Fans of Odwalla juices and smoothies will soon have to seek out other brands.
Coca-Cola said it is shuttering Odwalla at the end of this month in a statement to CNN Business.
John Hackett, president of Coca-Cola’s juice brands, said Thursday that “the decision was not made lightly.” But, the company made the call “given a rapidly shifting marketplace and despite every effort to support continued production.”
A company spokeswoman said the shutdown wasn’t directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather, she said, smoothies aren’t as popular as they used to be.
Odwalla delivers its products to stores using 230 refrigerated trucks. Coca-Cola is dissolving the distribution network, as well.
Dinuba Once Home to Plant, Corporate Offices
In 2013, Coca-Cola relocated its corporate offices from Half Moon Bay to Dinuba, where Odwalla had a 65,000 square-foot production plant. But, three years later, the company closed the Dinuba facility, resulting in the layoff of 164 full-time employees, The Fresno Bee reported at the time.
In 1996, an outbreak of E. coli bacteria linked to apple juice made in the Dinuba plant caused the death of a Colorado toddler and made 66 others ill. Odwalla paid a $1.5 million criminal penalty as part of a plea deal with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration two years later.
Odwalla switched to flash-pasteurizing its apple juice to prevent bacterial contamination after the outbreak.
Coca-Cola Brought Odwalla in 2001
The beverage giant purchased Odwalla in 2001 for $181 million.
Odwalla was founded in Santa Cruz by three musicians who were fond of juices and later moved to Half Moon Bay before its acquisition by Coca-Cola.
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