Honest Tea Mission MBA Intern

Date Posted February 4, 2019
Honest Tea seeks to create and promote great-tasting, healthier, organic beverages and extend economic opportunities to communities in need. Founded in 1998 in Bethesda, MD, Honest Tea is the nation’s top-selling organic bottled tea company, specializing in beverages that are Just a Tad Sweet®.  Honest Tea’s product lines include: ready-to-drink bottled teas and Honest® Kids juice drinks , Honest® Freshly Brewed iced tea, Honest® Lemonade and Honest® Cold Brew Coffee. All teas and juice drinks are USDA Organic and all tea leaf varieties and sugar are Fair Trade Certified™.  In addition to being recognized by the United States Healthful Food Council for helping change the food landscape, Honest Tea is a multi-year winner of awards from the Alliance for Workplace Excellence and a Montgomery County, MD Certified Green Business.  Honest Tea has won Men’s Health “Best Bottled Tea” for seven years and has been included in Women’s Health magazine’s “125 Best Packaged Foods for Women” for the several years in a row.  Honest Tea is an independent operating unit of The Coca-Cola Company.

MBA Internship Overview
Honest Tea offers a summer internship for a hard-working, enthusiastic, and creative 1st year MBA student interested in gaining hands-on experience in a mission-driven, consumer products company. The intern will be immersed in Honest Tea’s fast-paced, ever-changing environment with new and exciting challenges thrown their way each day. Interns will be exposed to all sides of the business from mission, marketing, PR, sales and operations. Ideal candidates for this position are open-minded and adapt well to dynamic environments. The position will report to PR/Communications and Mission Team Lead.

MBA Internship Responsibilities
The MBA internship includes completing the capstone project (detailed below) and supporting the Mission Team Lead on mission report, mission strategy and programming projects, all of which intersect with the brand’s business priorities as a mission-driven brand. In addition, the intern will work alongside cross-functional teams, including Sales, R&D, Knowledge & Insights, Operations, Marketing and Design departments, to gain valuable experience in general brand management.

INDIVIDUAL CAPSTONE PROJECT: Develop a recommendation which will favorably address a real and complex business issue for a specific brand/category. Examples could include developing a strategic recommendation on long-term mission strategy, innovation and sustainability platforms, or a unique strategic partnership for a business line.
This project will require the Intern to:
Module A: Conduct an assessment of the business situation and identify key strategic insights, considerations, and support points for their potential recommendation.
Module B: Based on the assessment, create a detailed recommendation and business plan (including but not limited to:  specific marketing tactics, partnership recommendations, research plans, timeline)
Additional opportunities may include:

Managing an innovation project, such as sustainable packaging or a new formulation
Developing outline/content, gathering data and recommending strategy for 2019 mission report
Manage one-off mission-related projects, such as coordinating a program that enables distribution of eye care to Honest sourcing communities or developing marketing programs with non-profit partners
Conduct custom research projects to help support brand initiatives
Develop consumer-facing mission-related marketing and PR materials
Provide recommendations for Honest sustainability reporting & metrics
Supporting the day-to-day Brand operations; consistent with traditional Associate Brand Manager responsibilities (Monthly Business Analysis, Creative Brief Development, Marketing Tactic Reviews)
Shadow brand manager to get a “day-in-the-life” look at different aspects of the job
Participate in week-long formal MBA training at Coca-Cola Headquarters
Interns are considered part of the Honest Tea-m, and as such are expected to participate in experiential marketing initiatives, sample product at local events, attend trade shows, and accompany sales team members on customer calls, as appropriate.

Time Commitment & Location
Internship runs full time through the summer at roughly 40 hours per week (for 12 weeks) based out of the Bethesda, MD office. Will require brief travel 2-3 times to Atlanta, GA.

Qualifications & Cultural Fit
The ideal candidate has a strong interest in health and sustainability, and a comfort level communicating through multiple channels and to various audiences. This candidate will also have strong writing and appreciate the importance of Honest Tea’s unique brand “voice” and “look and feel.” This is a great opportunity to help an entrepreneurial brand continue its rapid growth and to learn about managing a company from many different angles.

What do we expect from you?
The ability to contribute, to make a difference and have a tangible impact – turning your passion into action;
Creative and fresh thinking in your work and your life, regardless of your role;
A spirit of collaboration – you thrive when you work with a diverse range of people with different views, perspectives and priorities;
A pragmatic and commercial mindset that understands the challenge of sustainability.

Only applicants who include the following will be considered:

Resume
Cover letter
Choose one of the 2 assignments below and write a brief constructed response (BCR). BCRs should showcase your creativity and writing ability and should be approximately 500 – 600 words.

1. If you were to create the next cause marketing campaign for Honest Tea, what would it be and how would it come to life? Details on Honest Tea’s values can be found at www.honesttea.com/about-us/our-mission/
OR
2. If you were to create a new product line extension at Honest Tea, what would it be? Why is it a good fit for the Honest brand and consumer?
To apply, please visit the job posting.

https://coke.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/coca_cola_college/job/US---MD---Bethesda/Honest-Tea-Mission-MBA-Intern_R-23959