Switzerland: Nestle and Coca Cola to end Nestea joint venture

Nestle, the food and drink multinational, and soft drink giants Coca-Cola have agreed to end their Nestea iced tea joint venture after 16 years, with the firms now seeking to follow different strategies in the ready-to-drink tea category.

In 2001, Coca-Cola and Nestle joined forces to create Beverage Partners Worldwide, a beverage venture offering Nestea ready-to-drink tea in Canada and Europe.

From January 2018, Coca-Cola will keep the license to manufacture and distribute Nestea in Canada, Spain, Portugal, Andorra, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria, while remaining European markets will be managed by Nestle's division Nestle Waters.

"The ready-to-drink tea market has evolved, and Nestle believes the time is right to develop Nestea independently", the company commented.

Source: Nestle