Keurig Dr Pepper (NYSE: KDP) and Danone Waters of America (DWA) jointly announced today that KDP will sell, distribute and merchandise evian® across the U.S., as part of a long-term master distribution agreement designed to accelerate the brand's growth. The agreement will bring the world's leading brand of premium natural spring water1 to more Americans through KDP's extensive distribution networks covering the U.S., with sales capabilities that include national and regional accounts, frontline sales teams and in-store execution. This partnership includes coverage of grocery, mass, club, convenience, drug and independent stores, as well as e-commerce.
Available in the U.S. for more than 40 years, evian® is a leading premium water, in a category growing 15 percent annually,2 and recognized for its unique taste and natural origin from the French Alps. For more than 15 years, evian® natural spring water travels through underground glacial rocks, where it is enriched with naturally occurring electrolytes and minerals. In 2017, evian® earned Carbon Neutral certification in the U.S. and Canada from the Carbon Trust, and is working towards becoming a 100% circular brand by 2025.
Commenting on the distribution agreement, Derek Hopkins, KDP Chief Commercial Officer, stated, "We see evian® as a global brand with tremendous growth potential in the U.S., and we are thrilled with the opportunity this new relationship provides to both companies. KDP remains committed to our partnership model, with evian® representing an important and unique addition to our portfolio."
Rodger Collins, KDP President of Direct Store Delivery, added, "With our ability to sell in, distribute and provide excellent in-store execution to more than 150,000 large and small format stores across the country, we are confident that the KDP team will enable evian® to capitalize on the accelerated growth of the premium water category."
Antoine Portmann, President and General Manager of DWA, added, "With the aim to accelerate growth in the U.S. market, we are bringing on a distribution partner with the size and scale, sales capabilities and distribution coverage to match our ambition. This step change in evian®'s distribution solidifies the company's intention to accelerate growth by bringing the number one premium global natural spring water closer to the hands of U.S. consumers who prefer naturally occurring electrolytes and minerals from the brand's unique source in the heart of the French Alps." Portmann continued, "We are thrilled to embark on this journey and continue to make our iconic brand available to U.S. consumers through the power of KDP's distribution network."
evian®'s existing distributors will continue to handle distribution in the New York metro area, the on-premise and natural channels and certain other limited accounts/channels. KDP's company-owned direct store delivery network and independent bottler distributor network will handle distribution in all other areas. Terms and length of the agreement are not being disclosed.
1 GlobalData, evian, Leading Global Premium Non-Carbonated Mineral Water Official Brand Certification, 2018
2 IRI, MULO+C, latest 52 weeks
