OHYCOLL553.xml Guide to the Oregon Chai records 1994-2005 Oregon Chai records Jeffrey A. Hayes Oregon Historical Society Research Library 2016
1200 SW Park Ave. Portland, OR 97205 libreference@ohs.org https://www.ohs.org/research-and-library/
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2021-10-15. Finding aid is written in English. Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), 2nd Edition. 2020-2021 Revised to conform to current best practices. Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Ave. Portland, OR 97205 libreference@ohs.org https://www.ohs.org/research-and-library/
Oregon Chai records Oregon Chai, Inc. Coll 553 2.4 cubic feet 4 letter document cases; 1 slim letter document case; 1 flat box (16x20); 1 oversize folder (30x42) 1994-2005 Financial and marketing records of the firm Oregon Chai, along with press material about the company. Oregon Chai was a tea company that was founded in Portland, Oregon, in 1994, and sold to Kerry Foods in 2004. English

Collection is open for research.

Gift of Theodora McMillen, May 2016 (Lib. Acc. 28827).

Collection is arranged in five series: Series 1. Administrative records; Series 2. Dealings with other companies; Series 3. Marketing and sales records; Series 4. Press and publicity materials; Series 5. Other materials.

Oregon Chai was founded in 1994 in Portland, Oregon, by the mother-daughter team Theodora McMillen and Heather McMillen. The company quickly became successful, and in 2004 the McMillens sold it to the Irish firm Kerry Foods.

Oregon Chai records, Coll 553, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Processed by Susan Armitage and Jeffrey A. Hayes.

The collection consists of records and publicity material regarding the firm Oregon Chai. The company's records include notes from its startup, incorporation papers, financial audits, investment documents, board minutes, and staff meeting notes. The collection also contains correspondence between Oregon Chai and other companies, including documents relating to Oregon Chai's sale to Kerry Foods; sales figures; marketing strategies; and advertising material. Press materials include articles which ran in trade magazines, and in publications such as Men's Journal, the Wall Street Journal, and the Oregonian. Additional materials include letterheads and unassembled Oregon Chai cartons and boxes.

Videotape cassettes were separated to Moving Image Collections, Oregon Historical Society Research Library. Model of Oregon Chai carton was separated to Museum Collections, Oregon Historical Society.

The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.

 McMillen, Theodora Jo McMillen, Heather Oregon Chai, Inc. Business enterprises--Oregon--Portland Tea trade--Oregon--Portland Businesses and Corporations Foods and Nutrition business records clippings (information artifacts) magazines (periodicals) Administrative records Series 1 1994-2004 English. Start-up notes circa 1994 English. 1 1 License and incorporation 1994 English. 1 2 Trademark registration 1994 English. 1 3 Small Business Administration loan 1995 English. 1 4 Distribution 1995 English. 1 5 Warehousing 1995-1996 English. 1 6 Co-packer undated English. 1 7 Loan insurance 1996 English. 1 8 Non-disclosure papers 1997-1998; undated English. 1 9 Financial audits 1994-2001 English. 1 10 Early income and expense reports undated English. 1 11 Investment decisions 1994-1997 English. 1 12 Venture capital strategies 1996; 1999 English. 1 13 Long-range planning 1998 English. 1 14 Stock incentive plan 1999 English. 1 15 Shareholder meetings 1995; 2000-2004 English. 1 16 Shareholder meeting 1999 June 28 English. 1 17 Board minutes 1994-1998 English. 1 18-19 Staff meetings 1996-1998 English. 1 20 Job analysis undated English. 1 21 Employee job descriptions undated English. 2 1 Ingredients undated English. 2 2 Ready-to-drink proposals undated English. 2 3 Tests on Prisma Chai product undated English. 2 4 Dealings with other companies Series 2 1994-2005 English. Starbucks proposal 1994-1995 English. 2 5 Correspondence with Longbottom Distributors 1995 English. 2 6 Production agreement with Sunshine Dairy Foods 1995 English. 2 7 Sunshine Dairy 1995-1997 English. 2 8 Offer to purchase by Swander, Pace 2002 English. 2 9 Sale to Kerry Foods 2004-2005 English. 2 10 Marketing and sales records Series 3 1994-1998 English. Sales pitches undated English. 2 11 Advertising ideas undated English. 2 12 Artwork undated English. 2 13 Sales packets undated English. 2 14 Small posters undated English. 2 15 "Feature Drink" kit undated English. 6 1 Posters and mobile displays undated English. 6 2 Point of Sale advertising undated English. 2 16 Advertising materials from scrapbook undated English. 3 1 Small facts sheet undated English. 3 2 Product descriptions undated English. 3 3 Chai recipes for marketing undated English. 3 4 Cool Chai recipe cards undated English. 3 5 Demo instructions 1995 English. 3 6 Sales figures 1996 English. 3 7 Sales projections 1995; 1999 English. 3 8 Sales undated English. 3 9 Consumer and marketing analysis undated English. 3 10 Marketing analyses 1998 English. 3 11 Sales data from Spence Information Services (SPINS) 1994-1998 English. 3 12 Marketing strategies undated English. 3 13 Marketing letter undated English. 3 14 Customer lists and notes undated English. 4 1 Press and publicity materials Series 4 1994-2005 English. Press release 1994 English. 4 2 Press coverage 1994-2005 English. 4 3 Daily Journal of Commerce article 1994 November 8 English. 4 4 Tonic article 1995 January 12 English. 4 5 Portland State University Daily Vanguard article 1995 March 8 English. 4 6 Wall Street Journal article 1995 June 21 English. 4 7 Newsweek article 1995 August English. 4 8 Oregon Business article 1997 April English. 4 9 Tea and Coffee Trade Journal article 1997 July English. 4 10 Inc. magazine article 1997 September English. 4 11 Portland Seen article 1999 January English. 4 12 San Francisco Chronicle article 1999 March 17 English. 4 13 Portland Business Journal article 1999 June 11 English. 4 14 Coverage in Skywest magazine 2000 English. 4 15 Coverage in Inc. magazine 2001 January English. 4 16 Miscellaneous articles undated English. 4 17 Newspaper articles from Wall Street Journal, Business Journal, and the Oregonian 1995-2005 English. 6 3 Men's Journal articles 1996 April; 1997 September English. 6 4 Testimonials 2002 English. 4 18 Publicity materials from scrapbook undated English. 4 19 Other materials Series 5 circa 1994-2005 English. Article about chai in Fresh Cup magazine 1998 English. 5 1 Product UPC codes 1997 English. 5 2 Packaging undated English. 5 3 Letterhead undated English. 5 4 Alternative letterhead undated English. 5 5 Labels undated English. 5 6 Table tents undated English. 5 7 Oregon Chai stickers undated English. 5 8 Product Award stickers undated English. 5 9 Borders Books label for book "Nirvana in a Cup: The Founding of Oregon Chai" undated English. 5 10 Unassembled cup sleeves and containers undated English. 6 5 Unassembled boxes undated English. Oversize 1