Mar 2015 Financial News

GraceKennedy inks deal with Arizona Beverages

Mar 02, 2015

After announcing in January that GraceKennedy USA LLC would expand its own distribution in the New York, Atlanta and Florida markets, the Jamaican conglomerate is now advising of a deal with American beverage giant AriZona Beverages USA, LLC.

Under the arrangement which began this month, Arizona will distribute Grace Beverages to convenience stores, independents and on premise locations – including restaurants and bars – across New York and New Jersey, with discussions now in place for distribution to Texas and other states in short order. This agreement will expand the distribution of Grace Beverages beyond the traditional Caribbean and Hispanic trade to the urban mainstream consumer in the US North East. Grace Kennedy USA LLC will continue to distribute Grace Beverages directly to the major retail chains in the North East going forward.

AriZona Beverages USA, LLC, based in Woodbury, New York, is a multi-billion dollar company, which makes Arizona Iced Tea, flavoured waters, juices, coffees, energy drinks and powdered tea mixes. AriZona is the leader in hot-filled beverages for the United States, and its iced tea is also the top-selling ready-to-drink tea in the United States. The company now distributes Grace Tropical Rhythms, the Grace Aloe Drink line, as well as Grace Coconut Water for GraceKennedy USA LLC.

“When we acquired the operating assets and business of US-based food company La Fe (now GraceKennedy USA LLC) in July 2014, we had, as one of our top agenda items, the expansion of our beverage portfolio in the USA. AriZona is one of the best distributors of beverages in the New York Metro market and this will be a huge opportunity to grow our business. The interest from AriZona is also confirmation that our investment in our brands over the years is well recognized by our consumers and key players in the trade. This deal literally has the potential to double our Grace Beverage numbers in the next two years,” said GraceKennedy Group CEO, Don Wehby. “The deal is barely a month old and already we are seeing an increase in our beverage sales,” he added.

In speaking to why AriZona was seen as the right distribution partner, Wehby said, “AriZona is a solid company with legendary distribution. The company has great point of sale execution, and with a sales team of 140 people in the New York Metro area, the benefits of the partnership were crystal clear to us.”

According to AriZona Chairman Don Vultaggio, “We are excited about the opportunity to partner up with Grace Beverages and expand both of our businesses domestically and internationally. We look forward to a long and successful business relationship.”

President and CEO of GraceKennedy USA LLC, Michael Ranglin, spoke to the potential impact of the deal, noting that, “The distribution partnership with AriZona is part of our strategic plans to expand our business, and consistent with our overall aim of becoming a Global Consumer Group. We’ve been operating in the US market since the 1980s, and we have always wanted to expand the distribution of Grace Beverages outside of our traditional marketplaces in the United States.”

He continued, “The opportunity came to work with AriZona, and we took it, because we know it will give us the chance to build out our beverages across the urban North East landscape, even while Grace Kennedy USA LLC continues to distribute our beverages to the major retail chains with which we’ve been working in the North East, including Walmart, Pathmark, Stop and Shop, ShopRite and others.”

“This partnership will go a long way in furthering that strategy of serving not only our loyal Caribbean community but also the wider urban marketplace. We are excited about the road ahead and look forward to working with AriZona and taking our business to the next level,” he added.

Source:
Loop Jamaica
Saturday February 28, 2015

http://loopjamaica.com/2015/02/28/jamaica-business-gracekennedy-inks-deal-with-arizona-beverages/