The Coca-Cola Co. and Nestle have confirmed that Beverage Partners Worldwide — their 20-year partnership marketing Nestea in the U.S. has been fundamentally altered to focus away from North America.
At the end of 2012, Nestle Waters North America will take over U.S. distribution responsibility for the Nestea brand, which has been sold by Coke since 1991. Coke has had a license agreement with Nestle for the brand since 2007. The brand has largely filled out the value-brand slot in the portfolio of tea offerings the company has provided to its distribution network and it will be replaced by a cold-fill brand extension of FUZE, which Coke bought from founder Lance Collins in 2007.
Coke’s other tea offerings include Honest Tea, an organic, premium brand it purchased last year from founder Seth Goldman, and Gold Peak, an internally-developed line of sweet teas that also have premium pricing although more of a mainstream feel. Other Coke tea offerings include Peace Tea, which it distributes on behalf of Monster Beverage Corp. (until recently Hansen’s Natural Beverage Corp.) and smaller brand Sokenbicha, which like Honest Tea is under the aegis of Coke’s Venturing and Emerging Brands Group.
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