Pepsi extends Unilever tea deal

  摘要：2004年，全球兩大巨頭百事公司和聯(lián)合利華公司在廣州共同宣布，由百事公司和聯(lián)合利華合資建立的國(guó)際聯(lián)盟———百事立頓國(guó)際公司的業(yè)務(wù)范圍將擴(kuò)展至中國(guó)市場(chǎng)。百事(中國(guó))投資有限公司將負(fù)責(zé)在中國(guó)市場(chǎng)生產(chǎn)和銷售立頓即飲茶。雙方合作始于1991年，立頓茶飲料在美國(guó)與加拿大即飲茶市場(chǎng)上一直牢牢占據(jù)領(lǐng)先地位。去年11月，百事公司與聯(lián)合利華建立了一家國(guó)際性合資公司，雙方各占50%的股份，在世界各地指定市場(chǎng)中經(jīng)銷立頓即飲茶飲料。

  此次簽定的合作協(xié)議之所以簽定，是雙方合作的一個(gè)延伸。百事可樂(lè)公司將和聯(lián)合利華公司聯(lián)手使利頓即飲茶飲料打入世界市場(chǎng)，滿足廣大消費(fèi)者對(duì)健康飲料的需求。

  協(xié)議規(guī)定，百事公司將使用其裝瓶技術(shù)和銷售網(wǎng)絡(luò)銷售聯(lián)合利華公司生產(chǎn)的茶飲料，使茶飲料的全球銷售增加一倍。為了滿足消費(fèi)者對(duì)非碳?xì)怙嬃系男枨�，公司�?huì)在歐洲和亞洲擴(kuò)大其貿(mào)易范圍。協(xié)議雙方將在西歐和亞洲新開(kāi)辟11個(gè)市場(chǎng)，其中包括：德國(guó)、意大利、法國(guó)、荷蘭、瑞士、澳大利亞、比利時(shí)、葡萄牙、韓國(guó)、臺(tái)灣、南非。百事飲料公司的總經(jīng)理MichaelWhite稱，鑒于消費(fèi)者對(duì)健康和營(yíng)養(yǎng)型飲料的需求，兩個(gè)公司簽定這個(gè)協(xié)定是兩個(gè)公司向世界邁進(jìn)的重要一步�？梢哉f(shuō)，這對(duì)百事公司來(lái)說(shuō)是強(qiáng)化其在飲料市場(chǎng)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.