Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages and Ocean Spray Strategic Alliance To
Include Additional Juice and Juice Drinks
Expanded Beverage Agreement Bears More Fruit
PURCHASE, N.Y. and LAKEVILLE, Mass., Oct. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- A healthy
beverage alliance has just grown more vibrant with the announcement that
Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages (PCNAB) and Ocean Spray have expanded their
long-term U.S. sales and distribution agreement to include a broader array of
single-serve juices and juice drinks.
Beginning in February, PCNAB, a business of PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP), will
produce, distribute and market, under license from Ocean Spray, several more
flavors of Ocean Spray beverages. The agreement includes five Ocean Spray
brand juices - 100% Apple; 100% Orange; Ruby Red Grapefruit; Pineapple Peach
Mango; and Strawberry Kiwi. In conjunction with Ocean Spray's 2010 blueberry
innovations, PCNAB also will distribute a 15.2-ounce Blueberry juice cocktail,
the first nationally distributed of its kind.
PCNAB and Ocean Spray teamed up in 2006 to forge a successful strategic
alliance that brought Ocean Spray's highly regarded single-serve cranberry
juice products to Pepsi bottlers. The net effect of the addition of these
other flavors, according to Tom Silk, vice president of marketing for
hydration and juice brands, Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages, will bring
more healthy Ocean Spray products to a greater consumer audience.
"We have had a licensing agreement in effect with Ocean Spray for three years
and we're excited to offer our retail customers more Ocean Spray options,"
said Silk. "Ocean Spray juices and juice drinks represent an important part
of our overall beverage strategy, particularly from a wellness standpoint. Not
only is an Ocean Spray pioneering beverage innovation with sought-after super
fruits like cranberries and blueberries, they have broad equity in a variety
of healthy, great-tasting juice options."
"We're proud of our association with Pepsi," adds Keith Benoit, senior
director of Special Markets. "The Ocean Spray name has come to represent
quality to Americans everywhere, and we know Pepsi's distribution strength
will bring these flavors and our brand to health-conscious consumers all
across the country."
The agreement between Ocean Spray and PCNAB includes the following 15.2 ounce
single-serve SKUs:
-- Ocean Spray® Cranberry Juice Cocktail
-- Ocean Spray® Cran-Grape® Grape Cranberry Juice Drink
-- Ocean Spray® Cran-Pomegranate
-- Ocean Spray® 100% Orange Juice
-- Ocean Spray® 100% Apple Juice
-- Ocean Spray® Ruby(TM) Grapefruit Juice Drink
-- Ocean Spray® Blueberry Juice Cocktail
-- Ocean Spray® Strawberry Kiwi
-- Ocean Spray® Pineapple Peach Mango
The expanded product line will be distributed in Convenience and Gas, Club
Stores, Drug, Grocery, Mass Merchandise and Foodservice channels across the
United States.
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and
beverage brands, including 18 different product lines that each generate more
than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Our main businesses - Frito-Lay,
Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade - also make hundreds of other
nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to our consumers in over 200
countries. With more than $43 billion in 2008 revenues, PepsiCo employs
198,000 people who are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth,
called Performance with Purpose. By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad
array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our
environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture,
PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities
worldwide. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.
About Ocean Spray
Ocean Spray is an agricultural cooperative owned by nearly 700 cranberry
growers in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, British
Columbia, and the Eastern Provinces of Canada as well as more than 50 Florida
grapefruit growers. Ocean Spray was formed over 75 years ago by three
cranberry growers from Massachusetts and New Jersey. Florida grapefruit
growers joined the Cooperative in 1976. Ocean Spray is North America's leading
producer of canned and bottled juices and juice drinks, and has been the
best-selling brand name in the canned and bottled juice category since 1981.
Ocean Spray posted fiscal 2008 sales of $1.9 billion.
SOURCE Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages
Bart Casabona of Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages, +1-914-253-2027,
bart.casabona@pepsi.com
