Danone declines to comment on Evian in US
it was in talks with Cadbury Schweppes and Coca-Cola over
distributing its Evian mineral water in the United States.
French food group Danone declined to comment last week on a report it was in talks with Cadbury Schweppes and Coca-Cola over distributing its Evian mineral water in the United States.
The Wall Street Journal Europe in its Friday edition cited people familiar with the negotiations as saying Danone was in discussions with both Coke and Cadbury over Evian's US distribution.
In the US market, 50 per cent of Evian is currently distributed by Coca Cola Enterprises, Coke's bottling arm.
However, Coke and rival PepsiCo are both entering the US bottled water market with mass market brands of their own, prompting Danone to re-appraise the distribution of Evian.
That has sparked press speculation it is in talks with British confectionery and soft drink producer Cadbury.
"We have no comment on this matter," a Danone spokeswoman said, adding that the group had on several occasions said it was exploring different ways of improving its US sales performance.
Danone's water sales in the US amount to €830 million, of which 42 per cent is from sales in large containers, 36 per cent for domestic water under its Dannon Water label, and 22 per cent from its Evian brand.
