Interview with NEXTY Editor’s Choice award winner, The Republic of Tea

The Natural List is back with more interviews from Natural Products Expo West’s CPG Innovation Studio! Meredith Kaufman and Adrienne Smith, the duo behind our NEXTY Award program, share about our 2026 NEXTY Editor’s Choice Award winners: The Republic of Tea's Regenerative Organic Certified® Assam Black Tea, Papa Mountain's Sweet Potato & Herb Bread Rolls, and Ulu Foods' Chia & Sea Salt Breadfruit Bites. This week, Adrienne Smith talks with Christina Tucker, Minister of Enlightenment from the Republic of Tea. This iconic tea brand invites drinkers to live “sip by sip, not gulp by gulp” and live in the moment. The brand’s Regenerative Organic Certified® (ROC) Assam Tea was nominated as a finalist in the People-Forward category and awarded a 2026 Editor’s Choice NEXTY Award. ROC products are certified by the Regenerative Organic Alliance to build soil health, ensure equity for farm workers, empower farmers and improve animal welfare through a holistic farm-based, brand-driven certification. The Republic of Tea currently has three Regenerative Organic Certified SKUs: Assam iced tea pouches, traditional Assam and a Tulsi tea, with plans to expand in the future. At Expo West this year the brand introduced a few new additions to its lineup, including double-green matcha teas and “super shroom” mushroom tea blends. Congratulations to our three NEXTY Editor’s Choice Award winners! Read more about them on NewHope.com. Thank you to our sponsors A Greener World, Advantage Solutions, FreislandCampina Ingredients, Daabon and Lakanto. In this episode: 0:23 - Our new interview series highlights recordings from the CPG Content Creation Studio at Natural Products Expo West 2026. 1:18 - What is a NEXTY Editor's Choice Award and how does a brand get one? 3:18 - We had three NEXTY Editor's Choice Award winners this year. 4:56 - Thank you to our sponsor Lakanto. 5:28 - Thank you to our sponsor Advantage Solutions. 6:10 - Welcome, Christina Tucker, Minister of Enlightenment at The Republic of Tea! 8:25 - The Republic of Tea's NEXTY finalist product is an Assam Black Tea in the People Forward category. 10:52 - Thank you to our sponsor Daabon. 11:26 - Thank you to our sponsor FrieslandCampina Ingredients. 11:50 - The Republic of Tea has three Regenerative Organic Certified® SKUs, with more on the way. 12:42 - Retailers and consumers have embraced the ROC certification on these teas. 13:25 - Shopping cart staples like iced tea, black tea and green tea are a great way to get ROC awareness out there. 14:42 - Check out these new launches brewing at The Republic of Tea, with trending flavors and ingredients. 16:55 - Thank you to our sponsor A Greener World. https://www.newhope.com/nexty-awards/2026-natural-products-expo-west-nexty-award-winners https://www.republicoftea.com/collections/regenerative-organic-certified-tea https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrienne-smith-9191181a/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredith-kaufman-687687108/