News 05.08.2010

Danone and Chiquita start Joint-Venture to Market fruit-based Drinks

Danone announced today that it will start a joint-venture with Chiquita Brands International, Inc. to market fruit-based drinks, based on Chiquita’s Just Fruit in a Bottle® platform, in Europe. The joint venture will…

Danone announced today that it will start a joint-venture with Chiquita Brands International, Inc. to market fruit-based drinks, based on Chiquita’s Just Fruit in a Bottle® platform, in Europe.

The joint venture will provide Danone with a platform to explore and develop fruit-based products, adding to its existing portfolio of healthy fresh dairy products and extending its potential for growth in Europe.

Under the terms of the joint-venture agreement, Danone will pay an undisclosed amount in cash to Chiquita for a 51 percent interest in – and management control over – the joint-venture. Chiquita will license its trademark to the new entity. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Over the last four years, Chiquita’s Just Fruit in a Bottle® product has become one of the leading fruit smoothie brands in Europe with distribution in 12 countries, generating approx € 20 mln sales in 2009. The new joint-venture, which will be headquartered in Paris, will be the exclusive distributor of Chiquita Just Fruit in a Bottle® and all future Chiquita branded beverage products in Europe. The joint-venture combines Danone’s world-class nutritional research and development capabilities as well as its complementary geographical presence with Chiquita’s brand equity and local sales and supply chain expertise to extend Just Fruit in a Bottle® more efficiently and effectively.