The company entered the juice business in 1994 beginning with an apple juice that it produced and distributed for a small chain of natural food stores in Portland, Ore. Three years later, Columbia Gorge introduced a range of new juices and smoothies and signed on with a local wholesaler, which it worked with until 2004. That year, the two companies parted ways — Stewart cited “issues” with the distribution partner — and Columbia Gorge launched its own wholesaling operation called Cogo Northwest, which began to distribute its products in the Portland market.
While Columbia Gorge has since worked with a number of other wholesalers and expanded distribution across the U.S., Stewart bemoaned the process, which he said has been tumultuous.
“Every distributor that we’ve ever dealt with pretty much has been the same thing — they just lie and cheat as much as they can to everything they can from you,” he said.
He did, however, offer praise for one company: Natural Choice Distribution, a DSD operator that services Northern California. Stewart said that Natural Choice was “probably our best distributor,” but that a packaging change in 2009 — Columbia Gorge introduced a new bottle — prompted a split between the two companies. As a result, Columbia Gorge signed a new agreement with natural and specialty DSD distributor Green Shoots Distribution.
The deal would precipitate a whirlwind of change at Columbia Gorge. According to a Green Shoots press release from November, 2010, its partnership with the juice company’s “led to an 80% increase in sales [of Columbia Gorge products] and introduced the brand to four new markets nationally.”
Stewart acknowledged that the relationship with Green Shoots “was good for the first year, despite some of our financial issues with them,” but fumed at what he described as the distributor’s continued inability to fulfill orders and meet financial obligations, as well as its infringement of a non-competition agreement when Green Shoots began to distribute Blueprint juices.
Columbia Gorge recently filed a civil suit against Green Shoots, Stewart said, however, he declined to offer specific details about the case. At press time, Green Shoots was unable to comment. (Shortly after publication, Green Shoots issued a statement. See below.)
By 2012, the company realized that its future with Green Shoots was untenable and decided to steadily increase its reliance on self-distribution, Stewart said. He noted that decision was also influenced by Starbucks’ 2011 acquisition of Evolution Fresh, and the coffee giant’s national aspirations for the juice brand. Cogo Northwest added new distribution in Salt Lake City, New Mexico, Chicago, Minnesota and North Carolina. It has since taken over distribution from Green Shoots in Southern and Northern California and the Rocky Mountain region.
Cogo has grown to a 40-truck operation and now handles 99 percent of the distribution for Columbia Gorge products, according to Stewart. The company distributes in the Western, Central and Southeastern U.S. While Columbia Gorge juices had been distributed in the Northeast, the brand is no longer represented in the region, Stewart said.
Leveraging its reach and infrastructure, Cogo also carries a number of other natural and specialty brands including Stumptown Cold Brew coffee, Brew Dr. Kombucha, Motto, House Kombucha, DrKefir and Hotlips soda, most of which are based on the West Coast.
“Certainly, first and foremost, our brand is our priority, but we want to make it so that our distribution company is more self-sustained,” Stewart said, noting that economies of scale made it attractive to add other beverage brands to Cogo trucks.
While self-distribution presents a number of complexities and challenges in its own right, it appears that Columbia Gorge has finally achieved some stability and success by controlling the flow of transportation. Now, if it can only influence the flow (and content) of information about HPP…
Editor’s Note: Shortly after the publication of this article, Green Shoots e-mailed BevNET the following statement in regards to Columbia Gorge’s lawsuit against the company:
“Greenshoots prides itself on providing superior customer service and acting as a true partner with each brand that it distributes. Unfortunately, Greenshoots is presently involved in litigation with the makers of Columbia Gorge Organic, a former brand partner. Greenshoots strenuously denies all of the allegations Columbia Gorge has made in the context of the lawsuit. Additionally, Greenshoots intends to vigorously prosecute the counterclaims it has made against Columbia Gorge. Because the case is currently pending, however, Greenshoots cannot comment any further at this time.”