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Longtime Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers executive Brian Wise is leading the charge for HTeaO as its next CEO. Wise succeeds co-founder and former CEO Justin Howe, who has since transitioned to HTeaO's executive chairman of the board.
Dallas-based private equity firms Trive Capital and Crux Capital hold a majority interest in the iced tea franchise as of April.
With accelerated store development, new majority owners and C-suite changes led by a new CEO, it's safe to say HTeaO's 2026 has been far from watered down.
The Texas-based iced tea franchise has made a name for itself in the surging beverage category, building a fanbase through its broad menu of iced teas, coffees and lemonades.
The numbers speak for themselves, growing from 67 stores at year-end 2022 to today's count of 187. Average sales at free-standing franchise stores in 2025 came out to $1.1 million, per the company's franchise disclosure document.
HTeaO is looking to keep that momentum going, said Brian Wise, the brand's newly appointed CEO.
"We're prioritizing our guests and our franchise partners to ensure every single guest that comes in gets an authentic HTeaO experience," Wise said. "That's the future of the brand—being able to do that at scale."
Wise joined HTeaO in July, taking over from co-founder Justin Howe, now the brand's executive chairman of the board. The announcement follows a handful of recent appointments at HTeaO, including Chief Financial Officer Chris Phillips earlier this year.
Before HTeaO, Wise spent 15 years as a Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers franchisee with HCI Hospitality before taking on leadership roles at Freddy's corporate, most recently as the company's chief operating officer.
Related: Largest Freddy's Franchisee Surpasses 130 Locations With Acquisition of Another Franchisee
Bringing both sides of franchise experience to HTeaO has been indispensable when it comes to collaborating with franchisees. Wise's first two months entailed visiting operators in store to develop a personal rapport and learn how they "carry the brand forward into their communities."
Collaboration has been key in Wise's leadership approach and will continue to be in HTeaO's next growth phase, coming off additional investments made in April from private equity firms Crux Capital and Trive Capital, which now own a majority stake in the company.
Crux and Trive began backing HTeaO in 2023.
"They give us the ability to invest in people. My position is a statement of that," Wise said. "We have an incredibly strong development pipeline and a very bright future, but we're going to need to continue to scale to fully realize that. Having investment partners like them is important to our success."
