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Weekly Sip is Food Dive’s column focusing on the latest news from the fast-changing and growing beverage sector. From the first product lines to major investments and controversial topics, this column aims to quench your thirst for development in the category.
Duckhorn Portfolio Appoints New CEO
Just two weeks after completing its nearly $2 billion acquisition of a luxury winemaker. Duckhorn Portfolio, The new owners changed the top..
Butterfly Equity, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm specializing in the food and beverage sector, said: Robert Hanson takes office as CEO Starting from February. Hanson succeeds Deirdre Mahlan and will remain as an advisor following her resignation.
“The company begins its next chapter from a place of exceptional strength, with a proven strategy for growth and market expansion that I look forward to,” Hanson said in a statement.
Hanson is no stranger to luxury brands or the alcohol industry. He previously served as Global Portfolio Director of Wines and Spirits at Constellation Brands for five years. He also worked at sustainable luxury jewelry brand John Hardy and held top positions at clothing companies American Eagle Outfitters and Levi Strauss & Co.
The appointment of Hanson gives Butterfly a trusted and experienced operator to oversee Duckhorn, whose brands include: Duckhorn Vineyards, Bait & Sonoma-Cutter Vineyards. He advised Butterfly on the company’s extensive work in the beverage and alcohol sector.
Since its founding in 2016, Butterfly has amassed a broad portfolio of food and beverage companies. The company has acquired several brands, including Bolthouse Fresh Foods, Orgain, and Pete and Gerry’s.
— Christopher Doering
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Provided by Grupo Jumex
Odwalla is back with new juices and smoothies.
The familiar drinks brand is back in stores almost five years after its launch.
Odwalla is launching a new lineup of smoothies and juices in the U.S. under the banner of Mexican beverage producer Grupo Jemex. The product lineup includes mango, strawberry banana, and berry smoothies. The three juice products the company sells are non-concentrated orange. orange, guava, ginger; There are green juices blended with pineapple, apple, and cactus.
The drink contains no added sugar or high fructose corn syrup.
“We are passionate about creating beverages that people can trust and enjoy,” says CEO Salvi Folch. group Jemexsaid in a statement. “Odwalla embodies the quality and commitment to healthy living that we have delivered for over 60 years.”
Odwalla’s history dates back to the 1980s, when a group of Chicago jazz musicians started a business selling orange juice out of a Volkswagen van.
The brand’s product lineup has grown to include other juices, waters, smoothies and energy bars. In 2001, Odwalla was acquired by beverage giant Coca-Cola, which sold Odwalla 20 years later due to the long-term decline in juice consumption in the United States.
As wellness and better-for-you trends transform the beverage landscape, juice manufacturers are aiming to adapt their products to meet changing consumer desires.
Tropicana, which PepsiCo sold to a private equity firm in 2021 for $3.3 billion, has set its sights on products that contain less sugar and have new uses, such as cocktail mixers. In 2023, cranberry juice maker OceanSpray introduced a sugar-free variety of its flagship juice.
— Chris Casey
