Zevia PBC

Zevia PBC

Paddy Spence acquired the Zevia brand in 2007 and grew it from natural-channel obscurity into a nationwide consumer-packaged-goods company that went public on the New York Stock Exchange in July 2021 via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company. Spence, a former Kashi executive, led the company until 2020, when Amy Taylor, previously a marketing veteran at Red Bull, succeeded him as CEO. Taylor inherited a post-IPO entity with a mandate to expand household penetration beyond coastal natural-food consumers. Zevia deploys its capital primarily into marketing, innovation, and distribution rather than owned manufacturing assets. All production is outsourced to third-party co-packers across the United States, keeping the balance sheet lean. The product portfolio spans sodas, energy drinks, organic teas, and kids' beverages — all leveraging stevia leaf extract as the core sweetener to deliver zero sugar and zero calories. Major retail partners include Walmart, Target, Kroger, Amazon, and Costco, covering grocery, mass, club, and e-commerce channels. In 2022, the firm generated $163.1 million in net sales, with the core soda line accounting for roughly three-quarters of revenue (per the firm's 2022 annual filing). The company employed 109 full-time staff at the end of 2022, primarily in sales, marketing, and corporate functions (per the firm's 2022 annual filing). Zevia maintains a single headquarters in Los Angeles with no disclosed international offices. In June 2023, CFO Florence Neubauer resigned; the firm appointed a new CFO, Girish Satya, in early 2024 to focus on margin improvement and cost discipline after a period of post-IPO margin erosion (per the firm's official communications, 2024). The company does not operate a philanthropic foundation or a family-office investment vehicle; it is structured as a public benefit corporation with a stated social purpose of combating childhood obesity. Zevia's public benefit corporation charter legally requires the board to weigh societal impact alongside shareholder returns — a governance structure that distinguishes it from the standard Delaware C-corporation used by most CPG rivals. This designation forces any future acquirer to consider the company's social mission in a sale process, acting as a mild structural defense against extraction-focused private equity takeouts. The asset-light co-packer model further differentiates it, allowing the firm to scale revenue without the capital intensity of a traditional bottling network.