Coke and Nestlé dissolve Nestea brand partnership in the US
Two of the biggest names in the food and beverage sector, Coca-Cola and Nestlé, are throwing in the towel on their US Nestea joint venture at the end of this year. The 50-50 partnership was established in 2001 and focused on the US ready-to-drink market. Yet as time passed, both companies started to work on other brands in their portfolio and the partnership began to make less sense with declining sales. In 2000, the Nestea's volume in the US was 113 million cases, compared to 78 million cases in 2010. The latter is dwarfed by Lipton's 2010 sales of 247 million cases. Coca-Cola is expected to focus on Gold Peak and Honest Tea brands, whereas Nestlé will continue to build its Sweet Leaf Tea marque. The Nestea joint venture will remain in place in Europe and Canada.