Beverage Partners Worldwide was a joint venture between The Coca-Cola Company and Nestlé with headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.[1] The venture was originally started in 1991 but was dissolved in 1994 due to organizational and distribution disputes.[2] It was resurrected in 2001 before dissolving permanently in 2018.[2][3] Their main products were Nescafé and Nestea.[4][2]
 | |
| Formerly | Coca-Cola Nestlé Refreshments Company S.A. (1991-1994) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Joint venture |
| Industry | Beverages |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Defunct | 2018 |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Nescafé, Nestea, Enviga |
| Owner | The Coca-Cola Company Nestlé |
Number of employees | 15-50 |
History
editCoca-Cola Nestlé Refreshments Company S.A. was a 50:50 subsidiary between The Coca-Cola Company and Nestlé, initially established in 1991.[2] In 1994, "disputes arose over distributors and distribution channels, top management compensation policies, a shift in focus from Nescafe to Nestea, etc." and the joint venture was temporarily slashed until it re-launched in 2001 as Beverage Partners Worldwide (BPW).[5][2] In November 2006, BPW dropped the Nescafé brand and Nestlé reacquired it independently.[6] In 2006, a new product, Enviga was launched. It claimed to "[boost] the body's metabolism and [help] to burn calories", a claim that concerned health advocates.[7] The Center for Science in the Public Interest sued BPW in 2007 due to these claims and BPW was required to remove any references to weight loss benefits and calorie burning.[8]
In 2010, Nestea debuted in India but was pulled in 2012 due to low interest.[9][10] At this point, Nestea was only available in the United States, Europe, Canada, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.[1] The same year, US distribution was delegated to Nestlé; Coca-Cola continued distributing abroad.[11] Nestlé also retained the right to manufacture, distribute, and market Nestea as a powder and in vending machines, and Coca-Cola had control of Nestea in glass and PET bottles and cartons.[10]
BPW worked with Coca-Cola bottling partners, such as Coca-Cola European Partners, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling, Coca-Cola Refreshments Canada, Coca-Cola Amatil, Swire Coca-Cola Taiwan, and Swire Beverages.[citation needed]
By 2017, Nestea was in 48 countries.[12] In March of that year, Nestlé and Coca-Cola agreed to dissolve the BPW venture effective on January 1, 2018, in part because Nestlé wanted to expand Nestea on its own.[4] In this agreement, Nestlé gave Coca-Cola the license to manufacture and distribute Nestea in Canada, Spain, Portugal, Andorra, Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b Bouckley, Ben (2012-01-10). "Nestlé and Coke scale down Beverage Partners Worldwide JV". Beverage Daily. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
- ^ a b c d e Ariño, Africa (2016). "Coca-Cola and Nestlé: A Story of Love and Hate". IESE Business School, University of Navarra. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
- ^ "Nestle and Coke Are Ending Their Nestea Iced Tea Venture After 16 Years". Fortune. 2017-03-03. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
- ^ a b c "Nestlé, Coca-Cola end the Beverage Partners Worldwide joint venture". IFT. 2017-03-07. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
- ^ "Coca-Cola Venture With Nestle Will Expand to New Markets". Wall Street Journal. 2001-01-30. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
- ^ "Nestlé and The Coca-Cola Company have reached final agreement on their Beverage Partners Worldwide (BPW) joint venture". EduBourse. 2021-10-20. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
- ^ Lee, Julian; Carson, Vanda (2007-01-08). "Coke in hot water over 'diet-aid' tea". The Age. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
- ^ "Attorney General Announces Settlement Resolving Weight Loss, Calorie-Burning Claims About Enviga". 2009-02-28. Archived from the original on 15 May 2013. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
- ^ Bhushan, Ratna (2010-10-25). "Coca-Cola, Nestle extend global JV to tea in India". Economic Times. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
- ^ a b Bhushan, Ratna (2012-01-07). "Coca-Cola, Nestle dump India iced tea JV due to low consumer offtake". Economic Times. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
- ^ "Coca-Cola, Nestle Phasing Out Beverage Partners Worldwide". CSP Daily News. 2012-01-16. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
- ^ "Coca Cola logra salvar el primer escollo legal para 'comerse' a Nestea en España" (in Spanish). La Informacion. 2017-11-27. Retrieved 2022-05-15.