Generous Brands Completes Acquisition of Health-Ade

August 05, 2025 at 08:00 AM EDT

Leader in kombucha tea beverages to strengthen Generous Brands’s expanding portfolio of premium, high-growth functional beverages

Generous Brands, a Butterfly portfolio company and a leader in premium refrigerated beverages offering the Bolthouse Farms, Evolution Fresh, and SAMBAZON brands, today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Health-Ade, a fast-growing leader and innovator in kombucha tea beverages, from private equity firms First Bev and Manna Tree Partners (“Manna Tree”), who will also continue on as minority shareholders in Generous Brands.

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Generous Brands

Since launching in spring 2024, Generous Brands has built a portfolio that spans juice, smoothie, kombucha, cold-pressed, protein, coffee, and alternative soda categories. The fast-growing Health-Ade brand will complement existing portfolio brands Bolthouse Farms, Evolution Fresh, and SAMBAZON beverages to create a leader in premium refrigerated beverages. The new portfolio, nearing $1 billion in retail sales, will have meaningful scale, channel strength, and significant owned manufacturing capabilities, cementing its leadership position in the category.

“This is an exciting milestone for Generous Brands, bringing a leading, premium brand into our portfolio,” said Steve Cornell, CEO of Generous Brands. “The acquisition of Health-Ade solidifies our position as a growth-oriented leader in the marketplace and reflects our commitment to meeting evolving consumer expectations. With the power of scale, we look forward to meeting more consumers with products that are at the intersection of vibrant taste and clean nutrition through transformative innovation and broader availability.”

The Health-Ade brand has grown rapidly from its origins as a kombucha sold at the Brentwood Farmers Market in 2012 to become a top-selling functional beverage brand in the U.S., with retail sales approaching $250 million annually and products in 65,000 outlets nationwide. The kombucha segment has experienced consistent growth over the last five years, and Health-Ade is on track to continue growing in this expanding category.

Advisors

Lazard is acting as financial advisor to Health-Ade and Baker McKenzie is acting as its legal advisor. Kirkland & Ellis advised Generous Brands and Butterfly as their legal counsel.

About Generous Brands

Generous Brands brings fresh, vibrant nutrition to market through its leading brands, Bolthouse Farms, Evolution Fresh, and SAMBAZON beverages. Bolthouse Farms is a pre-eminent provider of chilled juice, smoothies, shakes, and protein drinks while Evolution Fresh is a premier cold-pressed juice brand with national availability. Generous Brands is a portfolio company of Butterfly, a leading private equity firm that specializes in the food sector with a particular focus on high-growth, on-trend categories. The company operates its North American business from facilities in Bakersfield, CA, Rancho Cucamonga, CA, and the Greater Chicago Area. To learn more, please visit www.generousbrands.com.

About Health-Ade

Health-Ade is dedicated to creating bubbly beverages that boost gut health and overall well-being. Originating in the Brentwood Farmers Market in 2012, the brand quickly became a favorite in Southern California and now boasts a presence in over 65,000 stores nationwide. All kombucha products are naturally fermented, organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, and vegan, with each 16 oz bottle surpassing the World Health Organization's daily probiotic standards.

About Butterfly

Butterfly is a Los Angeles, California-based private equity firm that invests exclusively in the $26 trillion food sector. Butterfly is a leading “seed to fork” food ecosystem investor in North America and seeks to generate consistent investment returns through deep sector expertise, a data-driven investment process, and an operations-driven approach to value creation. Since its founding in 2016, the firm has invested in a diverse portfolio of category-leading businesses representing approximately $8 billion in enterprise value including The Duckhorn Portfolio, Rise Baking Company, Actus Nutrition, Chosen Foods, MaryRuth Organics, Pete and Gerry’s, Orgain, Generous Brands, Bolthouse Fresh Foods, QDOBA, and Pacifico Aquaculture. To learn more, please visit https://www.bfly.com/.

About Manna Tree

Founded by Gabrielle (Ellie) Rubenstein and Ross Iverson in 2018, Manna Tree is a global private equity firm committed to investing in companies that empower consumers to live better, longer. The firm strategically invests in the consumer sector, particularly within the health and wellness ecosystem, focusing on growth-stage and buyout opportunities. Manna Tree has made investments in 13 companies to date: Health-Ade, Gotham Greens, Vital Farms, Good Culture, Verde Farms, True Food Kitchen, Tandem Foods, MycoTechnology, Nutriati, Urban Remedy, The New Primal, Infinant Health and Kimelo.

About First Bev

First Bev invests in innovative and transformational beverage brands, helping beverage companies grow and stand out in a dynamic and competitive industry. We form true partnerships with our portfolio companies and the entrepreneurs leading them by leveraging both our financial and intellectual capital. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the First Bev team is made up of entrepreneurial senior beverage executives with decades of collective industry experience. For more information, please visit www.firstbev.com.