It’s a theory, Goldman believes, proved true over the lifespan of perhaps his best-known product to date: Honest Tea, which achieved its early growth in the nation’s capital region in the late 1990s—at a time when far fewer consumers considered the environmental implications of what they ate or drank.

As Honest Tea’s growth accelerated, Goldman and his business partners decided—more than a decade ago—to sell the product to Coca-Cola.

Though the beverage giant decided to shutter the product last year, Goldman feels it ultimately was a success, having proven it’s possible to proliferate a beverage with Honest Tea’s dual health and sustainability attributes.

“The mission had always been to democratize organics, not just to sell healthy food to healthy people,” he told the audience. “We wanted to be available everywhere.”

That philosophy provided the perfect basis for one senior Kogod student’s question since Goldman is now, again, rapidly growing a line of organic teas—in many ways, filling a void left by Honest Tea’s demise.

“Would you make the same decision that you did with Honest Tea if, say, another conglomerate were to approach you, wanting to buy?” the student asked of Goldman’s new Just Ice Tea.

For those hoping to make such an impact themselves, Goldman encouraged prospective entrepreneurs to focus, first and foremost, on building a viable business model centered around a truly novel product. But, he said, embed the bigger-picture vision—be it sustainability, equity, or otherwise affecting change in the world—into the very fabric of the product to eliminate a daily ‘push and pull’ over profits and living up to the company’s mission.

“When I embed that mission into the bottle,” Goldman said of Just Ice Tea, “I never have to think about it. I know it happens with every product."

As Kogod seeks to build a more sustainable world through business, understanding how leaders think outside the box to strike that balance is a critical consideration in programs like the Master’s in Sustainability Management and will be a continuing focal point during upcoming Gamechangers in Sustainability Series events.

The next fireside chat takes place on March 3, when Marriott International CEO Anthony Capuano visits campus to discuss how the hotel conglomerate has become a leader in sustainable hospitality.

Moderated by Dean Marchick, the hour-long conversation will begin at 9:45 a.m. ET. Registered audience members can attend in-person or virtually.