Brynwood Partners To Sell Harvest Hill Beverage to Castillo Hermanos

April 3, 2025

Brands Juicy Juice, SunnyD, Little Hugs and Fruit2O will go to the Guatemalan conglomerate for a price rumored to be $1.5 billion.

Dave Fusaro

Investment firm Brynwood Partners today said it has an agreement to sell Harvest Hill Beverage Co. to Castillo Hermanos, a Guatemalan conglomerate. While the two parties did not disclose the price, Reuters news service quoted sources saying it was $1.5 billion, including debt.

Harvest Hill operates six manufacturing facilities across the U.S. The deal will expand the U.S. business unit of Castillo Hermanos.

Harvest Hill was established in 2014 when Brynwood Partners acquired the Juicy Juice brand from Nestlé USA Inc. The unit went on to acquire American Beverage Corp. (acquired in 2015 from Wessanen), Sunny Delight Beverages (acquired in 2016 from JW Childs) and Nutrament (acquired in 2016 from Nestlé). It came to own brands that included Juicy Juice, SunnyD, Little Hugs, Fruit2O and Nutrament, as well as adult beverage brands Daily's and SunnyD Vodka Seltzer, all of which are included in the transaction.

The Harvest Hill sale represents the largest transaction in Brynwood Partners' 40-year history. Centerview Capital will be a strategic partner to Castillo Hermanos to help grow the U.S. beverage business.

Castillo Hermanos has a presence in more than 30 countries with brands that include Gallo Beer – known as Famosa Beer in the U.S. – Del Frutal and Raptor Energy Drink. It is also the leading cereal producer in Central America.

About the Author

Dave Fusaro | Editor in Chief

Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.