Driven by the downturns
The gig: Johnson, 39, is the founder and chief executive of Bossa Nova Beverage Group Inc., based in West Los Angeles and known for its acai juice. Last week, the company was sold for an undisclosed amount to Beverages Holdings, a Cincinnati group that owns Sunny D and other drink brands. Johnson will remain CEO of Bossa Nova but is now also the vice president for natural beverages at Beverages Holdings.
Personal: Johnson is single and lives in Santa Monica.
Starting out: Johnson grew up in Chicago and got his bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University in international relations.
His first job out of college was with audio electronics manufacturer Harman International in Los Angeles, helping to establish international distribution channels for U.S.-made Harman electronics.
“It was basically like setting up a start-up within the bigger corporation,” he said. “I learned a lot about manufacturing, developing distribution, marketing, advertising, marketing -- making it all work.”
The acai and the Amazon: During a business trip to Brazil in 1999, Johnson was introduced to the acai berry, native to the Amazon rain forest. He liked the berry’s tart taste and energy boost and was told of its health-promoting properties.
Turning point: The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks “just kind of jolted my consciousness about humanity and what I wanted to do with my life,” he said. “I just started to see things differently.”
A short recession followed the attacks and Johnson lost his job.
“I was a pretty successful young guy with a nice, cushy life living in Marina del Rey,” he said.
“I was too comfortable then to start my own company. But the recession forced me to take the risk, so I decided to do it.”
With the idea of turning the acai berry from Brazil into a beverage, Johnson headed to USC to get an MBA.
Validation: A USC business concept feasibility professor thought Johnson’s acai beverage would sell. A finance class was starting to be fun. Johnson sent acai berries to the University of Florida’s tropical fruit research labs for study, and they found that the fruit contained more antioxidants than pomegranates or blueberries.
“There were too many green lights along the way and it was just validation after validation that this is what I needed to do -- I needed to start this company,” he said. Johnson maxed out on student loans, tapped his 401(k), borrowed money from family and then maxed out his credit cards.
“If someone would have told me I needed $300,000 or $400,000 to start the company, I probably wouldn’t have done it,” he said.
Bossa Nova got another boost at the 2005 Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, Johnson’s first trade show. He left with orders to ship his acai juice to 1,000 stores across the country.
“The most expensive thing we ever did was go to a trade show and have retailers demand the product,” he said.
Another recession, another push: Since 2005, Bossa Nova has grown into a self-sufficient and profitable company, Johnson said. He was able to pay back loans from his family by 2006. Last year, the company reached more than $10 million in sales, and the brand expanded to 10 natural juices, adding goji, acerola and mangosteen to the list.
But then the economy went bad. Although the company proved it could stand on its own and probably would make it through the recession without shrinking, Johnson said, growth for Bossa Nova was looking less certain.
“When you’re going into an economic crisis, if you can, that is the moment to invest aggressively and establish your brand while your competition cuts back,” he said.
The big sale: The opportunity to invest in and expand the brand came in March, when serious discussions began between Beverages Holdings and Bossa Nova.
Rather than retain the independence of his company, Johnson chose the financial stability, marketing muscle and wider distribution that Beverages Holdings offered.
“Twice, a recession has forced decisions that turned out to be extremely necessary for the company -- starting Bossa Nova and now selling it.”
For a company born from hardship, the challenge now will be to avoid getting too comfortable, Johnson said.
“Economic stability, comfort -- these things are truly enemies of innovation.”
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