ROMANIA – Food and beverage giant, PepsiCo, has entered into a strategic agreement with Carpathian Springs to acquire a 20% stake in Romanian bottled-water business Aqua Carpatica, for an undisclosed sum.
Under the terms of the deal released, PepsiCo will have the distribution rights for Aqua Carpatica products in Romania and in Poland, where the brand is not present.
In addition, PepsiCo plans to take the brand which it describes as “premium Romanian spring water” into other new global markets, including the United States.
Aqua Carpatica, which was set up by Swiss-Greek businessman Jean Valvis in 2010, said through its LinkedIn page that it supplies still and sparkling bottled waters in 16 countries only.
The company added that the marketed water brands are nitrate- and sodium-free, and provides natural electrolytes.
Silviu Popovici, the CEO of PepsiCo’s operations in Europe, stated: “With its excellent taste and premium positioning, Aqua Carpatica is a perfect complement to PepsiCo’s existing premium beverage portfolio.”
Valvis expressed delight in having the opportunity to join forces with PepsiCo to expand Aqua Carpatica’s footprint in Europe and explore opportunities to bring the company’s and its health benefits to new consumers in new markets.
He expressed his aspiration that the team will take the water company, which in little more than a decade has developed into a beloved brand in Europe, to the public in the future.
The move of PepsiCo to expand the Aqua Carpatica outreach comes at a time when the global sparkling water market size is having a growth due to the growing trend of leading a healthy lifestyle among all age groups.
The growing consumer preference for sparkling water over sodas and sugary carbonated drinks is also driving the market growth.
Global Research View projects the global sparkling water market size which was valued at US$29.71 billion in 2020 to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.6% from 2021 to 2028.
Owing to the potential growth of the sector, Popovici commented that PepsiCo is confident that Aqua Carpatica’s strong brand equity will resonate with its customers and consumers globally.
This stake acquisition by PepsiCo comes under 24 hours after it made a similar move to buy an 8.5% stake in the US energy-drinks business Celsius Holdings.
The deal is speculated to enable PepsiCo to have a long-term US distributor of the energy drinks brands through a strategic distribution arrangement.
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