Chris Reed, the founder of ginger beer brand Reed’s, is going deeper into the co-packing business via the acquisition of the recently-shuttered Joriki Beverage aseptic beverage production facility in Pittston, Pa.
Now operating under the name Pittston Co-Packers Corp., Reed purchased the facility out of a bankruptcy court sale earlier this year with the financial backing of an undisclosed Chinese business partner.
The project involves a $30 million investment into the site from the business group, with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania providing $1 million from its PA First program and an additional $76,100 WEDnetPA grant to train employees.
Reed called the purchase “opportunistic,” noting that he and his partner had been looking at new beverage opportunities, including what he called “nouveau ingredient” plays within the functional beverage category.
Rather than wait to get a new drink concept off the ground, the group opted to begin by first acquiring manufacturing sites in the U.S. in order to have a strong operational network of co-packers established. When the Pittston facility went up for auction, Reed said it was an opportunity that was too good to pass up.
“We basically were looking around for properties based on his recommendations, and then all of a sudden, the dream plant was there,” Reed said. “It came with all kinds of production lines and customers and I pitched it and he liked it, and we went and acquired it in a bankruptcy court. Now we’re just bringing it up to speed and bringing customers on right now.”
The facility had previously been a significant co-packer in Pennsylvania with around 229 employees; it produced aseptically-packaged plant-based milks and juices for companies including Welch’s and Coca-Cola. But the plant closed abruptly in January, with employees only receiving notice that the plant was shutting down on New Year’s Eve, told by email not to report to work on January 2.
Joriki claimed in the notice that it had been seeking a going-concern transaction that apparently crumbled and it would be unable to keep operating due to “unforeseen circumstances beyond the company’s control.”
On January 3, the parent company filed for creditor protection.
Joriki Beverage is based in Canada and the Pittston plant was its only U.S. location. The company previously closed one of its Canadian sites in 2024 following a listeria outbreak that led to at least two deaths.
Now as Pittston Co-Packers Corp looks to restaff the facility, Reed is rehiring many of the laid off former Joriki team members – albeit “being sensitive” to who is brought on as “some of those people were responsible for the mess” in the old organization.
The new company has also hired former Fairlife VP John Holzemer as co-CEO to run day-to-day operations at the Pittston plant.
“We hired specifically back people from Joriki and we’ve brought in new talent, people who are familiar with running plants like that, lots of experience,” Holzemer said. “So we’ve got a team in there, and they’re moving towards a first production here shortly, and we’re just hanging a shingle, letting the world know.”
Reed said that the new company has acquired all of Joriki’s equipment and will be working with its former customers, who have also helped suggest improvements that could be made at the facility.
“The existing customers gave us a little shopping list of things they would have liked to see Joriki have done. And we’re accommodating them, because they were smart ideas that improved the plant,” he said. “So we’re in a short period of plant improvement, and then we start up here shortly.”
Pittston is likely only the first purchase for Reed and his business partner, with Reed adding that he’s “looking at other facilities right now” to add to the portfolio. As well, Reed is still optimistic that his ideas for next gen drinks will come to fruition down the line.
“We’re evaluating some really fun, cutting edge nutraceuticals to put out some next generation functional beverages,” he said. “And, you know, we’re just playing it by ear. This is a step.”