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The company sells millions of cans of iced tea each year and has maintained the 99-cent price tag for three decades. But have you seen its swag?

FEB 13, 2025

AriZona Iced Tea has more than a million followers on TikTok and nearly half a million on its meme-filled Instagram accounts. The company’s merch—from puffer jackets to skateboard decks to press-on nails—is a minor sensation among devotees of the 33-year-old, independently owned, cult-favorite beverage, which has repelled an army of corporate competitors over the decades.

That success is all the more impressive when you consider that Don Vultaggio, AriZona’s 73-year-old co-founder, has never sent an email. In fact, he claims he doesn’t know how to use a computer. But he does know how to build a bottled-beverage empire through his special alchemy of value, beauty, and accessibility.

Though Vultaggio lives his life decidedly offline, he runs the company using a clever blend of old and new approaches. In 2019, AriZona opened a bottling facility in Keasbey, New Jersey, that employs more than 350 people and churns out up to 4,730 cans a minute, 24 hours a day. Vultaggio laid out the factory himself using his size 12 shoe as a measuring stick—why bother with lasers.

Yet he looks for efficiencies wherever he can find them to keep the suggested retail price of the company’s tall boy iced tea cans at 99 cents, just as it was when the company launched in 1992. That’s why there are solar panels to help power the facility. Sugar and other ingredients, though, arrive on a once-abandoned rail line. Then again, robots load cases of drinks onto pallets.

In January, that bottling plant, officially known as AriZonaLand, opened to the public for tours, and perhaps more importantly, a trip to the gift shop to stock up on the company’s signature merch—anything from $3.99 can-shaped air fresheners to $600 skis.

For a brand that’s found on supermarket shelves and convenience stores, AriZona has an unusually strong fan base of Zonies, as they’re known. At an opening party for AriZonaLand last October, Inc. met musicians and influencers Ariie West and Sean Jones. The pair are at work on a video series called Chop Cheese AriZona, in which they visit bodegas across New York looking for the best combination of AriZona iced tea and a chop cheese sandwich—the bodega classic of a chopped-up burger patty topped in melted cheese. The combo was a staple for kids growing up in Black and Brown communities in the ‘90s and early ‘00s—an affordable meal at about $3 for a sandwich and 99 cents for a can of iced tea. “It was the go-to after school,” says West, the show’s host.

Those cans of tea—and a host of other beverages, from juice to spiked seltzer—still form the bulk of AriZona’s reported $3 billion annual revenue. But branded gear and garments have proven invaluable for brand awareness. Who needs advertising? In fact, AriZona rarely pays for it.

Sought-After Swag

“It’s not just about slapping our logo on something. We put real effort into making sure every piece is something we’d actually want to wear,” says chief marketing officer Spencer Vultaggio, one of Don’s two sons, who now run the company with him. “Culturally, it’s a huge part of who we are. It keeps the AriZona story alive in a way that goes far beyond just a can on a shelf.”

“Our father was making merch long before it was even a thing in the beverage space,” adds Spencer’s brother, Wesley Vultaggio, AriZona’s chief creative officer. “In the early days, it was all about promotional items made for employees, partners, and giveaways. But as the brand’s visual identity became iconic, people started seeking out the gear on their own. That demand pushed us to evolve, turning it from just promo into something bigger—something truly lifestyle.”

AriZona turned its merch into a full-fledged lifestyle brand in 2005, and over the years it has collaborated with sneaker giant Adidas, streetwear giant Anti Social Social Club, and sunscreen company Vacation, which leans into a 1980s sunworshipper aesthetic. New products often arrive as limited-edition drops and occasionally pop up for hundreds of dollars on eBay.

Lach Hall, co-founder and executive chair of marketing at Vacation, says that when the opportunity arose to collaborate with AriZona on lip balm, T-shirts, and hats, there was obvious synergy. “The brand AriZona built over the past three decades is one we really admire,” says Hall. “We’re similarly focused on bringing a sense of joy to unexpected products. Together, we were able to create a product and campaign that celebrates the fun and quality you’d expect from both of our brands, with a hint of nostalgia that instantly sparks a smile.”

Sometimes those collaborations are a bit too effective. In 2019, AriZona hosted a pop-up in New York City selling AriZona-branded Adidas Originals for 99 cents a pair. Hundreds reportedly waited in line for hours, and fights broke out over the sneakers before the NYPD swooped in to shut the pop-up down. You can’t buy that kind of publicity. (The sneakers were soon put back on sale for $200.)

An Eye for Detail

AriZona’s bottling plant looks nothing like the clinical environment of most food-processing facilities. A staff artist has infused the space with Southwestern murals and hand-painted flowers. There’s even a small employee gym overlooking the factory floor.

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The many “elves” from the Keasbey Fire Department who helped Santa Claus bring presents and smiles to many neighborhood children.

A scene from Keasbey Fire Department’s 2023 “Santa Run,” that brought smiles to many neighborhood children and their appreciative families. Photo Credit: KEASBEY FIRE DEPT/FACEBOOK

A scene from Keasbey Fire Department’s 2023 “Santa Run,” that brought smiles to many neighborhood children and their appreciative families. Photo Credit: KEASBEY FIRE DEPT/FACEBOOK

A scene from Keasbey Fire Department’s 2023 “Santa Run,” that brought smiles to many neighborhood children and their appreciative families. Photo Credit: KEASBEY FIRE DEPT/FACEBOOK

A scene from Keasbey Fire Department’s 2023 “Santa Run,” that brought smiles to many neighborhood children and their appreciative families. Photo Credit: KEASBEY FIRE DEPT/FACEBOOK

A scene from Keasbey Fire Department’s 2023 “Santa Run,” that brought smiles to many neighborhood children and their appreciative families. Photo Credit: KEASBEY FIRE DEPT/FACEBOOK

Keasbey Fire Chief Alexander Salgado helps Santa Claus saddle-up for his 2023 ‘Santa Run’ deliveries.Photo Credit: KEASBEY FIRE DEPT/FACEBOOK

The many “elves” from the Keasbey Fire Department who helped Santa Claus bring presents and smiles to many neighborhood children. Photo Credit: KEASBEY FIRE DEPT/FACEBOOK

A scene from Keasbey Fire Department’s 2023 “Santa Run,” that brought smiles to many neighborhood children and their appreciative families. Photo Credit: KEASBEY FIRE DEPT/FACEBOOK

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By TONY GALLOTTO

Published December 20, 2023 at 9:37 AM

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Firefighters from Keasbey did double-duty as Santa’s elves, recently helping Kris Kringle deliver dozens of new wrapped toys to neighborhood youngsters.

The Keasbey Fire Department’s “Santa Run” is an annual event for Woodbridge Fire District No. 4’s landmark firehouse at 420 Smith St., that brings joy and smiles to many children, their parents and grandparents.

This year’s “Santa Run,” was on Saturday, Dec. 16th.

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As in past years, most toys that Santa delivered did not come from his North Pole workshop. They were donated to the department by Keasbey residents and families, and others were purchased with community contributions.

Here are some special images from the fire department’s Facebook page.

For more information about the fire department, its firefighters, and its other charitable work, call (732) 738-4343 or visit its website or social media platforms.

Contact Tony Gallotto at tgallotto@tapinto.net with news tips or interesting feature ideas.

Visit TAPinto Woodbridge-Carteret on Facebook. Sign up for news alerts and download TAPinto’s mobile app for Android or iOS.