over in our early days , including that our lime tea tasted like bourbon . Five percent of the people who drank it thought it was great , and the rest wanted to spit it out . We entered into 10 years of tinkering .
What was Joe Tea ’ sbig break ? Ann : We had to find stores nobody ’ s heard of . Steve found the nicest , most interesting accounts in town , like the Cheese Shop [ now Sandwich Theory ]. A Whole Foods buyer went to lunch there , and the company made a purchase order , but never put the product out on the floor . Finally , though , it migrated through their retail store system in the New York metro market . By 2009 , we started getting calls from people around the world .
And Joe Chip ’ s ? Steve : About six years ago , representatives of a potato chip company wanted to buy Joe Teaand sell it with their chips . We said , “ We ’ re not for sale , but that ’ s a really good idea .” Flavors include barbecue , cheddar , and toasted onion and sour cream .
When did you come to Montclair ? Steve : We moved here in1992 . We were living in New York City , and asalesman from Wayne said that he would live in Montclair if he could . The town has been incredibly supportive of us . People love food here . ■
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