The innovative pioneer of cold-pressed juice and juice shots welcomes fast-growing immunity-boosting juice shots brand as consumers look for more wellness beverage options
SAN DIEGO, CA, OCTOBER 26, 2022 – Suja Life, LLC (“Suja” or “the Company”), a Paine Schwartz Partners portfolio company and the California-based manufacturer of cold-pressed organic juices and juice shots, today announced its acquisition of Vive Organic, a brand of immunity-supporting juice shots created by holistic medical professionals. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 2015, Vive Organic is the pioneer in cold-pressed and plant-powered 2oz ready-to-drink wellness shots made from organic and sustainably sourced super-herbs. Its employees work alongside a team of holistic medicine doctors that helps identify the highest quality functional ingredients from around the globe and craft them into concentrated shots consumers can trust. Vive Organic’s beverages are organic, non-GMO, gluten free and vegan and offered in thousands of blue-chip retailers across the United States, such as Whole Foods, Target, Kroger and Albertsons, along with being offered online through Amazon.
Vive Organic’s offerings complement Suja’s portfolio with a focus on doctor-crafted juice shot blends that support the immune system. As a unified portfolio, both brands will benefit from improved operational capabilities, enhanced marketing and sales efforts, extended innovation reach, and benefits of scale. The Vive Organic team, including Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Wyatt Taubman, will partner with Suja’s leadership to maintain the brand’s successful momentum in the market.
“Ten years ago, Suja set out with a vision to make organic fresh-pressed juices available to everyone. The addition of Vive Organic strengthens our offerings and accelerates our mission to build one of the foremost healthy beverage platforms in the world,” said Bob DeBorde, CEO of Suja. “We have a shared focus on prioritizing sustainable, ethical extraction and production processes, as well as a similar purpose of helping consumers take charge of their wellness journeys. We are excited about building on each company’s momentum and, together, we will innovate the next generation of wellness offerings.”
Mr. Taubman added, “Every member of the Vive Organic team works tirelessly to inspire more people to start their own holistic wellness journey. In just five years, our team has built the fastest-growing juice shot company in the country. Becoming part of Suja will not only accelerate our efforts and enable us to grow the combined business to even higher heights, but also further amplify our mission with a broader group of consumers.”
“Suja has made substantial progress executing its growth strategies since our initial investment, and the addition of Vive Organic is an important next step in the Company’s evolution,” said Kevin Schwartz, CEO of Paine Schwartz. “We continue to believe in the significant value creation opportunities in the better-for-you space, and with this transaction, Suja is even better positioned to capture them. We look forward to supporting the Company in this next phase of growth as it expands its product offerings, widens its distribution, and brings Suja and Vive Organic to even more consumers.”
Meaningful Partners is a co-investor alongside Paine Schwartz Partners in the business. Evercore served as financial advisor to Paine Schwartz Partners, and Kirkland & Ellis served as its legal advisor. Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor to Vive, and Foley & Lardner served as its legal advisor.
About Suja Life
Suja Life is the nation’s #1 Organic, Non-GMO, Cold-Pressed juice brand and among the fastest growing beverage companies in the U.S. Suja began from a shared dream to help people transform their lives through conscious nutrition and is notably one of the first juice companies to offer organic, cold-pressed juice. Each of Suja’s handcrafted lines are Certified Organic, Non-GMO Project verified and cold pressured to preserve maximum nutrition and taste. With cold-pressed juices, functional shots and sparkling juices, there’s a product for every lifestyle. Suja is available for purchase at most major grocery and natural foods stores nationwide and select products can be purchased online at SujaOrganic.com. To learn more about Suja Life, please visit https://www.sujaorganic.com/ and follow @lovesuja on Instagram.
About Vive Organic
Vive Organic is the pioneer in cold-pressed and plant-powered 2oz ready-to-drink wellness shots made from organic and sustainably sourced super-herbs. With the first function-focused shots on the market and the only ones formulated by a team of holistic wellness Doctors, the Venice, California based brand strives to harness the power of nature’s most powerful ingredients for consumers seeking easy yet potent solutions to their daily wellness routines. The brand currently produces 13 shot formulations including their best-selling Immunity Boost line, Wellness Rescue, Pure Boost and Dual Boost line of functional offerings. For more information on Vive Organic, please visit www.vive-organic.com and follow @vive_organic on Instagram.
About Paine Schwartz Partners
A global leader in sustainable food chain investing, Paine Schwartz Partners is a private equity firm focused exclusively on investment opportunities in the fast-growing, dynamic global food and agribusiness sectors. The firm’s investment, operations and finance professionals invest throughout cycles across the food and agribusiness value chain and bring a collaborative and active management approach to portfolio companies. For further information, please see www.paineschwartz.com.
About Meaningful Partners
Meaningful Partners, with offices in Los Angeles, CA and Austin, TX, invests in purposeful consumer businesses that have earned customer trust and loyalty, demonstrate a commitment to all stakeholders and are led by management teams empowering positive purpose and performance. Meaningful Partners makes control and minority investments ranging from $10 million to $50+ million in lower-middle market and high growth companies. The firm is led by an experienced investor and operator management team that leverages an Expert Community of 47+ CEO/Founders and discipline experts with over 800+ years of collective experience who bring relevant domain expertise to help accelerate the growth and impact at our partner companies. More at https://meaningfulpartners.com.
Media Contacts:
Suja Life:
Deidre Mares
Vive Organic:
Rachel Leeson
Paine Schwartz Partners:
Andy Brimmer / Aaron Palash
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
+1 212-355-4449
