The partnership marks the first step of a multi-pronged collaboration to make nutrition more accessible while reducing costs and creating lasting stakeholder value
SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, Treasure8, an ingredient and food transformation company, and Suja Life, a Paine Schwartz Partners portfolio company and leading functional wellness platform, announce a strategic partnership to harness Treasure8’s exclusively patented USDA SAUNA™ technology to transform Suja Life’s high-quality, organic sidestreams into premium, upcycled powders— maximizing nutrition and flavor while slashing production time, cost, energy use, and CO2 emissions.
The partnership will create a rippling impact across the food system; the two companies will explore opportunities over the next five years to generate even more value and efficiencies through vertical technology integrations, helping Suja Life’s grower partners introduce more regenerative-style practices, and product portfolio enhancements. This major milestone stands to yield immediate benefits as more than 40% of the global food supply chain is lost each year due to infield and processing waste and other inefficiencies.
Treasure8 brings advanced approaches and know-how to leading food makers, growers, and suppliers. The company’s suite of proprietary and advanced food processing technologies quickly removes water in highly nutritious, often wasted whole food inputs reducing processing time and energy use while maximizing flavor and nutrition as part of its validated LOG5 kill step. The company is scaling with strategic partners and expanding additional business agreements into other valuable sidestreams and sources of supply to accelerate its mission to Deploy Nutrition for Humanity.
As the leading functional wellness platform, Suja Life’s vibrant portfolio includes Suja Organic, the nation’s #1 organic, non-GMO, cold-pressed juice and beverage brand, and Vive Organic, the pioneer in cold-pressed and plant-powered 2oz ready-to-drink wellness shots. Each of Vive Organic’s products are designed to harness the power of fresh-pressed superfoods to improve overall health and carefully curated by a team of holistic wellness doctors.
“Working with Suja Life is a key step for us to accelerate our partnership platform to further scale our upcycling ingredient pipeline as effectively as we can,” said Timothy Childs, Founder and co-CEO Treasure8. “By partnering with industry leaders like Suja Life, we are creating a circular value loop by producing more nutritious ingredients through upcycled material that reduces CO2 emissions, cuts costs, and, eventually, creates valuable outputs to improve soil health for farmers.”
Added Treasure8 co-CEO Derk Hendriksen, “We’re looking to elevate our global food system, transforming what is now very much a chain into something that’s much more circular in nature. Upcycling is just one part of this strategy, and it is an honor to work with Suja Life as a strategic partner and fellow change agent, given their aligned values and commitment to health and nutrition.”
Additionally, Suja Life’s Chief Innovation Officer, Bryan Riblett, said, “We believe the next wave of this lasting trend must include innovative waste reduction and sustainability solutions. Our partnership with Treasure8 will allow us to drive real value to our many stakeholders.”
About Treasure8
Treasure8 is an ingredient and food transformation company on a mission to Deploy Nutrition for Humanity. The Bay Area company works with world-class partners to deliver food processing solutions that reduce costs while improving human and planetary health — creating lasting stakeholder value. Treasure8’s proprietary technological advantages, powered by its exclusively licensed, patented USDA SAUNA™ technology, allow the company to dehydrate whole foods faster, at a significantly lower cost, using less energy, and producing less harmful CO2e while maximizing nutrition and taste.
Treasure8 was founded in 2012 by serial entrepreneur and co-CEO, Timothy Childs, and today has helped some of the world’s largest companies develop and advance their products. It is backed by the CA Energy Commission and with the USDA, named a 2018 winner of the US Far West Regional Federal Technology Transfer Award, a 2019 ASABE “AE50″ Award, received a 2019 World Changing Ideas Honorable Mention from Fast Company, and a 2020 Grant from ReFed for the COVID-19 Food Waste Solutions Fund.
About Suja Life
Suja Life is the leading, vertically integrated manufacturer and marketer of plant-based, better-for-you cold-pressed juices and related beverages committed to delivering function, nutrition and superior taste to a diverse, national consumer base. Formed in 2022, the parent company holds Suja Organic and Vive Organic, the leading beverage brands harnessing the power of organic, non-GMO, and plant-based ingredients to provide functional products loaded with vital nutrients. In partnership with Paine Schwartz Partners, Suja Life was founded to merge years of CPG industry expertise and propel brands that encompass a shared mission to craft products held to the highest standards of quality and wellness. Today, Suja Life leads the nation in organic and cold-pressed juices and shots, with a growing portfolio of brands. For more information, please visit www.sujalife.com.
About Paine Schwartz Partners
Paine Schwartz Partners is the largest private equity firm dedicated to sustainable food chain investing, with ~$6 billion of AUM and over 20 years of experience. The firm invests across specific segments of the food and agribusiness value chain, with a focus on two core investment themes: productivity and sustainability and health and wellness. Through its proactive, thesis-driven approach, the firm targets value-added and differentiated companies and makes primarily control buyout investments, with a smaller allocation to growth companies. For further information, please see www.paineschwartz.com.
Contacts
For Treasure8
Nicki Briggs, MS, RDN
Here/There Communications
nicki@hereslashthere.com
For Suja Life
Huilian Ma Anderson
Moxie Communications Group
sujalife@moxiegrouppr.com
