Private equity firm Butterfly announced vegetable and juice producer Bolthouse Farms will separate into two entities. Bolthouse Fresh Foods will run its carrots business and Generous Brands will house its beverage and salad dressing products.
Adam Waglay, Butterfly’s co-founder and co-CEO, said in a statement the move is a natural extension of the company’s existing operations. The division is expected to drive growth in both juice and carrots.
“This separation was always part of our investment thesis, and we have recruited best-in-class leadership teams which are strategically aligned to each business so that Bolthouse Fresh Foods can focus on delivering high quality, fresh produce with excellent service and Generous Brands can become a strong, consumer-centric business with superior fresh beverage brands,” Waglay said.
Butterfly acquired Bolthouse Farms from Campbell Soup in 2019 for $510 million. In a 2019 interview, Dunn described Campbell Soup’s ownership of Bolthouse as a “wrong marriage,” with the company’s juice and carrots failing to integrate into the soup and snacking giant’s shelf-stable portfolio.
Since Campbell Soup’s acquisition, the brand has seen growth of 30% and boosted its relationship with produce retailers across North America, according to Butterfly.
Bolthouse Farms’ beverage lineup includes refrigerated juices and protein drinks.
In 2022, Bolthouse acquired Evolution Fresh from Starbucks for an undisclosed amount. Under Generous Brands, the new juice business, the “two powerhouse beverage brands” will unite under that “umbrella and complement their product offerings, channel penetration and consumer bases.” said Steve Cornell, who will serve as CEO of Generous Brands, joined the company in January after 15 years at Kraft Heinz leading brands like Philadelphia cream cheese and Capri-Sun.
“This transaction will enable Generous Brands to meet the needs of more consumers through more innovation, new investments in our business, and acquiring complementary brands to take our platform to its full potential,” Cornell said.
Jeff Dunn, who previously served as the CEO of Bolthouse Farms and co-founded Butterfly, will now serve as executive chairman of both new brands.
Focusing solely on carrots will allow Bolthouse Fresh Foods to continue to strengthen its position in the produce space. The business sells 700 million pounds of carrots annually, Butterfly said in the press release.
