Cott signs deal for use of production facilities in China
signed a contract with China's Jianlibao Group giving it access to
the Chinese firm's production facilities and new business
opportunities in the fast-growing market.
Jianlibao, based in the southern Guangdong province, signed the agreement with Cott yesterday in Foshan city, the firm's manager, Wu Fuzhang, told AP-Foodtechnology.com. Canadian-headquartered Cott was not immediately available for comment on the news. The company's main markets are the UK, US, Canada and Mexico, where it has production facilities, but it also sells to around 60 countries worldwide. Producing its brands in China would allow it to take a greater share of the rapidly growing beverage business. The sector is one of the fastest growing in the overall food and beverage industry, with total production of 35.96 million tonnes in the first 10 months of 2006, an increase of 22 per cent compared with the same time of last year, according to the China food industry association. However China's beverage business is notoriously competitive and local production would allow Cott to better compete with domestic brands. Investment in the beverage sector also surged to CNY41.614 billion during the first three quarters of last year, increasing by 58.7 per cent, and making it one of the country's industries with the most significant investment. Jianliabo meanwhile said it would benefit from updated technology and logistics expertise brought by Cott, which claims to be the world's biggest supplier of retailer brand beverages. These include carbonated soft drinks, juices, flavoured water and energy and sports drinks. Jianlibao is also expecting to promote its products in the international market through Cott's far-reaching sales channels. "Though this contract only allows Cott to use our labour and facilities, we are very confident that through this kind of cooperation, Jianlibao will have guidance on technology and logistics from Cott which is much more experienced. "And more importantly, we will be able to use their sales channels in the future to help with our expansion in foreign countries as well as improving our own brand in the domestic market." Additional reporting by Pan Yan.
