Britvic agrees to double its Pepsi spend

Spend on advertising and promotion for Pepsi products will double following the new bottling agreement between PepsiCo and distribution partner Britvic Soft Drinks.

The partnership has been renewed for a further 15 years. The long-term arrangement is thought to have encouraged Britvic to increase its investment ahead of a planned float. Owner Intercontinental Hotels plans to float the company by 2008 following an agreement with PepsiCo, which holds a ten per cent stake in Britvic.

In the year to end of 2003, Britvic spent &£4.2m on Pepsi brands (AC Nielsen). The original agreement, by which Britvic deals with bottling, distribution and jointly handles marketing, had three years left to run.

Britvic managing director Paul Mooney said at the launch of the Britvic Soft Drinks Category report 2004 last Friday: “We will be doubling our spend on advertising and promotion around brand Pepsi.”

He said the deal would accelerate the delivery of new Pepsi products to the UK market.

Britvic is gearing up for its Pepsi UK campaign surrounding the Euro 2004 football tournament. The ad features David Beckham.