Japan: Ito En to acquire coffee producer Distant Lands Trading

Ito En, Japan’s largest tea company and beverage manufacturer,  has announced the acquisition of the US coffee company Distant Lands Trading (DLTC) for 10 billion yen ($83 million).

DLTC specializes in custom roast coffees for private label grocery and food service clients and also sources premium green coffees direct from origin for specialty coffee roasters, as well as private label brands.

Through the move, Ito En is aiming to expand its international tea business, especially in the US where the company said there was an increased demand for healthy, sugar-free, green tea. Through the launch of new RTD tea and coffee products, the company said its objective was to become a “global tea company which contributes to better lifestyles of customers through our tea products”.

“For the ITO EN group, the acquisition will enable it to reinforce sales in North America, benefiting from DLTC’s sales networks and relationships with its customers”, the company said.  “We will offer products in a wide selection of drinking format alongside RTD beverages in plastic bottles in the tea category, taking advantage of our strength in procurement, technological development, and production.”.

 The acquisition is set to be completed by February 2015.

Source: Nikkei / DLTC