Founder of ZICO Coconut Water Re-Acquires Brand from The Coca-Cola Company

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–PowerPlant Ventures announced today that the fund has acquired ZICO coconut water from The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO). PowerPlant Ventures, a growth equity investor, was co-founded and is co-led by Mark Rampolla, who is the brand visionary behind ZICO, which he founded in 2004 and sold to The Coca-Cola Company in 2013. Terms were not disclosed.

Rampolla first discovered coconut water and its natural replenishing properties as a Peace Corps volunteer in Central America. Later, as a corporate executive traveling across Latin America and Asia, he realized there was a well-developed infrastructure for coconut meat and oil, but coconut water was mostly discarded as a waste product.

Rampolla set…