US – Pepsi Bottling Ventures (PBV), America’s privately-held manufacturer, seller, and distributor of Pepsi-Cola beverages, has completed its acquisition of Pepsi-Cola Roxboro, a franchise bottler based in North Carolina, US.
The acquisition of the Roxboro bottler expands Pepsi Bottling Ventures’ distribution and sales territory to the North Carolina counties of Caswell, Person, Granville and Orange.
Headquartered in North Carolina, PBV also has distribution locations in South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware.
“We are very excited to be a part of the historic Roxboro community,” said Pepsi Bottling Ventures president and CEO, Paul Finney.
“We look forward to building on Pepsi-Cola Roxboro’s legacy and are eager to bring new customers into the PBV family and introduce new beverage brands to their consumers.”
The financial terms of the Pepsi-Cola Roxboro acquisition have not been disclosed.
Last year, Ventures Food and Beverage, an accelerator group within Pepsi Bottling Ventures, announced that it is reintroducing the Orangina soft drink to the North American market in an effort to keep pace with consumer demand for natural ingredients.
The company said it will also be reintroducing the brand’s signature glass bottle, while cans and plastic bottles of the soft drink will also be released.
Pepsi Bottling Ventures is a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings Limited, a Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company group established in 1899.
Frucor makes progress against sustainability commitments
Meanwhile, PBV’s sister company and a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings, Frucor Suntory has released its sustainability report highlighting the progress the company has made against its sustainability commitments in 2020.
According to the report, Frucor Suntory business- which has operations in New Zealand and Australia- managed to recycle 90% of its waste in 2020 and was able to divert another 99% from landfill during that period.
The company further noted that in 2020, 11 SKUs were transitioned to recycled plastic packaging, resulting in 93 percent of Frucor Suntory’s packaging being recyclable.
Frucor Suntory was also able to reduce CO2 emissions by eight percent in 2020 by creating a co-shipping arrangement with partners to maximise the capacity used on all freight and introducing lower emission fridges to key customers.
An air rinser was installed on one of its canning lines, resulting in the saving of 12 million litres of water annually, and also implemented a new process to reroute water for reuse rather than wasting, resulting in a 14 per cent reduction in water use.
In 2021, Frucor Suntory plans to expand the co-shipping program, continue with fridge upgrades, and partner with suppliers to reduce emissions from the raw material supply chain.
Frucor Suntory’s Head of Sustainability, Ben Walkley, said: “This year we have a comprehensive calendar of activities building on the work completed in 2020. This involves a shift towards a circular economy, and ongoing efforts to decarbonise our operations.”
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