Caribe Juice and WTRMLN WTR have long walked a similar path. In addition to both selling high-quality, low-sugar fruit juice, both companies have shared many similar humanitarian dreams. Now, their journey’s have arrived at an exciting crossroad, as Caribe Juice has acquired WTRMLN WTR. Finally together, the companies are now looking to fully control their own manufacturing process to further realize their humanitarian dreams.
Founded by Luis Solis during his MBA studies at the University of Virginia (UVA), Caribe Juice has grown quite a bit over the years. In 2017, Caribe Juice partnered with Union Kitchen to launch locally in the Washington, D.C. area, where it quickly received a positive response from consumers.
Soon, the local juice company was able to expand in the Mid-Atlantic, finding itself on shelves in notable stores like Whole Foods Market. Unfortunately, Caribe Juice would hit a slight bump when Luis’ co-manufacturer wanted him to change the recipe and where he sourced his ingredients. Wanting to retain the high-quality of the juice he had grown up with in his childhood in the Dominican Republic, Luis ultimately split with his co-manufacturer. Undeterred, Luis decided to open his own manufacturing plant in the Dominican Republic, where he grew up and enjoyed his mother’s unique style of freshly squeezed juice. While this required upfront investment, Luis' decision to own his manufacturing paid off immensely. Controlling all aspects of production, from the specific farms he worked to source the ingredients all the way through bottling and shipping, Luis was able to lower his retail price from $4.99 to $1.99 and even eventually launched in Walmart stores around the United States.
WTRMLN WTR, meanwhile, was on a different, yet similar, path. Founded in 2013, WTRMLN WTR, like Caribe Juice, is all about squeezed juice. They use upcycled watermelons, and humanitarianism plays a key role in the company’s vision. Thanks to its work in the promotion of clean food and sustainability, WTRMLN WTR has attracted many notable backers, such as: Beyoncé Knowles, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, Michael Strahan, Tony Robbins, and many more. With such similar missions and products, it was inevitable that these two companies path’s would eventually cross. In September of 2020, this finally happened, as Caribe Juice acquired WTRMLN WTR. Now as one, the two companies are hard at work creating their shared vision for the future. Drawn together by their shared love of doing good, the juice companies are looking to further their humanitarian causes and owning the manufacturing process from start to finish.
Any company that is in control of its own manufacturing process has several key advantages. First, this allows a company to dictate the composition and quality of its product. As previously mentioned, this was a sticking point for Luis when he split from his co-manufacturer. The goal of Caribe Juice and WTRMLN WTR is to promote healthy drinks that not only taste delicious, but also provide a clean source of hydration in areas where clean water isn’t readily available. This mission would be near impossible if a co-manufacturer was able to dictate the composition of the drink. Instead, the two juice companies might turn into just another sugary drink.
Secondly, Caribe Juice and WTRMLN WTR are able to dictate their own production schedules and inventory. This gives them a lot more control over when and how to produce. Instead of stock piling products in an aging inventory, Caribe Juice is able to manufacture in proportion with demand.
Finally, controlling manufacturing gives Caribe Juice the flexibility to change as the situation demands it. A lot of brands ran into trouble with their co-manufacturers during COVID-19, particularly as regional and national supply chains struggled to match demand. Caribe Juice, since they owned their own manufacturing, were able to meet the shift and provide a consistent supply of fresh, cold-pressed juice to all of their customers throughout. This would not have been possible if they did not own their production.
It will be exciting to see where this partnership goes. Knowing Caribe Juice and WTRMLN WTR, it will most likely result in some delicious juice and some great humanitarian work getting done.
"One of the best aspects of Caribé Juice,” Luis said in an interview with WFM-TV. “Is that with each purchase, you can be a part of supporting small local farmers in developing communities while making healthy and budget-conscious choices for you and your family.”
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