Britvic eyes Europe drinks expansion
across Western Europe as part of a push to grow its international
soft drinks business, BeverageDaily.com has learnt.
Jim Reade, head of Britvic's international arm, said the soft drinks group saw opportunities for its Robinsons squash and Fruit Shoot brands in four or five new markets across Western Europe.
There were likely to be one or two new launches next year, as part of plans to expand the two brands in existing markets across Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Belgium and eventually Spain, he told BeverageDaily.com in an interview.
The strategy marks a turning point for Britvic, which has traditionally maintained a small international business. Sales for 2005 were £28m, with profits at £3.5m.
Reade said Britvic had gained greater freedom to expand since launching on the stock market last December; a move which led existing shareholders such as Pernod Ricard and Whitbread to sell off their stakes.
"We are now no longer contained by previous shareholders, who were more concerned with short-term payback," said Reade.
The firm has not commented on recent rumours that a French private equity outfit, PAI Partners, was looking to take Britvic back down the private path.
Still, things have gone well for Britvic in its international experiment so far.
It has reported double-digit growth for Fruit Shoot in the Netherlands, while most retailers have now taken the brand on board. It also said the launch of Robinsons squash in Sweden and Denmark a few weeks ago was progressing well.
Reade told BeverageDaily.com the group wanted to bag an eight or nine per cent share of Scandinavia's sizeable squash market in the next three years.
It is understood that Norway is considered a good target for further expansion, considering moves Britvic has already made in Scandinavia as a whole.
In Holland, meanwhile, the group is targetting a 10 per cent market share for Fruit Shoot within 18 months, and has just rolled out a €2.5m advert campaign to support this. Reade said Fruit Shoot's jazzy packaging helped it stand out to children ahead of many other drinks.
International growth could help to offset troubled times for Britvic at home. The group said last week that sales fell 5.3 per cent and profits dropped by nearly a third in its 2006 first half, after it was caught out by a consumer shift away from fizzy drinks.
Reade denied that underachievement in Britain had influenced decisions on the international level. "There is lots and lots of growth for Britvic in the UK. The soft drinks market is still growing, it is just changing shape at the moment."
