Britvic signs PepsiCo deal to widen Fruit Shoot distribution in the US

Soft drinks maker Britvic has signed a 15-year bottling deal with PepsiCo Americas Beverages to expand the distribution of Fruit Shoot drink in 41 states next year, up from its current 32.

It follows a strong year for the Robinsons Squash and Tango-maker, after the hot summer — and the recovery of Fruit Shoot after the cap recall — saw Britvic post an 18.8 per cent rise in operating profit to £135 million in the year to October.

The company left rival AG Barr at the altar this year, walking away from a deal after the two titans of soft drinks had agreed a £1.4 billion all-share merger. At the time, Britvic said it was “confident of driving £30 million of cost savings over the next three years” plus international expansion.

Today it said it was on track to hit that savings target by 2016. Chief executive Simon Litherland added: “While we anticipate that the consumer environment will remain challenging in 2014, trading in the new financial year is slightly ahead of a strong first-quarter performance last year.”