HLL, Pepsi form alliance to sell tea, beverages

In a bid to boost sales, Hindustan Lever Ltd and PepsiCo have formed an alliance to sell and distribute Lipton ready-to-drink tea and tea-based beverages in India.

The agreement, signed between HLL's largest selling tea brand Lipton and Pepsi, would target a national presence building on the soft drink major's market leadership in the country, HLL said in a release on Friday.
 
The companies are developing and testing a slew of products for launching in the Indian market, it said, adding iced tea flavours, green tea, herbal tea and diet tea are some of the products in the offing.

These would be available in various packaging formats, including glass bottles, tetrapak and PET, it said.

Hot tea (in cardamom, diet cardamom, ginger and masala flavours) and hot coffee (Pure, Cappuccino and Mochaccino) are already available through the vending networks of HLL and Pepsi, it added.

HLL chairman M S Banga said, "We have a strong presence in the developing and emerging markets, yet there is plenty of 'white space' to move into and we see Pepsi an ally of choice to help us achieve this."
 
"This new alliance marks a truly significant step in the expansion of Lipton brand, bringing it within the reach of millions of new customers," he added.