Start-Up Spotlight: Kellogg’s Adam Louras and Koa Organic Beverages

This article was originally sourced from Start-Me-Up: Adam Louras ’11, part of Kellogg’s “Start Me Up” series, which spotlights members of the Kellogg community who are putting their entrepreneurial visions into practice.

Kellogg School of Management alum Adam Louras was surprised when his doctor told him that he was pre-diabetic at the young age of 30. While at Kellogg, Louras often downed juice smoothies to save time– his rigorous studying schedule cut into the time it took to prepare traditional meals. While he thought that he was making a healthier food choices, in reality the smoothies he came to love and rely on were loaded with sugar.

Four years later, Louras is now the founder and chief executive of Koa Organic Beverages, a company that produces and bottles olakino beverages– vitamin-packed, sugar-free juice originating from Hawaii that can be pressed from fruits and vegetables.

Louras recently launched Koa Natural Olakino at select retailers across the country, including the Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton hotels as well as Dean & Deluca, a upscale grocery store chain.

The first olakino Louras ever had was “almost translucent, a little hazy, and had the slight smell and taste of oranges.” Louras had the beverage tested and the results yielded information showing that the drink was full of vitamins, minerals and polyphenols, a natural antioxidant found in juices.

“I knew I had something really special,” Louras said.

Louras did have to research different techniques on how to preserve his beverage effectively because in its raw state, olakino decomposes quickly. Louras did so by borrowing ideas common in winemaking, water filtration, olive oil pressing and milk separation. He also turned to Rocky Alfinger, an accounts manager at Ultrapure & Industrial Services, who helped develop the proprietary “black box” processing technology that became the final step for Koa.

Louras says his time at Kellogg was instrumental in realizing his dream for Koa, from brainstorming with classmates and shaping a business plan on campus, to receiving investment funds from classmates and their families.

regions: Chicago

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