Coca-Cola discontinues Odwalla juice brand

Coca-Cola is shutting down its smoothie and juice brand Odwalla at the end of July, a company spokesperson tells The Wall Street Journal. 

The move will cut 300 jobs and the spokesperson says the company plans to sell its fleet of 230 refrigerated trucks that were used to deliver Odwalla products to retail locations.

Coca-Cola purchased Odwalla in 2011, but couldn't find a cost effective way to sell it. Discontinuing the brand "really is the result of consumers changing what they want so rapidly," the spokesperson said. "By freeing up those assets, we can reinvest those costs in what consumers want today."

Increases in consumer demand during COVID-19 has some experts predicting food and beverage makers will pare down their SKUs to focus on core products. The spokesperson from Coca-Cola, however, said the decision to cease production of Odwalla was in no way related to pandemic.