Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE) announced today that it has completed a United States distribution agreement with Hornell Brewing Co., Inc., maker of AriZona Iced Tea products. Beginning in February 2007, CCE will begin distributing three flavors of a new 34 oz. package of AriZona Iced Tea to its retail customers in the U.S.: Iced Tea with Lemon, Green Tea with Ginseng & Honey, and Sweet Tea. In June, CCE began distribution of seven AriZona flavors in a variety of bottle and can packages throughout its territories in Canada.
AriZona is the top-selling ready-to-drink tea brand in the U.S. and will significantly strengthen CCE’s offerings in the rapidly-growing tea category, especially in immediate consumption. AriZona joins CCE’s growing tea portfolio which now includes Nestea, Gold Peak, and Enviga, a new calorie-burning sparkling tea from The Coca-Cola Company.
“We are combining the power of our sales and distribution system with the number one ready-to-drink brand in the fast-growing tea category,” said John F. Brock, president and chief executive officer, Coca-Cola Enterprises. “This provides substantial opportunities, now and in the future, to generate profitable growth for both of our companies.”
Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. is the world’s largest marketer, distributor, and producer of bottle and can liquid nonalcoholic refreshment. Coca-Cola Enterprises sells approximately 80percent of The Coca-Cola Company’s bottle and can volume in North America and is the sole licensed bottler for products of The Coca-Cola Company in Belgium, continental France, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Monaco, and the Netherlands.