Mark is no stranger to the natural foods business. For 23 years, Mark owned and operated the highly successful After the Fall Company, a manufacturer of natural juice beverages in Southern Vermont.  He brought After The Fall to a position of dominance in the premium natural juice category, gaining distribution from coast to coast and achieving an annual sales level of $25 million.  In 1994, Mark successfully sold After The Fall to the J.M. Smucker Company.

Mark was joined by Mike Smith now vice president of sales, who is another seasoned veteran in the natural foods industry. Mike started in the beverage business in 1979 in the sales division of Shasta Beverages. Mike joined Mark Panely at After The Fall as director of sales, helping the company grow from $4 million to $25 million in annual sales. Mike served as marketing manager for the After The Fall brand within the Smucker Quality Beverage Group before joining Journey in February 1996. Mike brings Journey proven sales experience and deep business and personal relationships within the natural products and specialty beverage industries.

How it all began...
Mark Panely was trekking cross-country on his bicycle when he was struck with a vision. During his travels, Mark became taken by "local flavor" -- great movements happening in different parts of the country, like the micro-brewed beer revolution that grew out of Seattle. He was inspired by the wealth of natural resources particular to various regions that bring unique flavor to food and drink.

Mark realized that while many natural foods brands offered products that substituted natural ingredients as a healthful alternative, it was often done at the expense of texture and taste. He decided things needed to get "Journeyized" -- he set out to search the earth for the most exotic, superb ingredients to create fresh, bold, and imaginative, all-natural brands and flavors.

Hence, the birth of two new lines of beverages. Journey Softbrews contain superb ingredients, like whole herbs and spices from around the world that are steeped in pure spring water, and then combined with unrefined natural sweeteners. The final beverage has a profoundly deep flavor and texture, much like a micro-brewed beer. Journey Globals beverages feature a light overlay of tonic herbs used by primitive and folk cultures around the world, combined with the rich taste of unrefined natural cane sugar.