Dawn Patton, a resident of View Park, is the founder of Try MY T, a brand of gourmet, fresh-brewed iced tea that she created in the unincorporated neighborhood of Los Angeles. It is an accomplishment Patton rightfully speaks of with pride.
“There are only a handful, in the U.S., of African American women-owned iced-tea beverage manufacturers in the country,” said Patton. “I just happen to be one of them.”
Patton said that when Try MY T first entered retail it was at six Whole Foods Markets and a select number of Sprouts Farmers Markets. Today, Patton’s tea is in 65 Whole Foods between Arizona, Hawaii, and Las Vegas. It can also be found in 93 Sprouts in Southern California.
In fact, Patton said Try MY T has three chains of revenue: warehouse clubs, retail, and foodservice.
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“Foodservice is like your restaurants, your corporations, and stuff like that,” said Patton. “Then you have your clubs, which is your Costco. We’re getting ready to do road shows. Costco asked us to come and try our products out in their stores… at five Southern California [Costco] clubs.”
Try MY T will be at the Culver City/Marina Del Rey Costco on September 5 – 8, and Patton will be there for a meet-and-greet on September 7. The following week, she will be in Irvine on September 12 – 15, and then on September 19 – 22 in Bakersfield.
Patton said it is difficult for any startup brand to get into Costco. It is also tough to have sustainability at the clubs. She said Costco had requested Try MY T for three-years, but at the time, Patton did not feel she could produce the volume of goods the large retailer would need.
“Because I’m still emerging as a brand and we’re raising money right now for our expediential growth, we could not handle the volume,” said Patton. “Costco is 6,000 people a day, so if you don’t have the volumes to substantiate the sales, then you’re out of there.”
Patton said Costco is a worldwide brand and they have been very supportive of Try MY T. She said they even invited her to meet Costco’s president in Bakersfield.
Patton said in 2025 and 2026 she is anticipating Try MY T to do very well across all markets. She said she is also in the process of raising $1.5 million, which will maintain the company for the next 12 months.
Patton hopes to double or triple the investment, and those monies will be used for inventory and manufacturing. Much of that manufacturing and inventory will be used for the trial deal with Costco.
“What we are doing with Costco is so wonderful, and they are 100 percent behind us,” said Patton.
For more information on Try MY T, visit www.trymyt.com.
