WASHINGTON, Feb. 15, 2018 (PRNewswire) — Affinity Beverage Group, Inc. announced Thursday that it has executed a Stock Purchase Agreement to acquire 100 percent interest in Artisanal Edge, LLC, the owner of JAWEA dairy-free frozen desserts, headquartered in New York.
JAWEA (pronounced, Jah-Way-ah) launched by founder Michael Rosenthal in late 2015, is a line of delicious, all-natural, vegan, gluten-free, soy-free coconut-based "ice cream" which is currently available in five flavors that were inspired by adventure across the globe. The brand is currently sold in over 250 locations in the Northeastern United States, including, Whole Foods Market, Wakefern/Shop Rite, Fairway, Bareburger as well as many other restaurants, grocery stores and specialty retailers in the New York Metro/Tri-State area. The company has also secured regional distribution through divisions of UNFI and Sysco, two of the country's largest food and beverage distributors.
JAWEA was created for the health-conscious, but not health-crazed consumer. Not only is it non-dairy, it also contains about half the sugar of traditional ice cream and top-quality ingredients, so you can feel good about eating ice cream again. With sales of roughly $2.6 billion in 2016, specialty frozen desserts is the #3 fastest growing category in the specialty food segment and is the most purchased category in the segment according to the Specialty Food Association. Over 100 million Americans are lactose intolerant and 19% now purchase dairy-alternatives. With more and more people, especially millennials, seeking healthier and non-dairy food options, due to dietary restrictions, lactose issues etc., people are gravitating to non-dairy based desserts, especially ice cream.
"We are very excited to finally add JAWEA as an official member of the Affinity brand portfolio and we are prepared to move full steam ahead with our plans to expand the brands sales and distribution footprint and product assortment. We have recently added some exciting new retail customers (which will be announced at a later date) and we are currently developing a number of new sales and distribution opportunities for the brand outside of its current channels of distribution," stated Affinity Beverage Group CEO, Janon Costley. Please continue to follow Affinity Beverage for further updates regarding JAWEA and other Company news.
About Affinity Beverage:
Affinity Beverage Group, Inc (www.affinitybeverage.com) is a holding company that focuses on branded consumer product acquisition opportunities in the $3.4 trillion health and wellness sector. Affinity primarily targets lifestyle brands, companies, and/or exclusive product distribution rights focusing on traditional and non-traditional, healthy beverage options. Affinity will also seek opportunities involving uniquely positioned young brands specializing in all natural/organic foods, bio-food, supplements and personal care products for strategic partnerships, distribution agreements and potential acquisition.
About Artisanal Edge/JAWEA:
JAWEA Frozen Desserts (www.eatjawea.com) is a brand of delicious plant-based vegan "ice cream" that is free of dairy, gluten and soy that is currently available in 5 adventurous flavors in over 250 retail locations.