Following a year of record-high revenue and profit, California-based Suja Life—which specializes in cold-pressured, organic beverages—was acquired by Paine Schwartz Partners, a private equity firm focused on sustainable food chain investing, from Goldman Sachs Asset Management and co-investors. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
 
Suja launched in May 2012 and quickly gained a loyal following for its clean, nutritious and plant-based offerings. Shortly after its launch, Suja became the nation’s leading organic, cold-pressured beverage brand.
 
“I’m excited to see Suja achieve so much success after the almost 10-year journey of this amazing brand and I could not be more excited for the next chapter,” said James Brennan, Suja co-founder. “Suja has experienced two phases of rapid growth, the initial years after the brand was founded and then again since 2018. The Suja team has delivered fantastic results in recent years. Outside of our internal team, I would also like to thank Nicole Agnew of Goldman Sachs for having the vision to lead a recapitalization of the company last year.”
 
“Suja’s success has led them to become a household brand, and we’re thrilled to have been part of the journey,” commented Nicole Agnew, managing director in Goldman Sachs Asset Management. “We are grateful to the whole team for their stewardship of the company during the global pandemic and for giving us the confidence to increase our ownership of the company last year.”
 
In 2019, Bob DeBorde joined Suja as CEO and led the company’s growth and developed its leadership position in shots. “My time at Suja has been some of the best years of my career,” said DeBorde. “I feel honored to be part of this achievement and along with the entire Suja team, we are incredibly excited to grow with our new partners at Paine Schwartz Partners as we embark on the next phase of this journey.”
 
Suja decided to partner with Paine Schwartz Partners, noting their shared purpose in offering consumers better-for-you plant-based options. “We are incredibly excited to partner with the Suja team at this inflection point in the company’s growth trajectory,” said Kevin Schwartz, CEO of Paine Schwartz Partners. “Suja sits at the center of our company’s investment ethos: products that deliver great-tasting, functional ingredients that are as healthy for you as they are delicious. Personally, I am also a longtime, loyal consumer of Suja’s innovative product line. We look forward to supporting the company in this next phase of growth, investing behind new products and expanding distribution to bring Suja to even more consumers everywhere.”