New Age Beverages, which is based in Denver, CO, merged in December with Morinda, a network marketing specialist in noni products. The combined company does business in a number of markets, including China. New Age had billed itself prior to the merger as the fastest growing natural beverage company in the country.
In its recent quarterly earnings statement, the first since the merger fully took hold, New Age reported $60.5 million in gross revenue, a 404% increase from the first quarter of 2018. Company officials noted that in an earnings call with investors that the company did only about $60 million in revenue in all of 2018.
CBD products added to extensive beverage line
New Age, with the addition of Morinda, now sells canned coffee and yerba mate drinks under the Marley brand name, Xing branded iced tea, a line of kombucha products, coconut water and a recovery beverage, as well as the noni line that came with the Morinda merger. All are sold in a mix of direct to consumer and brick and mortar distribution.
In a recent earnings call with investors, the company said that despite its already rapid growth, more is in store with the launch of CBD based products, which includes creams and lotions as well as a CBD-infused beverage.
“If it went right and the regulatory landscape unfolds globally as we expect it to, if it all went right—my CFO is going to kill me for saying this—but this could be big. So more than $100 million is nowhere near out of the realm of expectation, because mind you it’s wide open and we can be first,” said New Age CEO Brent Willis. The earnings call was posted in transcript form on the site seekingalpha.com.
Chinese direct selling restrictions eased
In Asia, the company has strong distribution in Japan. It has a business in China, too, that was founded under the Morinda brand name. That activity was impacted by China’s recent crackdown on direct selling, which Willis said was a reaction to the activities of two particular companies in the market. But CFO Gregory Gould said that the regulatory action seems now to have run its course.
“A big question we have right now is how quickly can China come back? The Chinese government has just lifted several restrictions on the way we can do business there and the big question will be how quickly will this come back. We believe this will be helped substantially by our introduction of Noni+Collagen (a Morinda product) and that launch is going on right now and going very well,” he said.
