Clarify the marketing strategy shift to 'lower funnel'. What were the main areas of inflation, and how did your business model help absorb them?

The company is shifting marketing spend to lower-funnel activities to drive immediate velocity, while maintaining the same percentage of net revenue for marketing. Inflationary pressures were mainly fuel-related, absorbed through optimizing transportation, volume discounts, and deploying capital for production efficiency, leveraging vertical integration. “We're still holding firm to the percent of net revenue that we've always spent. We're just converting the dollars down into the funnel versus the higher level.”

Is the grocery issue primarily channel shifting to other retailers, or competitive issues within grocery?

The primary issue is channel shifting and value-seeking consumer behavior, rather than competitive issues within the grocery channel itself. While competitors are promoting more, the core driver is consumer migration. “It's much more the channel shifting, the consumer choices that seek value seeking, I think chasing promotion certainly. I think that's the largest portion of what we're seeing in grocery today.”

Can you provide more detail on the Slice rollout, distribution gains, and reception?

Slice distribution is up 94%. Slice Dirty Sodas (Orange and Strawberry) have been a breakout success, quickly becoming top-selling SKUs at Target. The company is actively pursuing a sizable expansion of Slice Dirty Sodas across other retailers in the back half of the year. “So our distribution is up 94% for Slice, and we have had a great breakout success with our Slice Dirty Sodas.”

SUJA

Suja Life (SUJA) Q2 FY26 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

Earnings call· Jun 2026 (Q2 FY26)· Consumer Staples· Aug 4, 2026

Source: earnings call transcript

Executive summary

Suja Life Q2 FY26 — Strong EBITDA Growth Despite Near-Term Grocery Softness

Suja Life delivered strong Q2 FY26 adjusted EBITDA growth and market share gains, driven by volume and distribution expansion. However, the company is adjusting its full-year net sales guidance due to recent softness in the grocery channel and broader category moderation. Management is implementing aggressive commercial tactics and marketing shifts to navigate these headwinds while maintaining profitability through cost discipline and vertical integration.

Highlights

Net sales grew 11.6% to $83.9 million, driven by volume growth and new distribution.
Adjusted EBITDA increased 50% to $14.6 million, achieving a 17.5% margin (up from 13% YoY).
Outperformed the natural healthy beverage category, gaining 1.1 share points and widening performance gap in cold-pressed juice.
Suja Organic cold-pressed juice scanned dollars grew approximately 18% in Q2, with refreshers up >75% and boosted juice up >30%.
Total distribution points (TDPs) increased 16% year-over-year.

Concerns

Full-year net sales guidance widened to $360 million-$369 million from $367 million-$371 million due to near-term uncertainty.
Recent signs of softness in Q3, concentrated primarily in the grocery channel, impacting bookings.
Total beverage category growth slowed to 2% in Q2 (from 5% in Q1), with natural healthy beverage category growth moderating to 4%.
Q3 net sales estimated at approximately $71 million, reflecting a mid-single-digit decline compared to prior expectations.

Guidance & targets

Category	Target	Timeline	Confidence
Full-year Net Sales	$360 million to $369 million high materiality	FY26	Medium
Full-year Adjusted EBITDA	$70 million to $72 million high materiality	FY26	High
Full-year Net Sales YoY Growth	10.2% to 13% high materiality	FY26	Medium
Full-year Adjusted EBITDA YoY Growth	72.8% to 77.7% high materiality	FY26	High
Full-year Net Interest Expense	$19 million medium materiality	FY26	High
Full-year Base Tax Rate	26.1% medium materiality	FY26	High
Q3 Net Sales	approximately $71 million high materiality	Q3 · FY26	Medium
Q3 Gross Margin	approximately 47.8% medium materiality	Q3 · FY26	Medium
Q3 Adjusted EBITDA Margin	approximately 15.2% medium materiality	Q3 · FY26	Medium

Segment performance

Segment	Revenue	YoY	QoQ	Margin
Suja Core Reflects double-digit growth in branded wellness shots (Vive Organic and Suja Organic), better-than-expected growth in cold-pressed juice (refreshers and boosted juice), and outsized growth in multi-pack formats. Growth in Nielsen non-measured retailers was stronger than in measured channels. Adjusted EBITDA: $16 millionAdjusted EBITDA growth: 2.9%	$81.9 million	9.8%	—	$16 million
Emerging Brands Driven by volume growth as Slice expands distribution and drives trial in its second year. Adjusted EBITDA loss improved significantly year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA: -$1.3 millionAdjusted EBITDA improvement: $4.4 million compared to Q2 2025	$3 million	61.2%	—	-$1.3 million

Product announcements

Product	Type	Timeline
Watermelon Love	launch	Q2 FY26
Suja Organic Detox Juice	launch	FY26
Slice Dirty Soda	launch	FY26

Capital programs

Oceanside Manufacturing Campus Expansion underway

Benefit:Additional space for cold storage, HPPs, and other requirements; reduced freight transfer costs and 3PL storage costs.

Fortunate to be alerted of additional space on the Oceanside campus, which helps leverage labor and capitalize on needed space requirements. This expansion has built-in savings by reducing freight transfer and 3PL storage costs.

Risks & headwinds

Softness in grocery channel bookings Q3 FY26

Q3 net sales estimated at approximately $71 million, implying mid-single-digit decline YoY.

Mitigation:Aggressive promotional activity, shifting marketing to lower-funnel, leveraging distribution gains, targeting club/mass channels, and working with retailers on joint programs.

Slowing growth in total beverage and natural healthy beverage categories Q2-Q3 FY26

Total beverage category grew 2% in Q2 (down from 5% in Q1); NHB grew 4% in Q2 (down from double-digit growth in prior years).

Mitigation:Outpacing category growth, gaining share, and focusing on innovation and strategic investments to drive incremental growth.

Shoppers leaning into value and channel shifting Ongoing

Grocery channel represents ~1/3 of mix, mass ~12%; competitors leaning into price/promotions.

Mitigation:Going 'toe to toe' with competitors on promotional activity, leveraging low-cost producer position, accelerating programming with club and mass retail partners for value-seeking consumers (value pack formats, targeted promotions, expanded distribution).

Inflationary pressures (e.g., fuel) Ongoing

Not explicitly quantified for impact, but mentioned as a pressure.

Mitigation:Leveraging vertical integration, optimizing transportation management system for outbound freight, volume discounts, deploying capital for production efficiency to drive greater throughput.

What to watch in Q3 FY26

Q3 Net Sales Performance

Next quarter (Q3 FY26 results)

Current Q3 estimate: ~$71 million

Target Actual Q3 net sales vs. ~$71 million estimate

Why it matters

Verifies the impact of grocery channel softness and the effectiveness of immediate action plans on top-line performance.

Reflecting that, our latest estimate for Q3 net sales is approximately $71 million, gross margin of approximately 47.8% and adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 15.2%, each, respectively, at the midpoint of our full year range.

Find out whether SUJA delivers this. Inve re-checks your case every morning.

Q&A highlights

Can you elaborate on the timing and nature of the grocery channel softness? What new strategies are you most excited about, and how are you maintaining EBITDA margins despite slower top-line growth?

The softness began in early July, primarily in grocery, driven by consumer compression and value-seeking behavior. Management is excited about aggressive promotional activity, shifting marketing to lower-funnel, leveraging distribution gains, and targeting club/mass channels. EBITDA margins are protected by disciplined cost management across all departments and vertical integration benefits offsetting inflation.

“It's much more the channel shifting, the consumer choices that seek value seeking, I think chasing promotion certainly. I think that's the largest portion of what we're seeing in grocery today.”

asked by Bonnie Herzog · answered by Maria Stipp

2 min read 6 chapters

Detailed narrative

Q2 Performance Highlights

Suja Life reported strong Q2 FY26 results with net sales growing 11.6% to $83.9 million and adjusted EBITDA increasing 50% to $14.6 million, representing a 17.5% margin. The company outperformed the natural healthy beverage category, gaining 1.1 share points and widening its performance gap in cold-pressed juice against its primary competitor.

This growth was driven by volume and new product distribution, with TDPs up 16% YoY.

Near-Term Headwinds and Guidance Adjustment

Despite strong Q2, Suja Life observed softness in early July, primarily in the grocery channel, impacting Q3 bookings. The total beverage category growth slowed to 2% in Q2 (from 5% in Q1), and the natural healthy beverage category moderated to 4% growth.

Shoppers are increasingly value-seeking, leading to channel shifting. Consequently, the full-year net sales guidance was widened to $360 million-$369 million from $367 million-$371 million, while adjusted EBITDA guidance of $70 million-$72 million was reiterated, reflecting confidence in cost discipline.

Strategic Response to Market Dynamics

Management is taking proactive steps to address the softness, including sharpening marketing investment towards lower-funnel activities for immediate returns and velocity. They plan to accelerate distribution with back-half shelf resets and expand shelf presence for key products, leveraging strong retailer partnerships.

The company will also engage in aggressive promotional activity to compete on price, utilizing its position as a low-cost producer and its vertical integration to protect margins.

Innovation and Brand Momentum

Suja Organic's cold-pressed juice business demonstrated strong momentum, with scanned dollars growing approximately 18% in Q2. The refresher line was up over 75%, and boosted juice was up over 30%. New products like Watermelon Love (a 2026 Food Award winner) and Slice Dirty Soda have quickly climbed SKU rankings.

The company is building an urgent innovation pipeline for 2027 to reinforce category leadership and competitive positioning.

Operational Efficiency and Cost Management

The company's vertical integration and cost discipline are key to maintaining profitability. Operational efficiency gains, including optimizing transportation management and deploying capital for production floor efficiency, have more than offset inflationary pressures like fuel costs. This allows Suja Life to strategically invest in growth initiatives without degrading its margin structure, supporting the reiterated adjusted EBITDA guidance.

Balance Sheet and Refinancing Efforts

As of June 29, 2026, Suja Life had $20.6 million in cash and $163 million in total debt. The company is actively pursuing a refinancing of its debt facilities with commercial banks, expecting a substantial reduction in borrowing spread and a corresponding benefit to free cash flow.

This is a cost of capital transaction, not an increase in leverage, and is anticipated to close in the current quarter, though its benefits are not yet reflected in current guidance.

Summary of the company's earnings call; see how call summaries are prepared. Not investment advice.