Fresh idea brewing

Milo's Tea is rolling out a new marketing campaign and image for its delivery trucks and billboards, its first in a decade.

The new image - of various Milo's Tea containers splashing down into ice - and slogan, "Taste the Milo's Difference," will be unveiled at 11 a.m. today during a press conference at the company's Bessemer headquarters, says Mitch Wolfe, Milo's Tea sales and marketing manager. The old slogan was "The Great Southern Tea Company Since 1946."

"People know they love Milo's Tea, but many don't know why we taste so good," Wolfe said. "Milo's Tea is all-natural, we don't put in preservatives or additives, and it is delivered fresh-brewed to each store."

Wolfe said Milo's is "integrating that image and slogan into everything we do," including its Web site.

Milo's Tea Co. began distributing its ready-to-drink tea to grocery retailers in 1989. The company, now run by the founder's son, Ronnie Carlton, sold the restaurant franchise division in 2002 to focus on growing its tea business.

Milo's Tea is sold in convenience and grocery stores in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, the Florida panhandle, Georgia, Louisiana and parts of Virginia and South Carolina. Wolfe said that Milo's Tea's in-house marketing department was assisted on the campaign by area photographer Randy Crow and Montgomery-based LWT Communications, which helped with the image design. Roy L. Williams --