EDEN PRAIRIE, MINN. — SunOpta Inc. has seen its fruit snacks business increase by double-digits for 20 consecutive quarters — including the just-concluded 2025 second quarter — prompting the company to invest $25 million in a new fruit snack production line at its Omak, Wash., facility, which is expected to be online in late 2026.
The expansion will increase SunOpta’s fruit snack production capacity by 25%.
“This category continues to grow faster than our capacity can currently support,” said Brian Kocher, chief executive officer. “We are committed to serving growth through 2026 with our existing assets. Fortunately, the growth in demand in the better-for-you fruit snacks category has exceeded our expectations. We are pushing our equipment to the limit. Output increased 22% in second quarter 2025 over the prior year, but the category and our customers will need more supply than we can offer.”
Kocher added that fruit snacks now comprise 20% of SunOpta’s total annual revenue, about double the share compared to five years ago.
“The category keeps growing faster than even we thought … largely this line is oversubscribed with our existing customers,” he said. “At the end of the day, the category demands (investment in fruit snack production), our customers demand it, and frankly, I think we’d be foolish not to go ahead and pull the trigger.”
Tariffs dent profits
For the second quarter ended June 28, 2025, SunOpta’s net income was $4.4 million, equal to 4¢ per share on the common stock, compared with a loss of $5.3 million during the second quarter a year ago. Revenues grew to $191 million, up nearly 13% compared with $169.5 million last year. Adjusted EBITDA was $22.7 million, up 14% compared with last year, despite $1.6 million in tariff expenses due to a lag in pass-through tariff costs to SunOpta’s suppliers.
“We had a really good quarter that could have been even better,” Kocher said. “In response to tariffs at the beginning of the year we started communications with our customers regarding our intention to pass-through substantially all the incremental costs to our customers, similar to our pass-through pricing of raw material cost increases.
“By the middle of July, we successfully implemented new pricing arrangements with all of our customers to mitigate the full amount of known tariff exposure at that time. Due to the timing lag in passing through the tariff pricing adjustments, gross profit was negatively impacted by $1.6 million, reducing gross margin by 90 basis points in the second quarter.
“We expect to have a similar fiscal third quarter timing lag impact as we recover the recently announced tariff changes on Aug. 1, 2025. While our pass-through mechanisms may have a timing lag, we continue to expect to recover substantially all additional costs of tariffs.”
Kocher added that every one of SunOpta’s customers has accepted some form of tariff upcharge.
SunOpta produces fruit snacks, aseptic plant-based beverages, ready-to-drink protein shakes and broths for customers across the spectrum of channels: retail, foodservice, club and more. Along with a 22% second-quarter increase in fruit snack production, the company’s beverage and broth production rose 16% compared to a year ago.
“During the first half of 2025, every product category, every go-to-market format, and every channel grew year over year,” Kocher said. “In fact, each of our top 10 customers grew in the first six months of the year. In the second quarter, our foodservice category continued growing in mid-single digits … and our club channel business is thriving, up well over 25%.”
Revised 2025 outlook
Because of its strong second-quarter performance, SunOpta is raising its revenue outlook for the rest of the year to a range of $805 million to $815 million (11% to 13% growth compared to 2024), which accounts for the expected impact of pass-through tariff pricing. The previous 2025 outlook was growth between 9% and 11%. Adjusted EBITDA is expected between $99 million and $103 million, reflecting a range of 12% to 16% growth.
“We’re operating in an environment where consumers are increasingly focused on better-for-you products as well as value, and our portfolio is perfectly situated to capitalize on these trends,” Kocher said. “With our operational initiatives on track, strong momentum across our key growth platforms, and clear line of sight to additional capacity expansion, we’re well-positioned to continue delivering strong results consistent with our growth algorithm.
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2026
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