Milo's Tea Company gets 'sweet' Spartanburg County welcome for new manufacturing plant

Bob Montgomery, Herald-Journal
·2 min read

Alabama-based Milo's Tea Company broke ground Thursday on a 130,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution facility in Moore that will open by late 2024 and employ 100 workers.

"We are going to be a wonderful neighbor," said Milo's CEO Tricia Wallwork. "We are here to make Milo's moments with you, not with just our beverages, but with how we do business. We cannot wait to get started."

Gov. Henry McMaster and several Spartanburg County officials attended the groundbreaking ceremony at the location of the company's fourth U.S. plant at SC 290 and U.S. 221 in Moore.

The company received tax breaks from Spartanburg County and the S.C. Coordinating Council for Economic Development.

"It's not always the tax cuts," McMaster said. "It's good to have a railroad, it's great to have the deepest port on the Atlantic with two inland ports, but it's always about the people."

Milo's was founded as a restaurant in 1946 in Bessemer, Alabama. The company later branched out by making all-natural teas and lemonades.

Milo's opened its latest bottling and brewing plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2020, and has already doubled the capacity of the plant's output, according to Wallwork, granddaughter of the founders.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and other local Spartanburg County officials attended the groundbreaking of the site of the new Milo’s Tea facility in Moore on March 23, 2023. The facility will be at the corner of US-221 Highway and SC-290 Highway in Moore. Tricia Wallwork, CEO of Milo's Tea, spoke at the event.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and other local Spartanburg County officials attended the groundbreaking of the site of the new Milo’s Tea facility in Moore on March 23, 2023. The facility will be at the corner of US-221 Highway and SC-290 Highway in Moore. Tricia Wallwork, CEO of Milo's Tea, spoke at the event.

Wallwork said today Milo's sells its products at 40,000 retail locations in all 50 states.

She said the company is a certified women-owned business, and a certified zero-waste manufacturer devoted to sustainable practices and stewardship of local communities – "only one of two in Alabama, and we're going to do that right here in South Carolina as well."

"Our products aren't just authentic and real, we are too," she said. "That is how we are going to do business here. We chose this area because we knew it felt like home. You said, 'come be a part of our family.'"

Grocery and convenience stores carry Milo's products, including sweetened and unsweetened tea, lemonade, and peach, raspberry and lemon-flavored teas.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and other local Spartanburg County officials attended the groundbreaking of the site of the new Milo’s Tea facility in Moore on March 23, 2023. The facility will be at the corner of US-221 Highway and SC-290 Highway in Moore.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and other local Spartanburg County officials attended the groundbreaking of the site of the new Milo’s Tea facility in Moore on March 23, 2023. The facility will be at the corner of US-221 Highway and SC-290 Highway in Moore.

Spartanburg County Councilman David Britt, chairman of the county's economic development committee, said he never recruited a company as hard as he did with Milo's.

"I wanted this company so bad, I went home and got me some Milo's tea," he said. "I filled my refrigerator up, and (my grandchildren) came to Spartanburg and I went and got Milo's tea and lemonade. We took pictures and I sent them to Tricia and the marketing department.

"Your core values mesh with ours. We're here to support you, not only today, but tomorrow and for years to come."

Those interested in jobs can visit the company's career webpage.

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Spartanburg County provides 'sweet' welcome to Milo's Tea Company