[caption id="attachment_499086" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Sharad Chadha[/caption]
Glendale-based
Sprecher Brewing Co. is acquiring Ooh La Lemin lemonade brand from Melbourne, Florida-based
Kona Gold Beverage. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Kona Gold Beverage is a holding company focused on “better for you” and functional beverages. Following the addition of Ooh La Lemin lemonade to its brand portfolio, Sprecher is creating a new all-natural beverage product category.
“This acquisition is very exciting for us,” said
Sharad Chadha, president and chief executive officer of Sprecher. “By adding an all-natural beverage category to our already successful craft sodas and beer divisions we are able maximize our distribution channels and provide even more bold and delicious tasting beverages that consumers love.”
Kona Gold Beverage has grown Ooh La Lemin over the last three years to 10 different varieties of drinks including blue raspberry, peach and huckleberry lemonade. All drinks have 10 calories and no added sugar.
In a statement,
Robert Clark, chief executive officer of Kona Gold Beverage, said the organization is restructuring its operations to focus on its distribution business. He said the move gives Kona Gold Beverage the best chance at becoming profitable.
“It was an extremely difficult decision to sell our Ooh La Lemin brand, but we knew in order to give the brand a chance to aggressively grow nationally and for our company to survive, the sale was a business decision we had to make,” said Clark. “Our beverage subsidiary was operating at a negative cashflow on a monthly basis and strategic business decisions had to be made to remedy that. By shifting focus to our Gold Leaf Distribution subsidiary, which was operationally profitable in January of this year, we have the potential to become profitable again in a short amount of time."
Sprecher’s purchase of Ooh La Lemin is part of a growth strategy the company has had since 2020. Sprecher has been acquiring smaller craft beverage manufacturers to help break into new markets. In the last three years, the brewery has acquired five other soda labels including Chicago-based Green River, Black Bear, and Caruso, along with Olde Brooklyn and WBC.
Sprecher
recently announced that over the last three years, the brewery has experienced an average growth rate of 35% year-over-year (compounded annual growth rate).
