ZICO Beverages is an American beverage company that manufactures

coconut water Coconut water (also coconut juice) is the clear liquid inside coconuts (fruits of the coconut palm). In early development, it serves as a suspension for the endosperm of the coconut during the nuclear phase of development. As growth continue ...

. In 2013, ZICO became majority owned by

The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups ...

, which it retained for the next seven years. In January 2021 during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

and after years of declining sales, the company was sold back to its founder, Mark Rampolla, through PowerPlant Ventures.

History

ZICO was founded in 2004 by Mark Rampolla after being introduced to coconut water as a

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John ...

volunteer in Central America. In 2009,

purchased a minority stake in ZICO and increased that to a majority stake in 2012. In 2013, Coca-Cola purchased the outstanding stake, acquiring ZICO in the process. In 2020, Coca-Cola announced it would discontinue ZICO by the end of the year. In January 2021, PowerPlant Ventures announced their acquisition of ZICO coconut water from

. The brand's ownership has come full circle, as PowerPlant Ventures was co-founded and is co-led by Mark Rampolla, who was behind ZICO's initial 2004 launch.

Ingredients

ZICO contains pure

- often in concentrate form, which has been the source of a litigation.

Flavors

ZICO's coconut water comes in a variety of flavors including natural, chocolate, jalapeno mango, and watermelon raspberry.

References

{{Authority control Drink companies based in California Drink companies of the United States