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Nestlé has released an official statement about the sale of NESTEA, in order to clarify all the rumors that have been going on in this regard. NESTEA will continue to be marketed in our country, once the current contract between Nestlé and Coca-Cola comes to an end’.
‘Thus, consumers will still be able to find NESTEA in their usual stores also from January 1, 2025 and will be able to continue to enjoy their favorite brand, market leader, in their favorite flavors as before. Nestlé thus wants to put an end to the misinformation that has arisen in recent days regarding the future of its marketing, the origin and intentions of which it does not know.’
The company terminates its licensing contract with Coca-Cola, after seven years that gave Coca-Cola the responsibility for the manufacture and distribution of Nestea in Spain. That task will now be left in the hands of Nestlé or a new partner, although the Swiss company has not yet disclosed details on how it will manage these processes from 2025 onwards.
The future of Nestea and Coca-Cola’s role in it
This change marks the end of a historic collaboration. In 2017, Coca-Cola and Nestlé signed a licensing agreement granting Coca-Cola exclusivity to produce and distribute Nestea in several countries, including Spain, Portugal, Andorra, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria. This agreement had a seven-year term and followed the dissolution of the joint venture that both companies formed in 2001, Beverage Partners Worldwide, which had the objective of developing and expanding the Nestea brand in Canada and Europe. The alliance between the two companies allowed Nestea to consolidate its position as one of the leading iced tea brands in the Spanish market, where it began to be marketed in 1993.
However, in 2017, Nestlé offered a turn of events by announcing its decision to manage the brand independently, in response to new dynamics in the ready-to-drink tea market. Although the global alliance with Coca-Cola came to an end, in countries such as Spain and Portugal, Coca-Cola temporarily retained the license to produce and distribute Nestea.
With the end of this agreement in 2024, Coca-Cola has decided not to renew its commitment to Nestea and has launched its own product to compete in the segment: Fuze Tea. This new brand, which Coca-Cola has already begun to introduce in Spain since September, seeks to occupy the space left by Nestea. Fuze Tea will be distributed in approximately 225,000 points of sale, both in the food distribution channel and in the on-trade. The company has high expectations for the brand, confident that Spanish consumers will receive well the product, which has already been successful in other markets.
Competition in the iced tea market
The ready-to-drink tea sector in Spain has experienced 6.3% growth in recent years, according to Nielsen data. Moreover, the value of this market is expected to double by 2030, which bodes well for intense competition between Nestea and Fuze Tea in the coming years.
Fuze Tea is not a completely new product. Coca-Cola has already marketed the drink in other countries, and now brings it to Spain with the ambition to occupy a significant place in an expanding market. ‘We hope that Fuze Tea will conquer the hearts of Spanish consumers, with the same taste and bottle they already know and love,’ said Carlos Martín, general manager of Coca-Cola Iberia, during the presentation of the drink.
