When the co-founders of Great Neck Beverages bring their product, Cape Tide Hard Tea, to events or potential customers’ stores, sometimes the first question they get asked isn’t about their beverages.
“We also get some looks coming in with our age. Sometimes we get ID’ed at some of these events,” said Ben Carbeau, director of operations.
Don’t worry, the team behind Cape Tide Hard Tea are all 21. While it may result in a few funny looks, Carbeau and his co-founders Ollie Cheever, Harrison Hill and Peter Nelson say their youth and entrepreneurship story is actually a selling point for the company.
The four all became friends in eighth grade at The Fenn School in Concord, and while they largely went their own ways in high school and college, they made it a point to reunite on Cape Cod each year and to keep that friendship alive. This Memorial Day weekend, the friends also kicked off a business venture, launching Cape Tide Hard Tea on Cape Cod.
The idea for Cape Tide Hard Tea began last summer when the group experimented with home brewing beer. They quickly learned this was a difficult process, and switched to hard iced tea.
“We felt like there were some hard teas out there, but it wasn’t anything made with real ingredients. A lot of them were either malt or just loaded up with sugar. And additionally, there wasn’t anything that was local to Cape Cod,” Carbeau said.
Nelson, director of marketing, said the group has always been adventurous, and this business venture gave them another way to stay connected as they grow up. Nelson attends Colby College, Carbeau goes to Wesleyan University, and Cheever and Hill are at Wake Forest University. Cheever manages sales and Hill is head of finance.
The co-founders started Great Neck Beverages in May 2022 and spent the next year experimenting with hard iced tea concoctions in a barn, finding manufacturing options, looking for distributors, building a brand and meeting mentors in the beverage industry.
“That was probably one of our concerns going into it as young people. Will we be taken seriously? Will people really extend their hands?” Carbeau said. “We’ve been overwhelmed with just how welcoming and friendly people in this industry and all around have been.”
Contrary to their concerns, Nelson said their young age has been a big factor in their favor. People are interested in their story and supporting young entrepreneurs, he said. The team personally worked this summer’s 85 sampling events, which helped them get in front of customers and tell that story.
The company is also using social media like TikTok and Instagram to gain attention. They even have a seal mascot costume that they use for creating content, like a Shark Week-themed campaign.
People also like the taste of their drinks, Carbeau said. The formula is simple: brewed black tea, vodka, fruit juice and natural flavors. The drinks come in lemon, peach and raspberry flavors.
“It’s not loaded up with things you can’t pronounce or extra sugars,” Carbeau said.
Cape Tide Hard Tea is available at 105 liquor stores and restaurants or bars on the Cape and Eastern Massachusetts. Carbeau said they’re expanding up toward Boston and hope to continue growing into new regions moving into next year.
Nelson said that by the end of the summerm around 70% of their accounts have reordered at least twice.
Now, all the co-founders are heading back to their respective colleges. But the work on their new business will continue.
“Going into the winter, it’s going to be a lot of prep for 2024. We’ve got some hopes to expand our footprint to other regions of Massachusetts, as well as just to bolster our brand and to continue to grow internally,” Carbeau said.
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