Ellis Infinity Beverage Co grows 300%, expands presence across Midwest

Seven years ago, Nailah Ellis-Brown was selling tea made from a family recipe out of the trunk of her car. Today, her Ellis Island Tea can be found in Whole Foods supermarkets across the Midwest.

"There are only 22 (Whole Foods) stores in the Midwest region that we are not in," Ellis-Brown says. "They want to put us in all of those stores."

Ellis-Brown launched Ellis Infinity Beverage Co. shortly after leaving college. She took an old family recipe for herbal tea made with hibiscus passed down from her great grandfather, Cyril Byron. The Jamaican immigrant came to the U.S. through Ellis Island in the early 20th Century and worked as a master chef on the Black Star Line, a shipping line started by Marcus Garvey.

At first, Ellis-Brown started selling bottles out of her parent's home and eventually found a way to get them into local stores. She caught the attention of Whole Foods a little more than a year ago. Supplying Whole Foods store shelves helped her grow her Ellis Infinity Beverage Co by 300 percent last year, selling 150 cases per month.

"Our goal is to quadruple that," Ellis-Brown says.

And it's possible. Ellis Infinity Beverage Co. moved into its own production space near the Russell Industrial Center last year and has add three people to keep up with production. Ellis-Brown is now looking to hire a handful more people to be brand ambassadors and work in production.

Ellis Infinity Beverage Co. is also working on adding some new flavors to its line of teas. Ellis-Brown's team is currently working on branding and packaging for those items. She hopes to launch them either later this year or early next year.

Source: Nailah Ellis-Brown, owner of Ellis Infinity Beverage Co.
Writer: Jon Zemke

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