Highland Spring and Lucozade Ribena Suntory have announced the signing of a distribution agreement, creating a long-term commercial partnership between Highland Spring’s bottled water business and Lucozade Ribena Suntory’s distribution business.
Under the agreement, Lucozade Ribena Suntory has been appointed distributor of Highland Spring brands within the impulse and out-of-home channels, including wholesale, foodservice, on-trade and high street segments. The deal will help to support Highland Spring’s ambitious growth targets and create additional scale for its existing business.
It follows the announcement that Highland Spring would invest £20m in its Perthshire site, which will see bottling capacity increase by almost 50% over the next 12 months.
Highland Spring Group chief executive Les Montgomery said: “The UK market is our heartland and we want to maximise the opportunity for consumers to choose our products wherever they are. The impulse and out-of-home channels are an essential part of our future strategy, and we have been considering several options to support our growth ambitions in these areas.
“Lucozade Ribena Suntory has an extensive distribution network and field resource. Partnering with them enables us to provide increased and focused support to our trade customers and to jointly develop plans that drive bottled water category sales.
“Our investment strategy means that we will have the capacity to support our business plan to elevate the Highland Spring Group brands to lead the field in the UK. Outsourcing our impulse and out-of-home sales operation puts us in a prime position to achieve our targets, giving Highland Spring Group brands increased visibility through independent retailers, foodservice outlets and the high street.”
Lucozade Ribena Suntory chief operating officer Peter Harding added: “This establishes Lucozade Ribena Suntory as a significant player in the water sector and opens up new distribution for Highland Spring. We are delighted to be working in partnership with such an established brand.
“We are committed to offering consumers choice and a range of product formats and flavours for different occasions. Our drinks have been enjoyed by consumers for over 75 years and during that time we have evolved our brands and the products we offer to meet changing consumer needs. This new partnership is a further example of that.
“We are always looking for innovative ways to build on our strong sales capability to drive a wider portfolio and also expand our existing customer relationships. This distribution partnership is an example of that, helping to broaden our portfolio in an area of strength – the impulse and out-of-home categories.”
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024