LONDON (Brand Republic) 鈥 Cadbury Schweppes is continuing to boost its portfolio of soft drinks brands with its acquisition of Snapple Beverages for $1.45bn from Triarc.
The deal adds brands such as Snapple, Bali Blast and Diet Kiwi to its stable of drinks in the US. The company, which makes 7-Up, last year said it would focus on its US soft drinks business as it was a major growth driver for the whole group.
The Snapple purchase follows Cadbury鈥檚 acquisition of the US Hawaiian Punch brand, which it says helped boost first-half sales by 11%.
John Sunderland, Cadbury Schweppes chief executive, said, 鈥淭he US is our largest market 鈥- to buy Snapple is on strategy.鈥
He said the company would continue to look for suitable drinks and confectionery businesses to build further sales.
Triarc bought the Snapple group from Quaker Oats in 1997 for $300m, revitalising a business which had never made a profit from its previous owners.
Snapple鈥檚 main competitors is the Coca-Cola brand Fruitopia. Coke may buy a stake in another Snapple competitor, South Beach Beverage, which makes SoBe Lizard Fuel and Zen Blend. Pepsico also joined the fray with its FruitWorks juice drinks.