Milo’s Tea Company Inc. has expanded its operational footprint in the Birmingham, Alabama, area with the addition of a 150,000-square-foot refrigerated distribution center off Lakeshore Parkway, located near its Bessemer manufacturing operation.
The facility employs about 50 associates. The opening marks the fourth major facility investment Milo’s has made since 2020, bringing the family-owned company’s total domestic manufacturing investment over that period to nearly $400 million.
Since 2020, Milo’s has more than tripled its production capacity. Investments during that period include a $150 million greenfield manufacturing and distribution facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma, opened in 2020; a more than $200 million greenfield facility in the Spartanburg, South Carolina, area, opened in 2025; the expansion of its original Bessemer production facility from 30,000 to more than 200,000 square feet; and the new Birmingham-area distribution center. Together, these investments have added more than 500 new associates.
“We don’t slow down to let systems catch up. Our 80-year-old start up just builds faster,” said Tricia Wallwork, chair and CEO of Milo’s and granddaughter of founders Milo and Bea Carlton. “This distribution center isn’t just about adding square footage – it’s about improving safety and efficiency for our associates and logistics partners and deepening our commitment to our retail partners to deliver excellent on-time, in-full service.”
The company said the new distribution center will bring operations and logistics careers to the region, continuing a pattern of investment that has added hundreds of permanent, full-time jobs across Alabama, Oklahoma and South Carolina. Milo’s benefits include employer-paid health insurance premium options, 401(k) match, parental leave, documented growth pathways for associates and paid time and volunteer time off.
“Last year, our TEAm produced more volume than at any point in Milo’s history with more efficiency, better quality, and the highest degree of safety,” said Chris Droney, COO of Milo’s. “This facility creates roles well beyond material handling because sustainable growth creates opportunity, not just capacity, and we plan to build on that in 2026 and beyond.”
Because Milo’s brews tea fresh daily and its products contain no preservatives, acids or dyes, they require cold chain infrastructure.
“We’re proud to keep deepening our investment right here in Alabama,” Wallwork said. “Our growth belongs to the people who built it – our associates, our communities, and the customers who have trusted us with a place at their tables for over 80 years.”
Milo’s Tea Company is a family-owned, certified women-owned business headquartered in Birmingham that has produced beverages since 1946. The company describes its refrigerated tea as the top seller in the U.S., with products available in all 50 states at more than 62,000 retail locations. A TRUE Platinum-certified zero waste manufacturer, Milo’s donates at least 1 percent of profits to causes focused on education, the environment and disaster relief.