Which tea retailer did Starbucks acquire in 2012?

Starbucks acquired Teavana in 2012.

Teavana was founded in Atlanta in 1997 by Andrew Mack and his wife, Nancy. The company built a specialty-tea retail business through shopping-mall stores and packaged tea products. Starbucks announced the acquisition in November 2012 and completed it later that year, paying about $620 million in cash for the publicly traded tea retailer.

The purchase was intended to give Starbucks a larger platform in the global tea market, complementing its established coffee business. Teavana stores sold loose-leaf teas, tea accessories, and related products, while Starbucks also introduced Teavana beverages in its own cafés. Starbucks later closed the remaining Teavana mall stores in 2018, shifting the brand’s presence mainly to packaged tea sold through retail channels and Starbucks locations.

Teavana is sometimes confused with Tazo, another tea brand associated with Starbucks. Starbucks acquired Tazo in 1999, long before the Teavana deal, and sold Tazo to Unilever in 2017.