Odwalla Juices, Smoothies Return Five Years After Being Discontinued
The Odwalla beverage brand is back, nearly five years after its previous owner, Coca-Cola, discontinued the brand in 2020. Mexican beverage company Grupo Jumex has announced a new line of Odwalla juices and smoothies will launch in the U.S. this year, some 45 years after it was founded by jazz musicians in 1980.
The new Odwalla products will include three smoothies (Mango, Strawberry-Banana, and Berries) and three 100% juices (not-from-concentrate Orange Juice; Green Juice; and an Orange, Guava and Ginger blend) available in 13.9 fl. oz. bottles, as well as 16- and 32.4-fl.-oz. cartons. The products will be distributed by Vilore Foods.
Coca-Cola first purchased the Odwalla business in 2001 for $181 million and operated it for nearly two decades. In July 2020, however, the Odwalla business was shut down and the brand discontinued citing a need for simplification of the supply chain and changed marketplace dynamics.
Coca-Cola then sold the brand to private-equity firm Full Sail IP Partners. Reports sourced for this news brief did not make it clear if Grupo Jumex had purchased the brand or simply was co-manufacturing the products and having them distributed by Vilore. The primary release said Odwalla was “backed by Grupo Jumex.”
“Odwalla’s introduction of this new line of juices and smoothies reflects our shared values,” said Salvi Folch, CEO of Grupo Jumex. “We’re passionate about creating beverages that people trust and enjoy. Odwalla embodies the quality and commitment to healthy living that we have delivered for over 60 years.”
