Zico Beverage Brand Founder Buys Company Back From Coca-Cola
14 January 2021 - 11:59PM
Dow Jones News
By Isaac Taylor
Zico Beverages LLC founder Mark Rampolla is bringing his
beverage baby back home after seven years apart.
PowerPlant Ventures, a venture-capital firm co-founded by Mr.
Rampolla that backs emerging plant-based products and brands,
acquired coconut water-based beverage brand Zico from the Coca-Cola
Co. and will rename it Zico Rising.
The deal reunites Mr. Rampolla with a beverage brand he created
in 2004 after discovering the benefits of coconut water while
serving in Central America with the Peace Corps.
He ultimately sold the brand to Coca-Cola in 2013, several years
after the beverage giant's corporate venturing arm invested in
Zico.
But last year, when Coca-Cola announced it would scrap nearly
200 brands, including Zico, Mr. Rampolla saw an opportunity to
rebuild the brand he had created.
"2021 is going to be about making sure we've got the right
foundation," Mr. Rampolla said, adding that he plans to
re-establish partnerships with retailers and ensure Zico's supply
chain is ready to scale.
Although he said he believes Coca-Cola is an amazing
organization, he added that he thought the beverage giant's skill
set is probably better suited to supporting large, core brands
rather than smaller emerging ones.
In the years since he sold Zico, Mr. Rampolla and his firm
PowerPlant have gotten plenty of experience nurturing up-and-coming
new brands in the plant-based food sector.
"I've had the good fortune over the last seven years to
personally invest in [over 40 companies]," Mr. Rampolla said. "We
look at about 600 deals a year. What has helped is my pattern
recognition...Staying ahead of trends, not only just with products
but ways to communicate with consumers."
PowerPlant raised around $42 million for its first fund in 2015
from previous investors in Zico as well as large family offices and
institutions. The firm backed 17 companies out of that fund, taking
relatively small positions. At least four of those brands have
grown into companies valued at more than $1 billion, including
plant-based alternative meat brand Beyond Meat Inc., online food
retailer Thrive Market and Eat JUST Inc., which produces
plant-based egg substitute brand JUST.
The firm's success with its early fund helped it raise a much
larger second fund, which closed in 2019.
"Our second fund [closed at] $167 million and that was much more
growth capital-like," Mr. Rampolla said. "We're investing out of
that fund right now. We'll only make 10 to 12 investments out of
that fund."
The firm plans to take more concentrated positions out of its
second fund -- typically 20% to 100% stakes -- which is what it has
done with Zico, according to Mr. Rampolla.
The fund targets companies with annual revenue ranging from $5
million to $25 million. So far it has backed 10 companies from the
second fund, including Zico.
Write to Isaac Taylor at issac.taylor@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 14, 2021 07:44 ET (12:44 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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