Starbucks opens $70-million Evolution Fresh juice factory in SoCal
Starbucks Corp. is officially opening a massive $70-million factory in Rancho Cucamonga on Wednesday that will be able to churn out 140,000 gallons of Evolution Fresh juice each week.
The Seattle coffee giant is investing more in its Evolution Fresh brand, which it bought in 2011 for $30 million. The 264,000-square-foot facility eventually will take over production of the cold-pressed premium juices from the original plant in San Bernardino.
For now, high demand means that both factories will remain running.
“We’re on a tear, a significant growth curve,” said Chris Bruzzo, general manager of Evolution Fresh.
The Rancho Cucamonga facility will be Starbucks’ sixth manufacturing site in the U.S. and its first in California. The factory will also be the company’s only plant focusing on juice, made with ingredients mostly sourced from within 200 miles.
Of the 190 workers, 65 will hold newly created positions. The rest will transfer from the San Bernardino location.
Evolution Fresh was sold in 2,000 outlets last year, half of them Starbucks stores, most on the West Coast. Now, the juice is available in 8,300 locations nationwide, including Whole Foods branches.
Starbucks also began opening standalone stores dedicated to Evolution Fresh – three in Seattle and one in San Francisco. Bruzzo declined to say whether the stores are profitable, but noted that Evolution Fresh as a brand has seen a “huge revenue spike.”
“We’re selling substantially more juice than we did a year ago,” he said.
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