Pepsi extends Unilever tea deal

  摘要：2004年，全球两大巨头百事公司和联合利华公司在广州共同宣布，由百事公司和联合利华合资建立的国际联盟———百事立顿国际公司的业务范围将扩展至中国市场。百事(中国)投资有限公司将负责在中国市场生产和销售立顿即饮茶。双方合作始于1991年，立顿茶饮料在美国与加拿大即饮茶市场上一直牢牢占据领先地位。去年11月，百事公司与联合利华建立了一家国际性合资公司，双方各占50%的股份，在世界各地指定市场中经销立顿即饮茶饮料。

  此次签定的合作协议之所以签定，是双方合作的一个延伸。百事可乐公司将和联合利华公司联手使利顿即饮茶饮料打入世界市场，满足广大消费者对健康饮料的需求。

  协议规定，百事公司将使用其装瓶技术和销售网络销售联合利华公司生产的茶饮料，使茶饮料的全球销售增加一倍。为了满足消费者对非碳气饮料的需求，公司会在欧洲和亚洲扩大其贸易范围。协议双方将在西欧和亚洲新开辟11个市场，其中包括：德国、意大利、法国、荷兰、瑞士、澳大利亚、比利时、葡萄牙、韩国、台湾、南非。百事饮料公司的总经理MichaelWhite称，鉴于消费者对健康和营养型饮料的需求，两个公司签定这个协定是两个公司向世界迈进的重要一步。可以说，这对百事公司来说是强化其在饮料市场地位的最有效方法之一。

  Pepsi and Unilever are to extend their agreement over distribution and marketing of the Lipton ready-to-drink tea brand to target a growing global demand for the products.

  Through the deal, Pepsi will combine its bottling and distribution networks with Unilever's core tea brand to double the global capacity of their joint venture.

  The company revealed that the agreement would allow it to extend its reach to markets in both in Europe and Asia, targeted growing consumer demand for non-carbonated alternatives for soft drinks.

  With consumers turning away from carbonated beverages towards products that claim health and nutrition benefits, PepsiCo's chief executive officer Michael White said the deal was an important step for growth of it global operations. 

  "This is a wonderful opportunity to strengthen our position in one of the fastest-growing beverage categories," he stated.

  Under the agreement, the partnership will operate in 11 new markets in Western Europe and Asia.  This will extend the venture into Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and Portugal as well as Korea, Taiwan and South Africa.

  A previous agreement between the two companies has been in place since 1991, resulting in the creation of the leading ready-to-drink tea brand in the US, PepsiCo claims.

  This deal was extended in 2003 with the formation of the Pepsi Lipton International joint venture that operates in over 40 countries worldwide.
The move to expand their focus into Western Europe in particular could prove prudent for the group, with the region enjoying strong growth for sales of tea-based beverages.

  Between 2002 and 2006 the market for ready-to-drink tea products grew 7.4 per cent to ?1.5bn, according to consumer analyst Euromonitor.