Starbucks is getting out of another business.
The Seattle-based coffee giant on Tuesday said it has agreed to sell its organic juice brand, Evolution Fresh, to Bolthouse Farms, for an undisclosed amount. Bolthouse is a refrigerated beverage brand and a large supplier of carrots to retailers.
Starbucks said it wants to focus on its core coffee shop business. “Evolution Fresh has grown steadily over the last several years as a result of our partners’ hard work and commitment to the brand,” Hans Melotte, Starbucks EVP of global channel development, said in a statement. “We feel there is great runway and opportunity to take Evolution Fresh to the next level, and Bolthouse Farms’ considerable experience and success in the premium beverage category will allow the brand to continue growing.”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close later this year.
Starbucks acquired Evolution Fresh, a line of organic, cold-pressed juices sold at retail and at Starbucks locations, for $30 million. It was one of many deals Starbucks made to expand its line of beverages, juices and food items. That includes Teavana, the tea retail brand Starbucks operated but shuttered in 2018, opting to fold the brand name into its coffee shops.
The company acquired the bakery concept La Boulange but shuttered the bakeries and sold the brand back to its founders in 2015.
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