Frucor Suntory
Frucor is a Japanese-owned beverage company operating in Australasia, and headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand. The company is known for its V energy drink launched in 1997, which is sold across the world including Europe, South Africa and Argentina.[3]
Subsidiary | |
Industry | Beverage |
Founded | 1962 |
Founder | NZ Apple and Pear Board |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | New Zealand Australia Netherlands Spain United Kingdom Argentina Sweden Indonesia Japan |
Key people | Jonathan Moss (Group CEO) Peter Lamb (Group CFO - Global) |
Products | V Energy Drink, Mizone Just Juice[1] |
Services | Distributor and Manufacturer of Non-Alcoholic Beverages |
Number of employees | 800 (as of 2014)[2] |
Parent | Suntory |
Website | www |
History
Frucor was founded by New Zealand Apple and Pear Board in 1962 and released their first product, Fresh Up.[4][5] In 1978, New Zealand Olympic track runner John Walker endorsed the Fresh Up product, with the catchphrase "Fresh Up – it's got to be good for you'".[6] Frucor was owned by New Zealand Apple and Pear Board until 1998, when it was purchased for $50 million by Pacific Equity Partners.[7] In 1999 Frucor became the exclusive bottler for Pepsi products in New Zealand.[8] In 2000 Frucor launched V in the UK and Ireland manufactured in the Netherlands.
In 2001, Forbes named Frucor in its Top 20 Companies of 2002.[9] In January 2002, Groupe Danone purchased Frucor[10] for $294 million after bidding since October 2001[11] and being rejected by Frucor in the beginning.[12] That same year, Frucor acquired the Australian fruit juice company Spring Valley from Bonlac Foods (now Fonterra).[13]
In 2007, Frucor partnered with MySpace to host a job promotions campaign with participants Rolling Stone, Billabong. The collaboration with MySpace and the job promoters was the first of its type in Australia.[14] In October 2008, Groupe Danone sold Frucor to Japanese company Suntory for over €600 million.[15]
In January 2011, Frucor launched the V brand in Spain,[3] where by June, was already being sold in 8,000 outlets.[4][4]
In 2013, Frucor sponsored the IGN Australia Black Beta Select Awards.[16] In June 2017 Frucor Beverages was renamed Frucor Suntory to align better with its parent company Suntory.[17]
References
- "Our brands". Frucor. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
- "Frucor Win". prwire.com.au. 18 January 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
- Gregor, Kelly (18 January 2011). "Frucor unleashes bestseller V on Spain's energy drink market". nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
- "Frucor pouring all energies into V". tvnz.co.nz. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
- "Our company - History". frucor.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
- Geoff Watson. "John Walker in Fresh Up advertisement". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
- De Boni, Dita (22 May 2000). "Frucor offers juicy share float". nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
- De Boni, Dita (19 October 1999). "Frucor takes can-do franchise approach". nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
- Christy, John H.; Kirkman, Alexandra (29 October 2001). "20 for 2002". forbes.com. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
- McMillan, Alex Frew (21 January 2002). "Danone wins juicy Frucor victory". cnn.com. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
- Hiscock, Geoff (24 October 2001). "Danone bids $123M for NZ's Frucor". cnn.com. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
- Read, Ellen (16 November 2001). "'Non' likely reply to Danone offer". nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
- "Frucor buys from Bonlac". nzherald.co.nz. New Zealand Press Association. 7 December 2000. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
- Canning, Simon (10 May 2007). "V deal creates a job buzz". theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
- Swann, Allan (3 February 2009). "Frucor deal finally in the can". nbr.co.nz. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
- Wildgoose, David (5 December 2013). "IGN partners with Frucor for game of the year awards". mcvpacific.com. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
- Hogan, Andrea (28 June 2017). "Frucor Beverages changes its name". Australian Food News. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.