National Beverage Corporation SuccessStory

Trajectory

National Beverage Corp was started in 1985 by Nick Coparella in order to ward off acquisition attempts by Burnup & Sims Inc’s., Victor Posner. In 1985, Nick acquired the Shasta Beverages (Sara Lee Corporation) for around $40 m to give business to National Beverage Corp. In the same year, National acquired prominent Midwest regional soft drink-maker, Faygo, to expand its operations to the national level and also became the owner of twelve bottling plants and various subsidiaries branching out into private bottling services.

In 1991, National Beverages went public and sold sufficient Burnup & Sims shares. In the same year, National acquired Spree, an all-natural carbonated soft drink brand as well as Big Shot, the regional multi-flavored soft drink brand. In 1992, the US Navy awarded National the contract rights to manufacture its ship store’s brand drinking water, the ‘Sea’.

In mid-1990s, National acquired Everfresh Beverages Inc., and WinterBrook Corp., a still and carbonated water producer, which eventually made National the owners of Cascadia, WinterBrook Clear and LaCROIX from WinterBrook. National Beverages also acquired Home Juice Company in the end of the 1990s. In the early 2000s, National acquired Beverage Canners International Inc., Crystal Bay and Ritz soft drinks and sparkling water brands.

In 2002, National altered its business strategy and shifted its focus towards bottling its own brands and ending private bottling contracts completely. In 2003, National brought out its first product, Shasta Shortz, a kid-based soda. In the same year, National launched Frutika, a fruit juice line. In the next year, in 2004, National launched the Splenda No Calorie Sweetener in its Diet Shasta brand.

National has grown to include various other brands to its name, such as Rip It, an energy drink, woman-based brand Chic as well as the Freek drink for teenagers and young adults. It also owns the coffee-based energy drink, Double Hit.

Unique Features

National Beverage Corp is one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of soft drinks in the US. National owns a plethora of brands such as Mr. Pure, Cascadia Sparkling Clear, Ohana, St. Nick’s as well as many popular ones.

Social Work

National Beverage Chairman and CEO, Nick Coparella is heavily involved in social work and currently serves on the Professional Advisory Board of the St. Jude Children’s Hospital and has many research projects underway that aim to improve the advances in children’s cancer care and treatment.

Review

National Beverage Corp. is one of the largest producers, distributors and sellers of non-alcoholic beverages in the US. With a large number of varied subsidiaries underneath its wings, National Beverage Corp is on its way to becoming one of the world’s best known soft drink-makers.