Danone Manifesto Ventures Acquires Majority Stake in Harmless Harvest

Danone Manifesto Ventures (DMV) announced today that it has acquired a majority stake in premium coconut products maker Harmless Harvest. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Harmless Harvest is the first U.S. investment to become majority-owned by DMV, the venture arm of French multinational corporation Danone, the company said in a press release. In 2017, DMV led a $30 million funding round in Harmless Harvest, participating alongside Mousse Partners and AF Ventures among others.

“It has been a privilege to be part of the Harmless Harvest success story over the past few years, as the company has continued to grow, innovate, and pioneer more responsible business practices,” said Laurent Marcel, CEO of Danone Manifesto Ventures, in a press release. “We are thrilled to further the partnership with a group of people who aim to be harmless to the planet and society and share our vision of a healthy and sustainable food system.”

Launched in 2016, DMV primarily invests in food, beverage and food tech companies focused on health and sustainability. At the time of its initial investment, Harmless Harvest was the sixth brand added to the DMV portfolio, which includes companies such as Kona Deep, Halsa, Forager Project, Laird Superfood, HowGood and AF Ventures.

Harmless Harvest was founded in 2009 by Justin Guilbert and Douglas Riboud with a line of premium organic coconut waters. In 2018, the company brought on current CEO Ben Mand and since then has expanded its product portfolio to include flavored and functional coconut waters, smoothies and coconut-based yogurt alternatives.

The expanded product portfolio has also accompanied a shift in strategy. Last year, Mand told BevNET that the company is aiming to grow its footprint within existing accounts with its plant-based yogurt cups. As of October 2020, he said the brand had a roughly 90% ACV in the natural channel and was over 50% in MULO, prompting a new focus on ecommerce. Earlier this year, the company launched an Energizing Coconut Water line, with caffeine from tea, which Mand said is positioned to drive ecommerce sales.

According to DMV, Harmless Harvest is expected to generate $100 million in sales this year. MULO and convenience channel data from market research firm IRI show that Harmless Harvest products classified as bottled fruit juice were up 59.6% to $14.8 million in the 52-week period ending June 13, while products categorized as “all other fruit juice” were down 0.8% to $19.6 million.

The acquisition comes at a time where the coconut water category is beginning to see new growth after multiple flat years, in large part driven by All Market Inc-owned Vita Coco, which earlier this month became the subject of IPO rumors. In January, Zico relaunched months after it was discontinued by The Coca-Cola Company, but now faces a “slow, methodical” rebuild as it attempts to meet its past sales heights, according to founder Mark Rampolla.