Argo Tea

Chain of tea cafes in Chicago, US

Argo Tea began as a chain of tea cafes that was founded in the Lincoln Park community area in Chicago, Illinois, in June 2003. It was headquartered in Chicago's Loop community area. It had more than a dozen locations in the Chicago metropolitan area before expanding in 2010 to New York City, where it opened four locations that year and then expanded to St. Louis and Boston. The tea menu included a variety of black, green, white teas, and natural herbal teas, served hot or iced. Argo Tea has formed a special relationship with Whole Foods Market to distribute Argo products. According to the description in Bloomberg Businessweek, Argo's specialty foods include pastries, sandwiches, salads, and quiches. Argo markets from a lifestyle perspective with awareness of modern design and sustainable environment. It also sells audio CDs. In 2020, Argo Tea began selling bottled tea in Walgreens and other stores, “shifting its focus to a ready to drink premium tea line derived from one of its most popular café beverages.” [from cafés], and it was acquired by Golden Fleece. “Golden Fleece Beverages, Inc. took ownership of the Argo Tea brand, and has continued to operate the business as Argo Tea.” Loose tea is sold online. Argo Tea was launched in 2003 by three partners: Arsen Avakian, Simon Simonian, and Daniel Lindwasser. Avakian and Simonian are boyhood friends from Armenia. Lindwasser is a Frenchman who moved to the U. S. in 1997. He is a former management consultant. Avakian's father, Yuri, holds multiple wind and solar technology patents. The venture, which opened in June 2003, It was across the street from a Starbucks. Argo borrowed its name from the story of Jason and the Argonauts in Greek mythology. The original store was financed by its founders, who were all experienced management consultants, without outside investors. At first, the company experimented with expansion by distributing boxed dry tea at Whole Foods, but quickly restrategized. By the beginning of 2006, there was a third location (in the Loop community area on Randolph Street near State) with a fourth on the way. In March 2006, Argo expanded to the South Side of Chicago at the University of Chicago Medical Center, which is located in the Hyde Park community area, with a location that is described as a teaosk, a themed kiosk. In Chicago, several of the early cafes, including the 11th inside Merchandise Mart and the 13th at O'Hare International Airport, have been located in close proximity to a Starbucks storefronts with the thought that Starbucks is expanding demand for tea. By February 2009, the company was still a Chicago metropolitan area business with all 13 of its locations. In July 2011, Argo became the first outside retail tenant of the Tribune Tower in six years when it leased space. Argo opened its flagship New York City location in January 2010 by signing a 10 year lease in the Flatiron Building. It promptly followed with a Chelsea neighborhood storefront and then a Columbus Circle store in the spring. It opened a total of four cafes in New York City in 2010, taking advantage of the late 2000s recession, which allowed the company to procure prime retail locations such as Union Square, Columbus Circle and the Flatiron District at reasonable rates. The business replaced a Dean & Deluca in the Union Square neighborhood. Among the investors in the New York City expansion were Sam Zell, Glen Tullman and Oxford Capital. In May 2011, the company added its fifth tea room in New York City. By 2010, the company eschewed its aspiration to be the Starbucks of tea, "Starbucks is more like Windows PC—it's old, less healthy and designed for everyone—and we want to be more like Mac: young, healthy, cool and a more unique, innovative brand." Avakian said the company hopes to build the Apple of tea. while Time ran a story claiming that Argo has gotten America to drink tea. , the United States market had grown to over 3,000 tearooms, according to the Tea Association of the USA. According to Beverage Digest, between 2006 and 2009, coffee consumption declined 2.3 percent in the United States, while tea consumption rose 4.5 percent. By March 2013, bottle drinks, which they had begun in 2010 were 20% of the company's business. By September 2013, Doha was opened and that month a second Beirut location opened. In 2020, Argo Tea changed its focus from cafés to sale of bottled tea drinks, and it was acquired by Golden Fleece Beverages. It made an agreement with Walgreens to vend the bottled teas. The company still uses the Argo Tea name.

Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world, after water. Argo began with 35 teas from around the world, including black tea, green tea and chamomile tisane as well as exotic teas. In its first years, the company sold illy brand coffee. While the company imports its teas from sources around the world, it now brews its teas at a centralized location in downtown Chicago. By 2010, the company ventured into the grocery store market (Whole Foods and Treasure Island) with bottled specialty teas in Chicago and had plans for its own bottling facility. In 2011, the company expanded its distribution to grocery stores around the country.

Although there are both proponents and opponents of the health effects of tea, Argo tea is a proponent of the health benefits of tea and advocates for its use in research. Argo Tea has donated a large amount of white teas, which have high concentrations of antioxidants, to the University of Chicago Hospitals. This contribution prompted the University of Chicago to invite Argo to open the kiosk inside the hospital lobby.