Zach Muchnick, Founder of Positive Beverage, Exits Following Sale of Remaining 24% Stake to CEO Shannon Argyros

NEWPORT BEACH, California — Zach Muchnick, founder of Positive Beverage, has sold his remaining 24% controlled interest in the company to CEO Shannon Argyros, marking the end of more than 12 years building the brand.

Zach entered the beverage industry with a simple goal: to create the kind of better-for-you beverage his mother wanted, without artificial colors or artificial sweeteners but couldn’t find. “Positive Beverage started with my mother, an idea, and the belief that people shouldn’t have to choose between flavor, functionality, ingredients and most importantly, a price point they feel good about. Twelve years later, I’m incredibly proud of what we built and grateful for the people who helped shape it.”

“The beverage industry isn’t known for being easy on emerging brands, so the fact that I had the opportunity to spend more than 12 years building the same company is something I’ll never take for granted. There were plenty of wins, setbacks and more lessons than I could count but making it through all of them is a big part of what made the experience so valuable,” Zach said.

Over the years, Zach helped build Positive Beverage from the ground up, working across product development, sourcing, logistics, key account placement and various aspects of e-commerce while establishing relationships and working hands-on with respected retailers including Bristol Farms, Ralphs, Target and Costco. He also played an instrumental role in the company’s intellectual property portfolio, registering several trademarks centered around the word “POSITIVE,” which he originally chose for its favorable subconscious association and its ability to extend naturally across multiple product categories. Zach believes that collection of intellectual property remains the company’s most valuable asset, a view shared by many others over the years, and one of its strongest foundations for future growth.

“I couldn’t be more grateful for the role I had in building Positive Beverage over the past decade,” Zach said. “Along the way, I had the opportunity to develop relationships with truly incredible people, including David Ames, founder and CEO of Sovereign Flavors, who took me under his wing early on and helped educate me about the industry and what to expect in the years ahead, as well as the dream team of Danny Stepper, Pat Bolden, Dino Sarti, and Bonnie Shah at L.A. Libations.”

One of the most important moments in the company’s development, Zach said, came during a conversation with Stepper. “I still remember Danny sitting me down in his backyard like it was yesterday. He challenged my original formulation and helped make Positive Beverage much more positive from a product standpoint. I’ll always be grateful for his honesty, creativity and willingness to keep pushing me forward and it was that conversation, that helped me understand what it really takes to move a product from an idea into the hands of consumers.”

Zach also credited Austin Johnston and the entire team at AKJOHNSTON Group for the creativity, fabrication expertise, marketing support and education they provided him over the years. “I’ve watched Austin and his team bring an outrageous level of creativity, execution and energy to everything they touch. Their guidance and willingness to educate me across so many areas of marketing and brand activation has meant more to me than Austin will ever realize and I’ll always be grateful for the way they helped bring countless ideas to life and turn them into something bigger, bolder and far more memorable.”

Zach said building Positive Beverage gave him the kind of real-world education that could never come from a classroom alone. “Building Positive Beverage taught me more than any classroom ever could. When you’re actually in it every day, you’re learning product development, manufacturing, packaging, logistics, sales, marketing, finance and most importantly, how to deal with people. After 12 years, I’ve handled just about every kind of challenge that can come with building a consumer brand. There isn’t always a playbook, and most of the time, you’re figuring it out while you’re living it. I’m a builder and love the idea of now being able to use that experience to help others avoid some of those obstacles, navigate around the ones they can’t avoid and overcome the challenges that might otherwise hold them back,” he said.

Zach also offered special thanks to the entire BevNET team and the broader community the organization has built around the beverage industry. “BevNET has been one of the true backbones of this industry. John Craven, John Fischer and the entire team have spent years connecting founders, investors, retailers, suppliers and innovators while giving emerging brands a platform to be seen and taken seriously. I have enormous appreciation for what they’ve built and the role they continue to play in helping the next generation of brands turn ideas into real businesses.”

“I’m proud of what we accomplished and grateful to everyone who played a role in the journey. Some of the best opportunities in my life have come from conversations I never expected to have and am excited to see what comes next. I’ve learned that the most interesting projects usually start with a great idea, the right people and a conversation so if something interesting crosses my path where my experience can add value, I’m open to a conversation. For now, I’m leaving Positive Beverage exactly as the name suggests: incredibly proud of what we accomplished, appreciative of the people who helped make the journey possible and POSITIVE about what comes next,” Zach said.