Coca
Cola HBC Acquires 30% Stake in Casa Del Caffè Vergnano of Italy
July 11 - 2021
Coffee Geography Magazine
The
deal will allow Coca-Cola HBC, which is 23% owned by Atlanta-based Coca-Cola
Co, to address a wider range of consumer tastes that espresso specialist Caffè Vergnano was complementary to its offer of Costa Coffee products. The
family-owned Caffè Vergnano is one of Italy's oldest roasters, with roots
dating back to 1882 with market share of espresso beans and single-use pods in
90 countries around the world.
The
agreement follows a similar accord signed in 2018 between global coffee group
JAB and Italian roaster Illycaffe, which allowed the Italian coffee maker to
exploit JAB’s powerful distribution network to reach more clients and channels.
“With
Caffè Vergnano, we are well-positioned to build a total coffee portfolio that
caters for a diverse range of consumer preferences,” Coca-Cola HBC Chief
Executive Zoran Bogdanovic said.
Coca-Cola HBC Chief Executive, Zoran Bogdanovic
The
dual London and Athens-listed CCHBC is a major partner to The Coca-Cola
Company, which bought Costa from Whitbread for $4.9 billion (£3.5 billion) in
2019. HBC said it worked with The Coca Cola Company on the new deal, and said
Caffè Vergnano will be "highly complementary" to its existing Costa
Coffee arm, and allow it to "address an even wider range of consumer
tastes and segments".
Caffè
Vergnano is a family-owned company which makes various coffee blends for
different machine usage had reported revenue of $112 million in 2019.
Vergnano family
HBC
said the deal "represents an important milestone" in its growth
ambitions, while Franco and Carlo Vergnano, CEO and Chairman of the Board of
Directors of Caffè Vergnano, said they are confident the move "will prove
a powerful partnership in growing our business further".
HBC
CEO, Zoran Bogdanovic, said: "With Caffè Vergnano, we are well positioned
to build a total coffee portfolio that caters for a diverse range of consumer
preferences.