Chobani, LLC a next generation food and beverage company originally known for its high-quality Greek yogurt, 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.”
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“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.
SOURCE : PRNewswire