The Grocer – 10 August 2019

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Wet early summer weather hit sales at Europe’s

biggest Coca-Cola bottlers in the second quarter,

though both Coca-Cola European Partners and

Coca-Cola HBC posted strong sales growth despite

dipping below market expectations.

CCEP, the Coke bottler for Great Britain,

Germany and Spain, posted revenue growth

of 7% in the first half of the year to €5.8bn.

Comparable volumes were up 3%, despite the

weather and the impact of last year’s soft drinks

tax in the UK. Pricing was up 4.5%, as it benefited

from improvements in underlying price and pack-

age mix, such as high sales of smaller cans.

In Great Britain, revenues were up 4.5%,

excluding the impact of incremental soft drinks

taxes, and by 10.5% on a constant currency basis

to €1.2bn. Revenues were up 6% in France, while

it experienced “good” volume growth in Germany

and “solid” volume growth in Iberia as the

weather hampered performance in those regions.

Comparable operating profit rose 10.5% to

€770m, reflecting revenue growth and merger

synergies of €55m. However, the company’s share

price dipped 1.3% in New York after the market

opened on Thursday to $54.81. The shares remain

up by more than a third year on year.

Coca-Cola HBC also missed first-half profit

expectations, blaming an “exceptionally strong”

comparable period in 2018 and wet weather.

It reported half currency neutral sales growth

of 3.4% to €3.4bn, with currency-neutral revenue

per case up 1.2% in the first half and overall vol-

umes up 2.2% with established markets seeing

modest volume growth of just 0.4%.

It saw a 50bp improvement in comparable oper-

ating margins due to its huge marketing invest-

ment in the 2018 World Cup to help comparable

operating profit increase by 4.7% to €325.1m.

However, its bottom line performance missed

analyst expectations due to higher costs and

restructuring charges, meaning its shares were

down 1.6% by lunchtime in London to 2,786p.

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Elena Cherubini
UK-based sweet maker
Tangerine Confectionery
has invested £7.5m in
its York factory as it for-
mally integrates Big Bear
Confectionery months
after merging with the
struggling brand.
The investment will
see production of Big
Bear’s key Fox’s and
Poppets brands move
to Tangerine’s York site

• which already man-
  ufactures Jameson’s
  Caramels, Coconut
  Ruffles and Taveners.
  The move follows
  Tangerine’s £100m buy-
  out f rom CapVest- ow ned
  Valeo Foods in August
  2018 and its subse-
  quent merger with Big
  Bear as part of Valeo’s
  strategy to unite its

Tangerine set to make

key Big Bear brands at

upgraded York factory

confectionery brands

and find efficiencies.

“We are continuously

reviewing the efficiency

of our operations,” said

Tangerine’s marketing

and category director

Russell Tanner.

The move follows the

launch of a consultation

with Big Bear employ-

ees in February on the

closure of its Leicester

manufacturing site by

the end of 2019, with over

200 jobs on the line. The

expansion at Tangerine

will create 90 new jobs.

Valeo started a turna-

round process at Big Bear

in January, after the busi-

ness swung to a £2.6m

pre-tax loss during the

15-month period after its

acquisition.

Tanner added there

were currently “no fur-

ther plans to close any of

our other factories” as it

remained “committed to

keeping manufacturing

and jobs in the UK”.

The investment into

York will boost capac-

ity by 30%, Tangerine

added, as well as allow-

ing for the on-site pro-

duction of an additional

2,000 tonnes of own-

label confectionery.

Tangerine has invested

£7.5m in its York factory

Seedlip’s spirits are now

sold in over 25 countries

Booze giant Diageo
has acquired a “signifi-
cant majority” stake in
Seedlip, ramping up its
backing for the non-alco-
holic spirits brand.
The deal – completed
for an undisclosed
amount – makes Seedlip
the latest brand to receive
major investment by
Diageo as part of its
strategy to acquire busi-
nesses complementing its
offering.
The London-listed
spirits giant first invested
in Seedlip through its
independently run incu-
bator scheme, Distill

Diageo buys majority stake in

non-alcoholic spirit Seedlip

Ventures, in 2016. Since

then, Seedlip has grown

to have a presence in

more than 25 countries,

with its three variants

stocked in more than

7,500 bars, restaurants

and retailers.

Seedlip will now move

into Diageo’s Reserve

portfolio, the brand’s

luxury range, where it

will join the likes of Ketel

One, Cîroc, Tanqueray 10

and Don Julio.

It was “a game-chang-

ing brand in one of the

most exciting categories

in our industry”, said

Diageo Europe, Turkey

& India president John

Ken nedy.

He added Diageo

was “thrilled” to work

with Seedlip to boost its

growth as “we believe

[Seedlip] will be a global

drinks giant of the

f ut u r e ”.

COCA-COLA EUROPEAN PARTNERS

Dates: 8 August 2018 – 8 August 2019

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A S O N D M A M J J A

2018 2019