Chobani Acquires La Colombe

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Dec 15, 2023, 10:24 ET

Entry into the High-Growth Ready-to-Drink Coffee Category Furthers Chobani's Evolution Into a Diversified Next Generation Food & Beverage Company

Combination of Highly Complementary Businesses Provides Additional Long-Term Growth Driver, Multiple Synergy Opportunities and Speed to Scale

NEW BERLIN, N.Y., Dec. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chobani, LLC ("Chobani" or "the Company") a next generation food and beverage company originally known for its high-quality Greek yogurt, today announced that it has acquired La Colombe for $900 million. Chobani financed the acquisition through the combination of a newly issued $550 million term loan, cash on hand and the exchange of Keurig Dr Pepper's (KDP) minority equity stake in La Colombe into Chobani equity.

La Colombe currently serves consumers across multiple channels, including retail, cafes, foodservice, and direct-to-consumer. The brand is the only ready-to-drink ("RTD") coffee company, owning its supply chain from conscious bean sourcing and premium roasting to the creation of exceptional product experiences for loyal customers.

"At a time where the industry has faced challenges to grow sales, Chobani has delivered double-digit, volume-led sales growth, and considerable margin expansion. We have never been stronger or better positioned to chart our next chapter of growth," stated Chobani Founder and Chief Executive Officer Hamdi Ulukaya. "We've already made an investment in the coffee category with our creamers and are excited about bringing La Colombe into the Chobani family, and offering the delicious, high-quality cold brew and ready-to-drink craftmanship of La Colombe to a next generation of consumers, powered by a strong distribution partner in KDP."

"La Colombe is a unique brand and well positioned to continue its strong growth trajectory, including upside as its ready-to-drink line expands availability through our Company-owned DSD network and with premium K-Cup® pods now in the market," said, KDP Chairman and CEO Bob Gamgort. "Both as a strategic partner and a minority shareholder, we are excited by the path ahead."

As part of Chobani, La Colombe will continue to operate as an independent brand. This approach allows for collaboration and knowledge sharing between the two companies while preserving the unique identity and innovation that La Colombe is known for.

La Colombe is a growing player in the fast-growing $5 billion U.S. RTD coffee category, and its offering will prove highly complementary to Chobani's core yogurt portfolio and modern foods innovations, including oat milk and creamer. As a result of its superior brand and the consumers' developing preference for cold coffee, La Colombe's RTD line has grown over 3x in the last five years and is positioned for accelerated growth. Under Chobani ownership, La Colombe will not only benefit from the Company's extensive retail execution, marketing and cold chain capabilities to grow its multi-serve offering, but through its recently announced sales and distribution agreement with KDP, La Colombe will also meaningfully expand the reach of its single-serve product line and have access to grow underdeveloped channels like convenience retail.

Beyond plans to unlock La Colombe's true sales potential, Chobani will also enhance La Colombe's procurement practices, deliver meaningful cost synergies, and elevate its overall operational performance. In addition, given cultural alignment and shared values, La Colombe will play a key role in the Company's ongoing journey to doing good and making the world a healthier place.

ABOUT CHOBANI

Chobani is a food maker with a mission of making high-quality and nutritious food accessible to more people, while elevating our communities and making the world a healthier place. In short: making good food for all. In support of this mission, Chobani is a purpose-driven, people-first, food-and-wellness-focused company, and has been since its founding in 2005 by Hamdi Ulukaya, an immigrant to the U.S. The company manufactures yogurt, oatmilk, and creamers – Chobani yogurt is America's No.1 yogurt brand, made with natural ingredients without artificial preservatives.

Chobani uses food as a force for good in the world – putting humanity first in everything it does. The company's philanthropic efforts prioritize giving back to its communities and beyond: working to eradicate child hunger, supporting immigrants, refugees and underrepresented people, honoring veterans, and protecting the planet. Chobani products are manufactured in New York, Idaho, and Australia, and are available throughout North America and distributed in Australia and other select markets. For more information, please visit www.chobani.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

About La Colombe

La Colombe is a leading, independent coffee roaster in pursuit of excellent coffee for all since its inception in 1994. Through ethical trade with growers, advocating for equity, and empowering their communities, La Colombe continues to be a pioneer and raises the standards for outstanding quality coffee. The company is known for providing beloved signature blends, exceptional single-origin coffees, and the world's first-ever textured canned cold latte. La Colombe owns and operates 32 cafés across Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Austin, and Washington, D.C.. La Colombe's celebrated coffees are also available in cafés, hotels, restaurants and retailers worldwide. For more information on La Colombe, visit www.lacolombe.com.

Forward Looking Statement

Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws and regulations. These forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of words such as "outlook," "guidance," "anticipate," "expect," "believe," "could," "estimate," "feel," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "project," "should," "target," "will," "would," and similar words. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain, such as statements regarding an acquisition of La Colombe by Chobani, the ability to complete and integrate the combination and other statements that are not historical fact. These statements are based on the current expectations of our management, are not predictions of actual performance, and actual results may differ materially.

SOURCE Chobani, LLC