KonaRed expects to be in 3,200 stores by midyear

Kauai-based KonaRed Corp. said today it hopes to be selling its coffee fruit beverage in 3,200 retail locations by the end of June, up from approximately 600 stores that carried the drink at the end of last year.

KonaRed CEO Shaun Roberts said 59 ABC Stores began carrying KonaRed Original at the end of 2013, adding to the approximately 540 other locations. “Mr. Roberts expects that more than 3,200 retail locations will be carrying KonaRed products during Q2 2014,” the news release said.

KonaRed, based in Kalaheo on Kauai, sells a juice made from the skin and flesh of the coffee cherry — the thin, pulpy fruit protecting the coffee bean. The company became a public company in October with shares traded on the over-the-counter stock market.

Shares closed up 11 cents today at $1.24 with 7.6 million shares traded. The shares are up 61 percent this month.