SANTA CRUZ (CBS SF / CNN) – Four decades after being founded in Santa Cruz, Coca-Cola is shutting down the Odwalla juice and smoothie brand in late July.
The company made the call “given a rapidly changing market and despite all efforts to support continued production,” said John Hackett, president of Coca-Cola’s Minute Maid business unit, which includes the company’s juice brands. company, in a statement e-mailed to CNN Business.
“This decision was not made lightly,” he added.
Founded by three Santa Cruz musicians in 1980, Odwalla then moved its headquarters to Half Moon Bay before being acquired by Coca-Cola in 2001. Odwalla closed its Half Moon Bay offices in 2013.
The beverage giant has been evaluating Odwalla’s business for the past few years, according to a company spokesperson, adding that the decision to discontinue the brand is not directly related to the coronavirus pandemic. Health conscious consumers are less interested in smoothies than they used to be, he explained.
Still, the decision “comes at a time when it is more important than ever to assess where we can improve efficiency in our business and operations,” Hackett said in the statement.
The news, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, comes as Food companies are reducing their product offerings during the pandemic to make their operations more efficient and meet the growing demand for their most popular items. Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey described a similar tactic this spring.
“We are focused on maximizing system efficiency by ruthlessly prioritizing to meet the core [products] and key brands, “he said during an April conference call about the company’s first-quarter financial results.
“The less complexity there is in [the supply chain]the greater the chance of success, “Quincey added during a separate call with members of the media in April. He noted that during the early days of the pandemic,” focus on the biggest brands, “such as Coca-Cola, Coca -Cola Zero, Simply and Minute Maid, was a benefit for consumers.
Odwalla products had been delivered to retail stores through a fleet of approximately 230 refrigerated trucks, an example of how certain products can introduce complications into a company’s supply chain. The beverage company is also dissolving that distribution network.
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