Jones Soda founder Peter van Stolk moves on to new ventures

The founder and former chief executive of Jones Soda, Peter van Stolk, likes the company's new CEO but left the board earlier this month because "I was tired of having differences of opinion with the directors," he said. "I'm tired of fighting. It's been a big fight."

Van Stolk also negotiated a $100,000 reduction in severance pay in exchange for the freedom to talk freely about the company and compete against it if he wants to. His reduced severance is $350,000.

He wasn't specific about differences with the board, but said that it became bogged down in politics and competing agendas.

The company took a severe stumble a couple of years ago during the national rollout of canned soda, posting a 98 percent profit drop in mid-2007. It has yet to recover.

Stephen Jones, the board member who succeeded van Stolk as CEO in December 2007, is stepping down as CEO this month and will not stand for re-election to the board at Jones Soda's annual shareholders meeting May 27.

Jones, a former Coca-Cola executive, went on a hiring binge in mid-2008 but has laid off 50 people since last fall.

Van Stolk remains Jones' largest shareholder, owning 7 percent of the company. "I want Jones to be really successful," he said.

He's pleased with Jones' May 1 promotion of Joth Ricci to CEO. Ricci, who previously worked for Columbia Distributing, has been Jones' chief operating officer for a little over a year.

"I was adamant that Joth would be the right guy to do this," van Stolk said.

He thinks Ricci will return Jones Soda to the small, feisty mindset that's captured by its longtime motto, "Run with the little guy."

"They went away from that, and I think they're going back," van Stolk said.

He has moved into consulting and sits on the boards of Vitamin Angels, a Santa Barbara-based nonprofit that helps prevent blindness in children through better nutrition, and KOR Water, a sustainable water company in Fountain Valley, Calif.

With his noncompete agreement gone, van Stolk's consulting firm, Treefort Group, can advise soda and other companies that want to compete with Jones Soda. So far, Treefort has hired two workers laid off by Jones and has its eye on others.

"We're trying to get as many people who were turfed at Jones," van Stolk said. "They laid off some people I think were really good."

Van Stolk also started a new company with Jones' former controller, Frank Uy, and two silent partners. Called Box B, the firm helps launch beverage companies. It has hired more than a dozen designers, along with experts in flavoring, corporate law and anything else a fledgling beverage company might need. Many work part time.

Box B's clients will pay for the end product — the beverages — which are manufactured through co-packers just like Jones Soda does.

"We take all of the guesswork out of it," van Stolk said. Box B's first brand is set to launch in the next week or so, but van Stolk declined to give details.

Although it is based in Seattle, Box B's employees are scattered around the country.

For van Stolk, that means a lot of airplane time. This week, he had meetings in Florida, North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina.

He's also jetted around the world to share his experiences with other business owners.

"I thought I'd retire and sit back and do everything, but I've traveled and spoken in Moscow, Japan, South Africa," van Stolk said. "I'm in plane all the time. I've got to figure out how to stop doing that."

— Melissa Allison

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Retail Report appears Fridays. Melissa Allison covers the food and beverage industry. She can be reached at 206-464-3312 or mallison@seattletimes.com. Amy Martinez covers goods, services and online retail. She can be reached at 206-464-2923 or amartinez@seattletimes.com