Britvic has unveiled plans to grow Fruit Shoot in the US and Spain as the recall of the brand this summer continues to affect sales.
The soft drinks giant said it would accelerate the roll out of Fruit Shoot from nine states to 30 states by summer this year, in partnership with PepsiCo Americas Beverages. It will also launch Fruit Shoot in Spain in the spring with PepsiCo South West Europe.
The overseas expansion is unlikely to benefit earnings in the short term which have been hit by the recall of Fruit Shoot in the UK. Britvic said the recall cost it £16.9m last year and the total cost is expected to be £25m.
In the first quarter to 23 January, Pepsi bottler Britvic said group sales rose by 4.8% on a constant currency basis to £303.2m.
Higher prices across all divisions drove the improvement in sales. The British carbonates business was the star performer, growing 9.2% by £131.9m.
The Fruit Shoot recall continued to weigh on the stills business, which suffered a 0.7% drop in sales.
The merger between Britvic and AG Barr is expected to be effective on 26 February. The OFT is now expected to deliver its verdict on the deal on 13 February.
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