Starbucks to Sell Evolution Fresh as It Refocuses on Coffee and Cafes

This is an English adaptation of a FoodBud historical article originally published on May 24, 2022.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Starbucks planned to sell Evolution Fresh, its cold-pressed juice brand, as the company sharpened its focus on coffee beverages, store operations, and relations with cafe employees under interim CEO Howard Schultz.

Bolthouse Farms to Acquire the Brand

Fresh-food manufacturer Bolthouse Farms said it had agreed to acquire Starbucks' Evolution Fresh juice line, which was sold in Starbucks cafes and supermarkets.

Bolthouse Farms said the transaction was expected to close later in the year. Terms were not disclosed. Starbucks said the financial impact was not expected to be significant, and said it believed Bolthouse Farms had the beverage-industry experience to help Evolution Fresh grow.

Bolthouse Farms also said it would retain nearly 300 employees connected to the brand. During the roughly six months leading up to closing, Starbucks said it would focus on how Bolthouse Farms treated Evolution Fresh employees and on maintaining product supply to stores.

Why Starbucks Was Divesting

For Starbucks, the deal came as Schultz was directing more investment toward the coffee chain's cafes and baristas. Schultz said Starbucks needed to respond better to rising demand, improve the cafe experience for customers and baristas, and strengthen communication between employees and executives.

Schultz, a long-time leader of Starbucks, returned in April 2022 for his third period leading the chain.

Starbucks acquired Evolution Fresh in 2011 for $30 million, during Schultz's second period leading the company. At the time, Schultz said the acquisition would give Starbucks a position in the juice beverage market.

Starbucks had previously opened several Evolution Fresh stores, but after Kevin Johnson became CEO in 2017, it closed those stores while continuing to sell bottled Evolution Fresh juice drinks across all Starbucks locations in the United States.

Russia Exit Announced Days Earlier

The Evolution Fresh sale followed Starbucks' announcement two days earlier that it would exit Russia and no longer maintain its brand presence there, ending 15 years of operations in the market.

Starbucks also said it would continue paying nearly 2,000 Russian employees for six months and help them find new jobs.

At the time, Starbucks had 130 stores in Russia, all operated by licensees rather than directly by Starbucks. CNBC reported that Russia accounted for less than 1% of Starbucks' total revenue.

On March 8, 2022, then-CEO Kevin Johnson said Starbucks had decided to suspend all business activity in Russia, including shipment of Starbucks products. McDonald's, Coca-Cola, and PepsiCo also announced suspensions of business in Russia at that time.

Note: acquisition, closing-timeline, employee-payment, and Russia-market figures are historical as reported in May 2022.