King Juice (KJ Holding Corp.), the parent company of Calypso Lemonades, is expanding its beverage portfolio with the acquisition of plant-based hydration brand Mela Water, producers of a premium watermelon water in cans.
Calypso CEO David Klavsons noted in a press release announcing the acquisition that his brand’s national DSD network “coupled with our commercial and supply chain capabilities” will accelerate Mela’s growth.
“We are thrilled to welcome Mela to the beverage platform we have built behind Calypso. Mela is a great brand with strong consumer appeal that is delivering outstanding growth,” said Klavsons. “Mela’s exceptional taste, unique flavors, tropical vibe, and functional hydration make it a strong complement to our Calypso brand.”
With over $137 million in sales (52-week period ended March 21, 2025) per Circana data, the Calypso brand, available in full-sugar and Light varieties in 16 oz. glass bottles, has emerged as a successfully incubated offshoot of Milwaukee-based copacker King Juice, owned by PE firm Mason Wells. This is its first acquisition.
“We are excited to join the Calypso platform as we enter the next phase of our growth,” said Mela CEO and founder Dominic Purpura, who is staying on with the brand. “Our team has done a fantastic job building the brand over the last several years gaining significant distribution with leading retailers while sustaining strong unit velocities. It’s now the perfect time to join the Calypso platform and leverage their infrastructure to scale the brand nationally and internationally.”
Launched by Purpura in 2022, Miami-based Mela has found traction for its four-SKU line of shelf-stable watermelon waters in 11.5 oz. cans in over 10,000 stores through distributors like Rainforest Distribution on the East Coast and Stone Distributing, Los Angeles Distributing, Shoreline and Seacoast Distributing in California. Convenience has been a focus as of late, via partnerships with 7-Eleven and QuikTrip.
In an interview last year, Purpura likened his company’s strategy to how Calypso had gone deep into independent convenience stores to make the brand recognizable to consumers “everywhere.”
Speaking with BevNET today, Klavsons noted Mela’s growth “follows what we’ve learned about Calypso” thanks to its “ubiquitous” appeal across retail channels. The two brands share an “island vibe,” too.
“We see this as an ability to leverage the infrastructure and the network, both DSD and supply chain infrastructure, that we have built over the last five or six years with Calypso,” said Klavsons. “It’s a perfect opportunity for us to bring in a brand where we know we can accelerate growth.”
Mela’s watermelon water grew sales over 87% to more than $6.6 million in the 52-week period ended March 21, 2025, according to data from Circana, representing total MULO w/ C-Store (Grocery, Drug, Mass Market, Military, Convenience and Select Club, Dollar, Beauty & Online Retailers).
With Calypso profitable and still growing, Klavsons said the brand is well-positioned to make further buys.
“We’re developing a platform that we’re able to leverage now with acquisition,” he said.