Does Odwalla Go Better with Coke?
02/19/2004 By Steve Hoffman When one thinks of fresh juice, nutrition and social responsibility, Odwalla immediately comes to mind. Founded in Half Moon Bay, CA, in 1980 by a group of musicians seeking to fund musical and multi-media events in their local schools and community, Odwalla enjoyed a stellar growth curve, becoming a publicly traded company in 1993. In October, 1996, Odwalla had to rebuild its reputation – and its sales, which plummeted by more than 90 percent – after suffering a serious loss of consumer confidence when some of its apple juice products were found to be contaminated with E. coli, resulting in one death and several illnesses. A major recall was launched and the company came out publicly to make reparations, cover medical costs of those made ill by the products, and it subsequently introduced more stringent product safety procedures and pasteurization into its manufacturing processes. Customers and sales came back as Odwalla shared its food safety lessons with
