Sunday, August 03, 2003

Where in the world is Fresh Samantha? It reads like the classic small business story. Doug Levin left New York to find peace and quiet in Portland, Maine. After knocking around, he suddenly got the idea of making fresh juices for supermarkets. He scraped together enough to buy a local carrot-juice company, named it after his daughter, and started to market more widely and effectively to health-conscious shoppers. He expanded the line to include freshly squeezed orange juice, then other flavors and so-called neutraceutical products as well (such as "Desperately Seeking C"). From 1992, when Fresh Samantha was started with almost no income, he reached over $34 million dollars in sales in 1999. Odwalla started in a similar way in 1980. Three friends in Santa Cruz, California, also had the idea of producing fresh juice and delivering it to markets and restaurants. They started with a $200 juicer and a box of oranges, and grew to over $12 million in 1993, when the company went public. The company survived a major eColi incident in 1996, and rebounded slowly. It gradually added soy drinks, organic juices, milk drinks, and water. In 2000, Odwalla bought out Fresh Samantha for about $27 million in stock, and by the end of the year, Levin left the company. The acquisition made Odwalla the industry leader in high-end natural juice drinks. Both companies were based on employee- and community-friendly policies, and they seemed like a good fit. However, Odwalla soon moved some of the production facilities from Maine to Florida, starting a change in how the company would be run. In 2001, Coca Cola bought the combined company for around $181 million, as a part of the scramble by the major beverage companies to acquire alternative beverages. Odwalla was made a part of the Minute Maid division. They expanded the lines nationwide, and (at least in some markets) put in special refrigerator units for both Odwalla nd Fresh Samantha, often side-by-side, especially in organic food markets like Whole Foods and also in some Safeways. It was the old story; the company with real distribution muscle and deep pockets buys out the upstarts with the good ideas. In the last few weeks, and with little hoopla, the Fresh Samantha name has been dropped. The Fresh Samantha Web site now says the following: As you may be aware, for the past several years we have brought you two brands of delicious and healthful juices - Samantha and Odwalla products. Going forward, all of our natural and healthy beverages will be marketed under the Odwalla brand name. For over twenty years Odwalla, Inc. has been providing consumers with great tasting, nourishing juice, smoothies, nutritional blends, soy shakes and food bars. By focusing on one brand, we will be able to bring you: more innovative and exciting flavors, more cutting edge natural nutrition and deeper and better information about our products. To learn more about Odwalla, please visit our website at www.odwalla.com. So why did Coke drop Fresh Samantha? They are not saying. But when small companies get assimilated by oligopolies, everything is up for grabs. Attitudes, methods, employees, and even brand names are all fungible. What's interesting is how often successful startups in more out-of-the-way areas (Ben & Jerry's and Nantucket Nectars are two similar New England examples) that have real impact in local economies are in danger of the being displaced by an oligopoly as soon as they reach critical mass. (Thanks for the heads-up from reader Brendan Wallace.) 7:02:04 PM

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