Odwalla to stop making Fresh Samantha juices

PORTLAND – The California-based company that bought Fresh Samantha juice company has pulled the plug on the Fresh Samantha line.

Odwalla Inc. of Half Moon Bay, Calif., bought Saco-based Fresh Samantha three years ago for stock worth an estimated $27 million at the time.

Odwalla began phasing out the Fresh Samantha line about six weeks ago, and any Fresh Samantha bottles still left on store shelves should be gone within days, said Shawn Sugarman, Odwalla’s president. The company decided it would be easier to market one brand of juice, Odwalla, rather than both Odwalla and Fresh Samantha, he said.

Fresh Samantha was founded in a Scarborough home when Julie Carter began growing sprouts in the basement to sell to local food co-ops.

Odwalla bought the company in 2000, and the Saco plant closed the next year. Coca-Cola then bought Odwalla in the fall of 2001.