Chobani LLC, a food and beverage company originally known for its high-quality Greek yogurt, announced it has acquired La Colombe for $900 million. Chobani financed the acquisition through the combination of a newly issued $550 million term loan, cash on hand and the exchange of Keurig Dr Pepper's (KDP) minority equity stake in La Colombe into Chobani equity.
As part of Chobani, La Colombe will continue to operate as an independent brand.
La Colombe is a leader in the U.S. ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee category, and its offering will be complementary to Chobani's core yogurt portfolio and modern foods innovations, including oat milk and creamer. According to the announcement, under Chobani ownership, La Colombe will not only benefit from the company’s extensive retail execution, marketing and cold chain capabilities to grow its multi-serve offering, but through its recently announced sales and distribution agreement with KDP, La Colombe will also expand the reach of its single-serve product line and have access to grow underdeveloped channels like convenience retail.
Chobani founder and Chief Executive Officer Hamdi Ulukaya, said in the announcement: “At a time where the industry has faced challenges to grow sales, Chobani has delivered double-digit, volume-led sales growth, and considerable margin expansion. We have never been stronger or better positioned to chart our next chapter of growth. We’ve already made an investment in the coffee category with our creamers and are excited about bringing La Colombe into the Chobani family, and offering the delicious, high-quality cold brew and ready-to-drink craftmanship of La Colombe to a next generation of consumers, powered by a strong distribution partner in KDP.”
KDP Chairman and CEO Bob Gamgort, added in the announcement: “La Colombe is a unique brand and well positioned to continue its strong growth trajectory, including upside as its ready-to-drink line expands availability through our company-owned DSD network and with premium K-Cup pods now in the market. Both as a strategic partner and a minority shareholder, we are excited by the path ahead.”
