The Pioneer of Organic, Cold-Pressure Beverages Announces Sale After Record-Breaking Year
San Diego
Suja Life, the California-based leader in cold-pressured, organic beverages announces today its acquisition by Paine Schwartz Partners, a global leader in sustainable food chain investing, from Goldman Sachs Asset Management and co investors. This news comes after an unprecedented year for Suja in both revenue and profit. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Suja launched in May 2012 and quickly rose to fame among consumers, investors and celebrities alike, gaining a loyal following for its clean, nutritious and plant-based offerings. Shortly after its launch, Suja became the nation’s leading organic, cold-pressured beverage brand, helping to democratize organic offerings to consumers, while delivering health without punishment. In the years since launch, Suja won some of the industry’s most coveted awards including Whole Foods Market Supplier of the Year and multiple NEXTY awards.
“I’m excited to see Suja achieve so much success after the almost 10-year journey of this amazing brand and I could not be more excited for the next chapter,” said James Brennan, Suja Co-Founder. “Suja has experienced two phases of rapid growth, the initial years after the brand was founded and then again since 2018. The Suja team has delivered fantastic results in recent years. Outside of our internal team, I would also like to thank Nicole Agnew of Goldman Sachs for having the vision to lead a recapitalization of the company last year.”
“Suja’s success has led them to become a household brand, and we’re thrilled to have been part of the journey,” commented Nicole Agnew, Managing Director in Goldman Sachs Asset Management. “We are grateful to the whole team for their stewardship of the company during the global pandemic and for giving us the confidence to increase our ownership of the company last year.”
In 2019, Bob DeBorde joined Suja as CEO and led the company’s tremendous growth and developed its leadership position in shots. “My time at Suja has been some of the best years of my career,” said DeBorde. “I feel honored to be part of this achievement and along with the entire Suja team, we are incredibly excited to grow with our new partners at Paine Schwartz Partners as we embark on the next phase of this journey.”
Suja decided to partner with Paine Schwartz Partners, noting their shared purpose in offering consumers better-for-your plant-based options. “We are incredibly excited to partner with the Suja team at this inflection point in the company’s growth trajectory,” said Kevin Schwartz, CEO of Paine Schwartz Partners. “Suja sits at the center of our company’s investment ethos – products that deliver great-tasting, functional ingredients that are as healthy for you as they are delicious. Personally, I am also a longtime, loyal consumer of Suja’s innovative product line. We look forward to supporting the company in this next phase of growth, investing behind new products and expanding distribution to bring Suja to even more consumers everywhere.”
To learn more about Suja Juice, please visit www.sujajuice.com and follow @lovesuja on Instagram.
Evercore served as financial advisor to Suja; Davis Polk & Wardwell and Giannuzzi Lewendon served as legal counsel to Suja.
About Suja Juice
Suja Juice 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 democratize organic juice, and is notably the first juice company to offer organic, cold-pressed juice for under $4. Each of Suja’s handcrafted lines are Certified Organic, Non-GMO Project verified and cold pressured using High Pressure Processing (HPP) to kill any harmful bacteria and 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 SujaJuice.com. For more information on Cold Pressure Technology, please visit https://coldpressurecouncil.org/.
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 Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Bringing together traditional and alternative investments, Goldman Sachs Asset Management provides clients around the world with a dedicated partnership and focus on long-term performance. As the primary investing area within Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), we deliver investment and advisory services for the world’s leading institutions, financial advisors and individuals, drawing from our deeply connected global network and tailored expert insights, across every region and market—overseeing more than $2 trillion in assets under supervision worldwide as of March 31, 2021. Driven by a passion for our clients’ performance, we seek to build long-term relationships based on conviction, sustainable outcomes, and shared success over time. Goldman Sachs Asset Management invests in the full spectrum of alternatives, including private equity, growth equity, private credit, real estate and infrastructure. Established in 1986, the Private Equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management has invested over $75 billion since inception. We combine our global network of relationships, our unique insight across markets, industries and regions, and the worldwide resources of Goldman Sachs to build businesses and accelerate value creation across our portfolios. Follow us on LinkedIn.
Media Contact:
Sara Brooks
sara@powerdigital.com
