Michael McKee to join Purple Beverage Co.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A former executive of Cadbury Schweppes, Unilever and Fuze Beverage will join Purple Beverage Co. as vice president of operations and logistics, Purple Beverage announced Wednesday.

Michael McKee will be in charge of contract manufacturing, production planning and purchasing, as well as other duties. He previously worked for Fuze as director of procurement and inventory planning and as business planner for Unilever. Before that, he worked with various brands at Cadbury Schweppes, including Snapple, Yoo-hoo, Mistic and Orangina.

Purple is a juice drink that combines antioxidant-rich fruits such as acai, pomegranates, blackcurrants, blueberries, cranberries, black cherries and purple plums. The drink contains no added sugar. It is available at drug stores, supermarkets and health-food stores, as well as restaurants, bars and nightclubs.