In a sale orchestrated by Kemper investor First Beverage Group, Austin-based marketer of Big Red, All Sport isotonic, NuGrape, Nesbitt’s and other mass-oriented lines will take ownership of Portland, Ore., based boutique soda, which was spun off from Pyramid Brewing about five years ago.

Big Red is the sixth largest soft drink company in the U.S., based in Austin, Texas, with products that sell throughout the country, and Thomas Kemper is an iconic premium brand with great promise, a press release notes.

“The addition of Thomas Kemper products into the Big Red portfolio will strengthen the Thomas Kemper brand and provide opportunities for growth and development far greater than it would as a stand-alone company” said Bill Germano, president of the Thomas Kemper Soda Company.

 From the October 12, 2011, Prepared Foods' Daily News.