Quaker axes Snapple staff in shake-up

Quaker Beverages is axing a substantial number of staff from its troubled “new age” soft drink Snapple and changing the brand’s UK distribution.

The company is making four sales staff and four administrative staff redundant as a result of the new system. The UK team for Snapple is small and the job losses will reduce its main office to only a handful of people.

Quaker says the new distribution system, which it describes as distributor partnerships and appears to involve an external salesforce, will be in place by the end of the year.

The company says the system will allow it to exploit its presence in the convenience store sector – Snapple has a minimal presence in the grocery multiples.

The Snapple brand has been beset by problems worldwide since it was bought by Quaker for $1.7bn (1.08bn) in December 1994. Last year the brand recorded an operating loss of 54m and sales fell by more than eight per cent to 388m.