Lynner launches iced-tea business

LYNN – Nantucket may be home to the “juice guys,” but Lynn can now boast of the newest tea guy.Lynn resident Anthony Acholonu recently launched a full line of vitamin-fortified tea beverages, called Freshet. With the slogan, “Drink Smart. Live Healthy. Stay Fresh,” Freshet aims to provide consumers with a product that not only tastes good, but is good for them.The beverages, which include black tea, lemon honey green tea and pink lemonade-flavored tea, are enhanced with vitamins and antioxidants. Most contain grape seed polyphenols, which are clinically proven to help fight heart disease, cancer and diabetes. The refreshing teas also contain no artificial sweeteners or high fructose corn syrup, and most are organically sweetened with evaporated cane sugar for quality taste without the calories.”In today’s world, it’s all about health,” said Acholonu. “Everybody wants to be healthy and live an active lifestyle, and this product strives to provide those customers with a healthier option and greater value in the marketplace.”Born in Nigeria, Acholonu moved to the U.S. in 1997, graduated from Lynn English High School in 1998 and took classes in business management at Salem State College. In 2004, after working at State Street and Citizens banks, Acholonu decided it was time to pursue his dream of creating his own business.”I wanted to work with something I liked,” he said. “I decided on the food and beverage industry because people will always eat and they’ll always drink.”Acholonu’s company – Whatsknew, Inc. – is based in Salem and the Freshet products are manufactured in Pennsylvania. The Freshet line of beverages, which was officially unveiled in October 2008, is available at 21 retailers throughout the Greater Boston area. In Lynn, the teas are stocked at the San Francisco Market. Acholonu hopes to launch two more flavors this summer and ultimately expand to become an integral player in the beverage market.”My goal is to produce more, to be everywhere,” he said. For more information or to request Freshet in your area, visit www.whatsknew.com.