Explaining Southern California's economy
Starbucks buys Evolution Fresh for $30 million, but juice is just the beginning
Stephen Chernin/Getty Images
File: A Starbucks Coffee barrista readies a beverage for a customer in the new 42nd Street store August 5, 2003 in New York City.
Yesterday, Starbucks announced that it's buying Southern California's own Evolution Fresh Inc., for $30 million. That's pretty small potatoes as M&A activity goes. But for Starbucks, buying the juicemaker — which, according to the Starbucks announcement, is "one of the only true juiceries left in the industry that still cracks, peels, presses, and squeezes its own raw fruits and vegetables" — is just the beginning of the beginning.
And a risky undertaking.
Starbucks wants to move beyond coffee and expand its presence far beyond its retail stores. So far, it's been doing this slowly and carefully — and has already endured one misstep, when it over-expanded prior to the financial crisis. In Steve Jobsian fashion, CEO Howard Schultz returned to the company to trim, reinforce, and realign. The ship was righted. But now it's looking to grow again.



















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