Tricia Wallwork, CEO and chair of Milo’s Tea, says the family business her grandfather founded in 1946 has grown from a burger stand into a tea company that recently passed $1 billion in retail sales.
Milo returned from World War II, married Bea the next week and opened a stand serving burgers, fries, pies and sweet tea to Atlanta’s steelworkers. The business later became franchise restaurants run by her father and stepmother, and then the tea company she leads today. Through each phase, the family kept to its founding values: listening to customers, using real ingredients and treating people well.
Milo’s Tea Grew From $30 Million to $1 Billion in Retail Sales in 14 Years
Wallwork never planned to join the business and trained as a lawyer, but found the work unfulfilling and joined Milo’s. Her parents had noticed customers driving through just for sweet tea, so they sold the franchise company and used the proceeds to start the first tea plant.
She became CEO in 2012, when retail sales were about $30 million. Growth has been like a hockey stick, and she leans on advisors and mentors to manage it. The board, including her father, stepmother and stepsister, set a family mission statement and a goal of staying 100% family-owned.
For the next generation, there are family meetings, a path to shareholder and board meetings, and an internship program. Anyone seeking a job must first work elsewhere for three years and be promoted. Her motto: “merit, not inheritance.”
