Coca-Cola Expands Ready-To-Drink Beverage Portfolio

29 Mar 2017 --- The Coca-Cola Company, together with its bottlers in Latin America, have announced the closing of the acquisition of Unilever’s AdeS plant-based beverage business. The Coca-Cola Company is now the sole owner of the AdeS brand.

On June 1st, 2016, The Coca-Cola Company and Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. entered into an agreement with Unilever to acquire the AdeS business. Other Coca-Cola bottlers joined to participate in the investment prior the closing of the transaction.

Bottlers participating in the transaction are as follows: Coca-Cola FEMSA, Arca Continental, Embotelladora Andina, Embonor, Corporacion Del Fuerte, Corporacion Rica, Bepensa, Embotelladora del Nayar, Embotelladora de Colima, Solar, Brasal, Bandeirantes, Sorocaba, Simoes, Uberlandia, CVI, Lee, and Monresa. Jugos del Valle S.A.P.I. de C.V., our joint venture with bottling partners in Mexico, also participated in the transaction.

Founded in 1988 in Argentina, AdeS is the leading soy-based beverage brand in Latin America. As the first major brand launched in the category, AdeS pioneered the development of the second largest global market for soy-based beverages. The AdeS brand currently has a presence in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, and Colombia.

“We are excited to add AdeS to our expanding beverage portfolio in Latin America as it enables us to increase the number of nutritious and delicious products offered to our consumers. AdeS is a leading brand in the plant-based beverage category, which is growing rapidly and is of great interest to our customers and consumers across the markets that we serve,” said Alfredo Rivera, President, Latin America Group, The Coca-Cola Company.

“AdeS complements and enhances our total beverage portfolio offer, providing our consumers with a wider range of choices. Together with our partner, The Coca-Cola Company, we will leverage the leading position of the AdeS brand, integrating it into our robust route-to-market model to drive value and further innovation on this new beverage platform,” indicated the bottlers partners to the agreement.

AdeS will become part of the expanding beverage platforms of the Coca-Cola System in Latin America.  Over the last few years, the Coca-Cola System has increased its presence in Latin America in juice/dairy/plant-based category cluster, as evident by the acquisition of key brands such as Jugos del Valle (multiple Latin America markets), Santa Clara (Mexico), Tonicorp (Ecuador), Estrella Azul (Panamá), and Verde Campo (Brazil), among others.