Suja Life (NASDAQ:SUJA) reported strong first-quarter fiscal 2026 results in its first earnings call as a public company, with management highlighting double-digit sales growth, margin expansion and a post-IPO balance sheet strengthened by debt reduction.
Chief Executive Officer Maria Stipp said the company’s May Nasdaq listing marked “the natural next step” in Suja Life’s development, adding that access to the public markets is expected to support innovation, distribution expansion and strategic investments in the better-for-you beverage market.
First-quarter sales rise 22.5%
Chief Financial Officer Jeff Peterson said net sales for the seasonally strong first quarter ended March 30, 2026, rose 22.5% year over year to $107.1 million. He attributed the increase primarily to volume growth across key products and retailers, new product distribution gains, effective promotional execution with key retailers and slightly favorable shipment timing at the end of the quarter.
Suja Core, which includes Suja Organic and Vive Organic wellness shots and cold-pressed juices, generated net sales of $104.9 million, up 21.4% from the prior year. Peterson said the segment saw strong volume growth across both wellness shots and juices, with multipack formats delivering outsized growth.
Emerging Brands, which consists of Slice, posted net sales of $3 million, up 40.3%, as the company continued to expand distribution and drive trial in the brand’s second year on shelves.
Gross profit increased 24.3% to $54.1 million, or 50.5% of net sales, representing a 70-basis-point expansion from the prior-year period. Peterson said the improvement reflected better absorption from higher production volumes, favorable product mix led by higher-margin wellness shots and multipacks, and improved production efficiency. He noted that the company benefited from favorable absorption timing as it built finished goods inventory in the first quarter to satisfy second-quarter shipment demand, with an offset expected in the second quarter.
Net income was $7.7 million, compared with a loss of $800,000 a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA rose 66.3% to $25 million, or 23.4% of net sales, expanding 610 basis points year over year. Suja Core adjusted EBITDA increased 43.4% to $26.9 million, while Emerging Brands adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $1.9 million, an improvement of $1.9 million from the prior-year quarter.
Company outlines 2026 outlook
For fiscal 2026, ending Dec. 28, the company expects net sales of $367 million to $371 million, representing growth of 12.4% to 13.6% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA is projected at $70 million to $72 million, representing growth of 72.8% to 77.7%.
Peterson said the outlook is based on volume-led growth across key products and retailers, including velocity gains and distribution expansion. He also reiterated the company’s longer-term targets discussed during its IPO process: annual net sales growth of about 13%, gross margins of approximately 50% and adjusted EBITDA margins in the low-20% range.
The company also expects an effective tax rate of 27.4% and net interest expense of $19 million for the year.
Peterson said Suja Life’s business is typically weighted more heavily toward the first and fourth quarters because of cold and flu season and “New Year, New You” consumer behavior. Those periods also bring a higher mix of wellness shots, the company’s highest-margin category.
Post-IPO proceeds used to reduce debt
Suja Life completed its IPO on May 8, generating net proceeds of $173.6 million after underwriting discounts. Peterson said the company used a portion of the proceeds to reduce borrowings under its term loan to $164.9 million as of the repayment date.
“Following the successful completion of the IPO and subsequent debt paydown, we are in a strong liquidity position, having materially reduced our debt,” Peterson said.
Management highlights category growth and brand positioning
Stipp said Suja Life’s portfolio is built around three brands: Suja Organic, Vive Organic and Slice. Suja Organic is the company’s flagship brand and the top cold-pressed juice brand in retail sales, according to SPINS, with a 47% market share in a category that grew 23% in 2025. Vive Organic, acquired in 2022, holds the No. 1 and No. 2 SKU positions in wellness shots, according to SPINS for 2025. Together, Suja Organic and Vive Organic wellness shots represent roughly 42% market share in a category that grew more than 28% in 2025.
Slice, a trademark acquired in 2024 and relaunched in 2025, is Suja Life’s better-for-you soda brand. Stipp said Slice contains five grams of sugar or less, 30 to 40 calories per can, prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics, and no artificial ingredients. She said the company is focusing Slice on the natural healthy beverage space and sees opportunities to convert consumers from legacy products, including kombucha.
Stipp said the company’s household penetration has risen from 7.6% in the first quarter of 2024 to 11.2% in the first quarter of 2026, while spend per buyer increased from $24.80 to $29 over the same period. She also pointed to white space in Suja’s categories, noting that household penetration in 2025 was 8% for cold-pressed juice, 3% for wellness shots and 1% for Slice after one year in market.
The CEO also emphasized Suja Life’s vertically integrated supply chain, including its 270,000-square-foot Oceanside, California, campus, where the company produces all of its cold-pressed juices and wellness shots in-house. Stipp said the company processes about 1 million pounds of fresh produce weekly and can move from farm to bottle in as few as eight days.
Analysts question sales drivers, marketing and capacity
During the question-and-answer session, Goldman Sachs analyst Bonnie Herzog asked about first-quarter sales drivers. Stipp said promotional execution at key retailers and early reset-season distribution gains were important contributors, with distribution representing the largest part of first-quarter growth. She said Nielsen data showed Suja and Vive each up 13% in the quarter, while Slice grew significantly.
Peterson said shots continued to lead growth, but cold-pressed single-serve juice also performed well. He added that favorable shipment timing benefited the quarter, while emphasizing that the company’s full-year outlook remains its focus.
Jefferies analyst Kaumil Gajrawala asked about trial and consumer switching. Stipp said Suja Life uses awareness-building, digital campaigns, retail sampling and influencers to drive trial. She said roughly two-thirds of share growth comes from switching within categories, including from smoothies and legacy natural healthy beverage products with higher sugar content.
On input costs, Peterson said the company typically identifies $3 million to $4 million in annual operational efficiencies, which it uses to offset inflationary pressures and expand margins. He said current expected inflationary pressures are “far smaller” than those efficiencies and that the company is not immediately contemplating price increases.
William Blair analyst Jon Andersen asked about capacity. Peterson said Suja Life has deployed its fifth high-pressure processing machine and is running at about 80% utilization. He said the company has purchased another HPP machine and expects it to be operating by the end of the year.
Stipp closed the call by saying the company is focused on expanding household reach, continuing innovation and building long-term category leadership. “We’re just getting started, and we’re doing it the right way,” she said.
