Nestlé and the Coca-Cola Company have agreed to dissolve the 50-50 ready-to-drink tea joint venture after 15 years of successful performance of Beverage Partners Worldwide (BPW) as of January 1, 2018.
Created in 2001, BPW offers ready-to drink tea, in particular Nestea, in Canada and Europe. The ready-to-drink tea market has evolved, and Nestlé believes the time is right to develop Nestea independently.
As a part of this agreement, Nestlé is granting the Coca-Cola Company a license to manufacture and distribute Nestea in Canada, Spain, Portugal, Andorra, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria. In other countries that are currently part of the JV, the Coca-Cola Company will no longer produce or distribute it.
Through its Nestlé Waters division, Nestlé already manages Nestea in several countries, including the United States. Following this new agreement, Nestlé Waters will also manage the brand in all the European countries that are not concerned by the licensing agreements.
The consumer trend of the ready-to-drink category is evolving towards healthy hydration. Delivering on consumers’ changing needs in a rapidly-expanding $4.5 billion ready-to-drink tea category, Nestea has already unveiled its new brand proposition for the United States.