Oceanside-based Suja Life opened for trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market on Thursday. The company, which makes cold-pressed juices, wellness drinks and functional sodas, priced its initial public offering at $21 per share and raised $186.7 million. Shares fell 14% after trading began.

“We’re super thrilled to get to this moment,” said its chief executive, Maria Stipp, in a phone interview from the trading floor minutes after the first trade. “Our next chapter is ahead of us, and we’re excited about our growth plans. And we’re even more excited about the consumer trends working significantly in our favor, with the brand. So we’re in a really good spot.”

Stipp said Suja’s leading market position — as the No.1 brand in cold-pressed juices and No.1 brand in wellness shots — is a foundation for future success.

“What’s strong about our financial story is that our wellness shots are the fastest growing portion of our portfolio, highest margin of our portfolio. …  So when you add up all of those reasons, I would tell you we’re very confident in our overall outlook,” she said.

Jeff Pedersen, its chief financial officer, touted the company’s strong growth and improving margins.

“We’ve got a three-year growth trajectory,” he said. “Our core business has grown over 19% on a three-year CAGR and over that time, we’ve almost doubled our adjusted EBITDA. So this is a great foundation that I think really set us up for growth in a couple areas.” Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) is one way to evaluate a company’s earnings, and CAGR refers to a company’s compound annual growth rate, including invested profits.

With this IPO, one of Suja’s goals is to address the company’s debt.

As of Dec. 29, the company had a term loan balance of approximately $267.5 million and $40 million outstanding under revolving loans , it wrote in an IPO preparatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“The bulk of it goes to paying down debt, of course, and then really getting into the leverage layer that most public business are — and then we really hope to invest in the brand,” Stipp said.

What that investment might look like: Expanding production capabilities, expanding distribution with existing retailers, marketing to new customers and building more inroads with existing customers.

“Just to paint the picture, we have a couple of hero accounts that carry in over 40 SKUs,” meaning more than 40 Suja Life products, “but the bulk of retail that we have is in the low teens and sometimes even much lower than that,” Stipp said of retail distribution potential. “So we have a long way to go in the spirit of just our household penetration and our distribution opportunity.”

Pedersen added that Suja’s products dovetail with what people are clamoring for.

“We’re right in the middle of a consumer health and wellness trend, and people are looking for nutrition,” he said. “They’re looking for low sugar options to help them in their health and wellness journeys. And that’s the portfolio we have.”

The IPO distinguishes Suja Life from other healthy juice makers — Pom Wonderful, Cheribundi and Beet It Sport — which remain privately held.

Suja Life, founded in 2012 and backed by private equity firm Payne Schwartz Partners, has three brands: cold-pressed single-serve juice maker Suja Organic; Vive Organic, which makes “doctor-crafted” immunity and energy shots; and Slice, a “better-for-you” functional soda made with juice and prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics. Slice was first launched in 1984 and revived by Suja last year.

Both said Oceanside and the San Diego region are a great home for the company, in part due to how abundant fresh produce is nearby.

“This has been our home for a long time,” Stipp said of Oceanside. And, she added, “We’re really happy where we are.”

“San Diego is a great place to be,” Pedersen added. “We bring over a million pounds of fresh produce every single week, and 80% of it comes from growers in the California area. So we want to be close to the source. … This is the right place to do it.”