Bolthouse Farms, Bakersfield, Calif., has closed its acquisition of Evolution Fresh from Starbucks, Seattle. The acquisition includes the brand, business, and employees supporting Evolution Fresh. By uniting the two powerhouse brands, Bolthouse Farms looks to further accelerate the company’s leadership within the premium juice and refrigerated beverage categories in retail, it says.

Through this acquisition, Bolthouse Farms will expand its beverage offering from nutrient-dense, plant-powered juices and smoothies to include the full lineup of Evolution Fresh’s primarily organic, cold-pressed, premium juices. Starbucks stores in the U.S. will continue to sell Evolution Fresh products. 

“We are thrilled to welcome our colleagues from Evolution Fresh to the Bolthouse Farms family and look forward to working with them to drive the juice and refrigerated beverage categories forward,” said Bill Levisay, president of consumer brands at Bolthouse Farms, in a statement. “As a combined company, we will share our resources, vertically-integrated supply chain, deep knowledge of fresh produce, and passion for ingenuity and innovation. Evolution Fresh produces deliciously fresh, cold-pressed juices that consumers are looking for. Our job now is to support their expertise and bring additional resources to the table to expand the brand’s reach.”

Bolthouse Farms is the No. 1 super-premium refrigerated beverage brand and one of the largest carrot suppliers to North American retailers, based on sales data from Chicago-based IRI. 

“Bolthouse has been on a rapid growth trajectory in the last few years, and this acquisition is an important step on the company’s growth journey, with more expected to come,” said Jeff Dunn, CEO of Bolthouse Farms. “This acquisition expands our portfolio in a way that meets the health and nutrition needs of more consumers than ever before”.

Bolthouse Farms is a portfolio company of Butterfly, a leading private equity firm that specializes in the food sector with a particular focus on high-growth, on-trend categories. Through Bolthouse Farms, Evolution Fresh joins Butterfly’s brand portfolio that includes the likes of Chosen Foods, MaryRuth Organics, Orgain, and Pete and Gerry’s Organics.

Terms of the transaction, which Starbucks and Bolthouse Farms announced on May 24, were not disclosed.