A well-known New Jersey beverage manufacturer is coming to Bensalem — and it’s bringing its world headquarters along with it.
The Two Little Guys Company, the maker behind the Joe Tea brand, was recently approved for a 15-year, $1,220,000 loan through the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority (PIDA) to acquire an industrial facility at 1324 Adams Road in Bensalem. The loan, at a 4.25% reset interest rate, will allow the company to relocate its world headquarters from New Jersey to Bucks County and expand manufacturing operations at the new site. The total project cost is $3,050,000.
The loan was announced on March 4 by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development as part of a broader package of over $4.1 million in PIDA investments across Bucks, Erie, and Lancaster counties.
About The Two Little Guys Company and Joe Tea
Joe Tea is a producer of iced tea and potato chips founded in 1998 by Steven and Ann Prato and based in Montclair, New Jersey. The tea is known for its all-natural taste and retro logo.
The Pratos’ path to the beverage business was an unconventional one. The couple, both business school graduates, began by designing T-shirts and nightwear out of their basement. After Kohl’s picked up their products, they found themselves filling huge orders — but as retailers shifted to cheaper suppliers overseas, the Pratos pivoted, launching Two Little Guys Pink Lemonade in 1996.
Joe Tea followed a couple of years later. When the Pratos started the company out of the backseat of a Dodge Intrepid in 1998, they had trouble tapping into the local market. But persistence paid off. Joe’s big break came in 2006, when a Whole Foods buyer tasted the drinks in a cheese shop in Montclair and began offering Joe Tea in the chain’s New York City stores.
The company today sells more than 30 beverage products and a line of kettle chips, with some mixture of those products stocked in markets in each of the country’s 50 states. By 2017, the company had expanded distribution to over 20 countries worldwide.
Joe Tea’s product lineup includes 20-oz glass bottles and 12-oz cans of tea, as well as Joe Chips in various flavors and sizes, with a focus on small-batch production.
Drink flavors include black tea, green tea, watermelon lemonade, pineapple lemonade, and berry lemonade, among others. Chip flavors include jalapeño, salt & pepper, bacon & cheddar, and sweet potato. The brand can be found in Whole Foods, Walmart, Sprouts, and ShopRite.
The Pratos have described their vision as building a multi-generational family business — one they hope can be run over the next 50 years.
Why This Matters for BensalemThe arrival of The Two Little Guys Company is more than a real estate transaction — it’s a signal that Bensalem is on the radar of growing businesses looking to plant roots. The company isn’t a startup; it’s a nearly 30-year-old brand with global distribution, a loyal customer base, and a family ownership philosophy built for the long haul. That kind of stable, established business is exactly what a community wants moving in. The PIDA loan that made the deal possible is also a reminder that state economic development dollars are actively flowing into Bensalem, helping the township compete for jobs and investment. As the Adams Road facility ramps up manufacturing operations, it means local jobs, a growing tax base, and a homegrown brand on store shelves worldwide that now calls Bensalem home.
