Paine Schwartz Partners LLC holding Suja Life Inc. on Friday, April 10, filed for an initial public offering that would leave the sustainable food chain investor in control of the beverage producer.

The Oceanside, Calif.-based maker of cold-pressed juices, wellness shots and functional sodas plans to list its shares on Nasdaq under SUJA. The filing indicated New York-based Paine Schwartz would sell stock in the IPO and retain voting control but didn’t disclose total shares on offer or a price range, as is typical in initial filings.

The Deal in January reported sustainable food chain investor Paine Schwartz had retained Goldman, Sachs & Co. and William Blair for a dual-track process, exploring a sale or IPO.

Goldman, William Blair and Jefferies LLC lead the underwriting group.

Formed in 2022, Suja Life LLC is the parent company to cold-pressed juice and wellness shot brands Suja Organic and Vive Organic along with natural soda brand Slice.

Paine Schwartz acquired Suja Life in 2021 from Coca-Cola Co. (KO) and Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking in a transaction ranging from $50 to $249 million, according to SPS by With Intelligence data. The sponsor added on Vive Organic to the platform in 2022 and Slice in 2024.

Suja Life listed $36.7 million in Ebitda for fiscal 2025 in its IPO filing. Suja Life plans to use the IPO proceeds to reduce its debt, which included $267.5 million in outstanding term loans as of Dec. 29 as well as a $40 million outstanding on a revolving credit facility.

Suja Life in its filing said “strategic M&A remains a key accelerator of our platform.” It added that the natural healthy beverage market remains highly fragmented and that it will target complementary brands with a clear path to accelerate growth.

There have been several deals in the functional and better-for-you beverage space over the past year. Danone SA last month agreed to acquire private equity-backed Huel Ltd., a manufacturer and distributor of nutritionally balanced meal products. Bansk Group LLP in March, meanwhile, agreed to acquire a majority stake in So Good So You, a fast-growing U.S. wellness shots brand that The Deal had reported was on the block.

Butterfly Equity acquired Health-Ade Kombucha in July through portfolio company Generous Brands LLC, while Azalea Capital LLC acquired electrolyte shot company Pickle Juice Co. in May.

Paine Schwartz specializes in sustainable food chain investing, with a focus on productivity and sustainability and health and wellness. The firm typically invests $100 million to $300 million and up to $1 billion, including co-investments and partnerships, in companies with Ebitda of $10 million to $100 million and an enterprise value of $100 million to $1 billion.

Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund VI closed in September 2023 with $1.7 billion in total capital commitments.

Suja Life lost $23.3 million on $326.6 million in sales in fiscal 2025, up from a $20.8 million loss on $258.9 million in sales a year earlier.

Michael P. Keeley and Ben Richards of Kirkland & Ellis LLP are counsel to Suja Life. Alexander D. Lynch and Michael Stein of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP represent the underwriters.