Chobani Acquires La Colombe

Chobani LLC is giving its business a jolt with the acquisition of coffee company La Colombe. In a $900 million deal, Chobani will add the brand to its growing portfolio of foods and beverages, which began with Greek yogurt products.

In addition to operating cafes in urban areas including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, La Colombe offers ready-to-drink (RTD) retail products such as the market’s first textured canned cold latte. Founded in 1994, the brand is vertically integrated, owning its supply chain from bean sourcing to roasting to coffee production.  

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Philadelphia, Pa.-based La Colombe is also a high-growth business, tripling its growth in the RTD category in the last five years. To keep the momentum going while complementing Chobani’s other brand and products, La Colombe will continue to operate as an independent brand within the Chobani organization.  

“We’ve already made an investment in the coffee category with our creamers and are excited about bringing La Colombe into the Chobani family, and offering the delicious, high-quality cold brew and ready-to-drink craftsmanship of La Colombe to a next generation of consumers, powered by a strong distribution partner in KDP,” said Hamdi Ulukaya, founder and CEO of the Norwich, N.Y.-headquartered Chobani.

The deal was financed through cash on hand, a new loan, and the exchange of Keurig Dr Pepper’s (KDP) minority equity stake in La Colombe into Chobani equity. “La Colombe is a unique brand and well positioned to continue its strong growth trajectory, including upside as its ready-to-drink line expands availability through our company-owned DSD network and with premium K-Cup pods now in the market. Both as a strategic partner and a minority shareholder, we are excited by the path ahead,” added KDP Chairman and CEO Bob Gamgort.