Dyla LLC, which owns and operates Stur Drinks and FORTO Coffee, is one of the winners of this year’s NJ Future 50 Awards declaring it one of the fastest-growing business in the state of New Jersey.
The award recognizes the state’s 50 fastest-growing mid-sized companies across all industries that have demonstrated significant growth based on a combined three-year average of revenue and employee growth. The 2017 Future 50 winners collectively generate more than $2.15 billion in annual revenue and employ 14,419 individuals in New Jersey.
Since its founding, Dyla LLC has more than doubled in size each year. Now, the company’s beverage brands are sold in more than 20,000 retail stores nationwide.
“Identifying a market opportunity based on my experience in the food/beverage industry and offering healthier products was a driver of growth,” said founder and CEO Neel Premkumar. “But I also think our talent is a major differentiator. I started the business by myself, and ran it as the only employee for more than two years. This enabled me to do every job and understand the challenges and drivers of success for each role.”
As a result, Premkumar was able to zero in on the right talent once it was time to hire.
One of the biggest challenges for Dyla has been financing its rapid growth. “Growing this company has really been akin to drinking from a fire hose,” says Premkumar. “In the beginning, I financed growth myself from savings. Then, early on, I brought on my former CEO from Nestle. After a couple of years, we brought on other equity investors, like the former president of our biggest competitor.” For the future, Premkumar says, “part of my personal challenge is avoiding complacency; we have to keep rapidly expanding in our industry in order to compete effectively with bigger consumer food/beverage companies that have incredible scale.”
About Stur
Stur is the fastest-growing brand in the $1.5 billion Drink Mix category, with products in both liquid and powder format. Made by a father for his family to love water naturally, Stur only contains Organic or Natural ingredients, including real fruit and stevia extracts. Since launching in 2012, Stur has been seen by millions of consumers on monthly TV Shopping shows and has over 100,000 Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest fans. Stur is also the #1 selling drink mix item on Amazon, and is sold in thousands of Natural & Grocery stores across North America, including Walmart-CA, Target, Kroger, Ahold, Albertsons, Publix, Food Lion, Winn-Dixie, Loblaw, ShopRite, Meijer, HEB, and more – driving incremental growth at retail. For additional information on Stur, please visit www.SturDrinks.com
About FORTO
FORTO is the #1 Coffee Energy Shot, sold in over 15,000 stores nationwide. Created by a father of twins needing wholesome energy – It is made with Organic & Fair-Trade Colombian Coffee – with Extra Energy (200mg caffeine) added through our unique Cold Brew process. The name FORTO is derived from the Italian word for strong (forté), as each handheld bottle of FORTO has as much energy as 2 regular cups of coffee! Since launching across all U.S. Military bases, FORTO has been driving incremental growth for the Energy Shot category in retail stores nationwide. For additional information on FORTO, please visit www.FortoCoffee.com
About the Future 50 Awards
The Future 50 Awards program is the largest and most highly anticipated SmartCEO awards program of the year. This program recognizes 50 of the region’s fastest-growing mid-sized companies and 10 small Emerging Growth companies. These companies represent the future of the region’s economy and embody the entrepreneurial spirit critical for leadership and success.
The winners, chosen based on a three-year average of employee and revenue growth, are listed alphabetically, not ranked. The winners are profiled in SmartCEO magazine and celebrated at a black-tie-optional awards ceremony in January.
Please see below for a complete list of winners and for event details. To share in the excitement leading up to the event, follow us @SmartCEO #Future50.