Milo’s was founded as a restaurant in 1946 by Milo and Bea Carlton after Milo returned from serving our country in World War II. Milo’s philosophy was simple: use high quality, natural ingredients, listen to your customers, and never sacrifice taste. More than seventy-five years later, as a leading tea lemonade beverage manufacturer, Milo’s is still a family-owned, certified women-owned business with corporate headquarters in Bessemer, Alabama.
Milo’s is building systems and empowering associates to create lasting impact on People, Planet, and Profit. We keep the story simple by focusing on three components: Pathways and Prosperity for All, Protecting our Planet, and Purposeful Partnerships.
Zero Waste is one of the core aspects of our “Protecting our Planet” pillar and is what kicked-off Milo’s sustainability journey. Milo’s was the second company in Alabama and the first in Oklahoma (Link to OK Profile here) to receive the Platinum Certified Zero Waste Manufacturer designation – through these designations we can divert over 98% of our wastes company-wide.
Our flagship location in Bessemer, AL was our first facility to receive Platinum Zero Waste Certification. This location is where many of the Zero Waste principles and processes were founded. This is where many key initiatives of our Zero Waste Program, that now exist across all our facilities, were started. This includes – breakrooms offering only reusable cutlery and serving ware, right sizing our spent tea leaf containers, and the adoption of Zero Waste commitments.
Milo’s will continue to prioritize diversion to reduce negative environmental impact to land, air, and water and is committed to certifying future manufacturing facilities through TRUE to emphasize our efforts towards Protecting our Planet.
Read about the Milo's Tea Company TRUE-certified Oklahoma facility.