Latin American beverage tech company Beliv announced this month that it has acquired New Orleans-based probiotic beverage maker Big Easy, giving the multinational company a foothold in the U.S. market. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 2009 as a unit of the CBC Group, Beliv markets over 40 brands in 35 countries including Central America, the Caribbean and South America and products such as Azu Yerba Mate, Squiz, Petit, Salutaris and Aqua. But within the past year Beliv has begun targeting the U.S. market, including the launch of plant-based energy drink OCA.
Now, Big Easy is poised to play a significant role in Beliv’s U.S. strategy. Founded in 2014 by a husband and wife team of CEO Austin Sherman and VP of marketing Alexis Korman, Big Easy produces several probiotic beverage lines including kombuchas, juice shots and, most recently, tepaches. The brand is in over 3,000 retail doors nationwide including chains such as Publix, Whole Foods, Vons, The Fresh Market, Rouses Markets, Sprouts, Wegmans and Albertsons.
According to Korman, Big Easy has seen a surge in growth since it launched last year its line of tepaches — a fermented Mexican drink made from pineapple. The sparkling drinks are available in Mango, Pineapple and Prickly Pear flavors in 11.5 oz. glass bottles at more than 2,000 stores. The move into tepache last November, Korman said, is what helped begin conversations with Beliv.
“Having a strategic alliance like this means the world to us,” Korman said. “Because we believe that tepache really is a product that belongs to Latin America, to Central America, to the world, and we are planning on taking it global. So that’s really how the discussion started; how can we do that and how can we innovate together?”
Discussions between Beliv and Big Easy began shortly after the tepache launch, she said, and with Beliv’s backing, the company has now debuted an additional canned line of tepaches made in Mexico and sold in Original, Mango Mandarin, Prickly Pear Lime and Strawberry Hibiscus flavors.
Sherman and Korman will continue to lead Big Easy going forward and all staff have been retained in the acquisition, she said. However, in addition to expanding Big Easy brand’s footprint, Korman added that Beliv may aim to use the company as a way of introducing additional brands into the U.S.
“Innovation is key to market growth and to meeting new expectations of consumers across the globe,” Beliv CEO Carlos Sluman said in a press release. “By adding Big Easy into Beliv’s portfolio, we magnify the strengths and entrepreneurial spirit of both companies to respond to the intense demand for authentic, natural, and sustainable products that focus on functionality, well-being, and nutrition.”
The addition of a canned line is also opening up new opportunities for Big Easy, Korman said. As supply chain disruptions have limited the availability of glass bottles, the launch of the Mexican Tepache line provides a sustainable and more affordable alternative that will facilitate international expansion.
“It’s been a great evolution and I believe the can format will allow us to expand south of the border and beyond,” she said. “We have some ideas about going to China, but those things are still in the works — no official announcements. But that’s how big we’re dreaming with Beliv.”