Emirates Foodstuff and Mineral Water Company (Agthia) has signed an agreement with the German-based Wild Group to exclusively manufacture and distribute Capri-Sun/Capri-Sonne fruit juice drink all over the GCC except Saudi Arabia.

Al Ain Mineral Water Company (a subsidiary of Agthia) which is the number two drinking water brand in the UAE, with a market share of 23 per cent, will now add Capri-Sun to its portfolio as a stand-alone division.

Agthia will commence manufacturing and distribution of Capri-Sun in the first quarter of 2009, joining beverage giants like Coca-Cola and Kraft, who have been manufacturing and distributing Capri-Sun, in UK, France and the USA.

Capri-Sun, the third largest fruit-juice brand globally, is also the world’s No.1 ‘Kids’ juice drink with UAE being one of the highest per capita consumption markets in the world.

Capri-Sun is produced in 18 countries and is enjoyed by children in more than 100 countries.

"Besides being ‘all natural’ in ingredients, the ‘stand-up pouch’ made of an extremely thin multilayer foil has become Capri-Sun’s trademark, setting it ahead amongst competition as a modern, convenient, fun pack," Capri-Sun Area sales director, Farhan Siddiqi said.

Agthia CEO Ilias Assimakopoulos sais the company was extremely excited about this new venture and hoped that Capri-Sun would be a perfect complement to its existing product range.

"The partnership with Wild & Capri-Sun fits perfectly with our strategy to convert Al Ain Mineral Water operation into a full beverage company. At Agthia, we feel it is our responsibility to provide consumers with products which are healthy in the purest sense, and which have built their reputation on quality. Capri-Sun is a well established brand in the UAE with tremendous growth potential not only in the UAE, but in other GCC markets as well.”

Commenting further, Rashed Mubarak Al Hajeri, Agthia board chairman said: "With a great domestic history and eyeing towards regional expansion, we believe Agthia is on the right track. Partnerships with Wild & Capri-Sun will help us climb to the top of the FMCG tree."

Siddiqi noted that Capri-Sun had come a long way since its launch in UAE more than two decades ago.

"A generation has grown up enjoying Capri-Sun as a brand, which is still very dear to them. We believe Agthia with its professional management team, very well understands this aspect and what it takes to keep this spirit alive for the next generations to come," he added.-TradeArabia News Service