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Pure Leaf was the top-selling ready-to-drink (RTD) tea brand in the United States in 2025, by a healthy margin. Sales of the beverage amounted to *billion dollars, compared to competitors Arizona and Gold Peak, who had respective sales of *** billion and ****million dollars. PureLeaf is a product of the Pepsi Lipton Tea partnership, which includes a portfolio of RTD teas, including Lipton Iced Tea, PureLeaf and Brisk. Both companies were among the *** soft drink brands in 2024.

Lipton’s origins

Lipton tea was originally marketed by Sir Thomas Lipton in 1890. Already a successful grocer, Lipton bought tea gardens in Sri Lanka in an effort to provide low-priced tea to consumers. In 1972, Unilever, one of the largest consumer goods companies in the world, acquired Lipton tea. Lipton’s RTD beverages are sold by Pepsi Lipton International, a joint venture between Unilever and PepsiCo. 

The broader RTD tea market

Total sales of the ready-to-drink tea segment in the United States reached ****billion dollars in 2019. In comparison to ready-to-drink coffee, RTD tea sales growth was subdued, increasing by only *** percent during 2018 to 2019.