Suja Juice Announces Minority Investment Deal With The Coca-Cola Company™

New Investments Unlock Growth Opportunities for One of the Nation's Leading Cold-Pressured, Organic Juice and Smoothie Brands

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Suja Juice Co.

Aug 19, 2015, 09:00 ET

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Suja Life LLC. (Suja), named the #2 Most Promising Company in 2015 by Forbes, is pleased to announce an investment and distribution partnership with The Coca‑Cola Company. Coca-Cola's minority investment will increase the availability of Suja, moving the brand closer to achieving its mission of democratizing organic, cold-pressured juice. The Coca‑Cola Company will also begin distributing Suja through the Odwalla chilled direct store delivery system. In addition, the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman Sachs has made a minority investment in Suja. The closing of these deals provides Suja with the expertise and accessibility to further increase product distribution and operational efficiencies, as well as the ability to expand its manufacturing facilities to increase capacity in response to growing demand.

SUJA JUICE ANNOUNCES MINORITY INVESTMENT DEAL WITH THE COCA-COLA COMPANY(TM)

"When we started our home-delivery juicing company in San Diego about three years ago, we couldn't have imagined the incredible growth and consumer demand that we face today," said Jeff Church, Co-Founder and CEO of Suja. "As we continued to innovate and find ways to democratize juice, we soon realized that for us to take the business to the next level in providing organic, cold-pressured juice to even more people, we needed to find the correct strategic partners. As these new partnerships begin, nothing will change in Suja's promise to its fans: our juice will always be organic, non-GMO, cold-pressured, and free of any additives."

Suja has experienced unprecedented growth in the natural foods and conventional channels, quickly rising in ranks to become one of the most popular cold-pressured juice brands in the country. However, since day one, the company's mission remains the same as it is today - to democratize the best quality juice, with the goal of getting organic, non-GMO, cold-pressured juice in the hands of as many people as possible. The brand's first step in realizing this mission was the launch of Suja Essentials™ - the first USDA organic, non-GMO, cold-pressured juice available for less than $4. In Suja's second step toward completing their brand mission, they realized the need to partner with a large and expert organization like The Coca-Cola Company to help provide additional support, specifically as it pertained to distribution, efficiencies and capacity expansion.

"Suja's commitment to excellence in its beverages, operations and mission has positioned it as a leader in the rapidly-growing organic juice segment," said Mike Saint John, President, Value Added Dairy and Natural Health Beverages, Coca-Cola North America. "This, coupled with the resources of The Coca-Cola Company including our unmatched distribution system, will expand availability of this delicious beverage. Suja's great-tasting, organic juice will nicely complement our broad portfolio and expand it further to meet people's beverage needs."

The benefits of the partnership with The Coca-Cola Company and the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman Sachs will quickly be evident to consumers as they begin to see Suja in even more places. Behind-the-scenes, Suja will continue to innovate and push boundaries within the health & wellness space while remaining committed to its promise to consumers. Suja's juices and smoothies will always be USDA Certified Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified, and will always be cold-pressured using High Pressure Processing to kill any harmful bacteria and preserve maximum nutrition and taste. Suja will never compromise on the quality of its ingredients, delivering convenient nutrition in each and every sip, and all juices and smoothies will be free of artificial and natural flavorings, preservatives, additives, and artificial ingredients. Throughout this all, Suja remains thankful to their loyal fans who have consumed over 40 million bottles since the brand launch.

Piper Jaffray & Co. was the advisor to Suja and the sole advisor on the transaction. The Giannuzzi Group, LLP served as legal counsel to Suja through the transaction and continues to be the company's legal counsel.

About Suja Juice Co.
Suja Juice™ began from a shared dream to help people transform their lives through conscious nutrition. The three handcrafted lines of cold-pressured juices, Suja Classic™, Suja Elements™ & Suja Essentials™ are Certified Organic and verified Non-GMO by the Non-GMO Project. All juices and smoothies are cold-pressured using High Pressure Processing (HPP) to kill any harmful bacteria and preserve maximum nutrition and taste. Suja revolutionized juice with the launch of Suja Classic™, the company's original cold-pressed juice line. Suja Elements™ are juices with a purpose. For every bottle purchased, 20¢ – 25¢ is donated to an important social or environmental cause through the Suja Elements Cause Collective™. In 2014, Suja introduced Suja Essentials™ - the first USDA organic, non-GMO, cold-pressured juice available for less than $4. With a wide range of cold-pressed organic offerings, Suja™ has a juice for every lifestyle. Suja can be purchased at grocery, natural and mass stores nationwide and through SujaJuice.com, and Amazon.com.

For more information on Cold-Pressure Technology, please visit www.ColdPressured.Org

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SOURCE Suja Juice Co.