Influx

Pepsi continued its strategy of making acquisitions to expand its beverage portfolio with its purchase of Boulder-based Izze for an estimated $75 million.

Izze is a 29-person company with a line of naturally based beverages that has benefited from the shift away from traditional sodas to healthier drinks.

The company was founded in 2002 when according to Izze’s press kit “Todd Woloson and Greg Stroh, two friends who love good food and drink, were having lunch in Boulder, Colorado. They spoke of life and work, and how great it would be to start a company together that not only made an excellent product, but also contributed to a higher purpose. They thought about the European sodas they’d recently tried, and saw an opportunity to create an all-natural version of those sophisticated beverages; pure, simple beverages made with the highest quality ingredients that they’d be proud to produce, feel good about serving to their friends and family, and that they themselves would like to drink.”

The company built a loyal base of users because;

1. It’s “trend right”- sales grew 450% per annum for the last two years with zero advertising.
2. It has a cool distinctive name
3. Great pack design for the design purists- Fontshop explained this in technical terms.“the bottle is clearly branded with Trade Gothic caps and a clever use of a Caslon asterisk, emulating a cross-section of the fruit contained therein. Credit goes to TDA in Boulder for this.
4. It’s a great tasting product
5. It built the brand by being seen in the right places- Whole Foods, Starbucks, Target
6. It supports interesting events and causes- from an ultimate frisbee team, a cycling team, to Slamdance and its own Project Reach that provides education resources in fruit growing communities
7. It focused on a niche“You can’t be all things to all people, if Izze had started by trying to get its products into Wal-Mart or as many grocery stores as it could, we would be a completely different company than we are today.” Izzie CFO in 2005

Pepsi has done well nurturing its acquired brands like Sobe, so Influx expects Izze to achieve similar success. Pepsi announced that Izze’s operations will continue as normal and it will not be merged with the company’s other units.